DIY Coolant Flush

As @Puppethead have only !!! one over 100000 miles on this forums why you question him about different models what models? Of EVs stick to Mini Cooper SE the rest is not important to me and and as we have 8 years / 100000 miles warranty and a car is only 4 years old why we jumping ahead wait next 4 years what going to happen how a dealers deal with HV battery cooling replacement fluid My I3 7 years old was basically 97% range and no dealer mention battery coolant system .As you worry about it sell SE now with 60 % of the price you pay for it .Just as Tesla is not required cooling fluid on HV battery be changed for life of a car is SE any different?

 

The Kia Hyundai low conductive coolant starting MY 2025 is every 100k miles now

 

I just did the HT coolant on a BMW i8 as the feed/return pipes were leaking. There was no interval for LT Battery cooling…

 

Love that color....

 

It's a pity the little powerplant isn't more bejewelled like on a proper high-end sports car.

 

As a price was in 2020 $ 150000 with 3 cylinder 1.5 liter Twin PowerTurbo gasoline engine with electric motor and 18 miles as EV I belive that car was a joke by BMW but good looking car as you can get at 2020 Porsche 911 for about $100000 at that time and today Porsche 2020 is easy over $100000 and bmw I 8 is going for $50000-65000 as my SE / 20000 miles is worth $ 15000-17000 and can’t compare those 2 cars to SE as a base EV

 

The entire i division was a test bed then killed off by Krüger. BMW invested heavily in composites but also Electric drivetrains. Krüger wanted to sell more bloated V8 sedans… he was ousted

i8 is a very interesting car to drive. It drives completely different to a 911.

 

Rule 60 and Mitbestimmungsgesetz are what really screwed over BMW. Reithofer had to retire at 60 and Krüger sided with union faction (making in house V8s).

I guess BMW softened it to Rule 62 because Zipse will be retiring soon.

 

Reckon with that power to weight ratio, it's more like an original NSX, but with gobs more torque.

 

Sorta and feels similar in many ways.

 

FYI I was at my dealer this week and asked about the Mini Cooper SE coolant. They recommend doing it, but they don't have any specified interval for doing so. They said the coolant doesn't need to be exchanged as often as an ICE vehicle, but they do recommend doing so for the electric Minis. The service advisor didn't seem to push very hard on this, saying it's really not urgent, so I'm as unclear about where this recommendation is coming from.

I did see in my owners manual a bit about the coolant reservoir and needing to make sure it's topped up, so I do think the coolant isn't entirely sealed since why would they need to put a user-accessible reservoir and mention it in the owners manual if it's not to be touched.

Anyway, it's been 4 years for me and I haven't even opened the reservoir to look.

 

It’s not in any service material… they are just trying to upsell

 

As others have mentioned, not like in a normal ICE where high/low heat cycle range, in our SE's only used to cool the High Voltage batteries, which high/low cycle is very low (compared to ICE). Only time to check is when you take in for regular service where part of routine is to check the coolant level in the reservoir and/or perform a test to see if the coolant is still up to snuff......a low reservoir could indicate a leak in the coolant/system/lines, which may require further investigation, but unless something comes up, I would not worry about it. Even the OEM Service/Maintenance Manual/Program does not mention anything about changing/flushing out the coolant.
I usually do a regular check (before each of the 4 seasons) Tire Pressure, Coolant and Brake Fluid Levels and Brake Pads when I change over from Winter/Summer tires, even though SE is pretty well maintenance free.......
David

 

Doesn't coolant, once exposed to air (ie mixed 50/50) start do expire. Obviously it is not
subject to the harsh conditions as an ICE vehicle, but maybe still has a shelf life. I know
Mini doesn't address servicing, but I am not a fan of following manufacture service
schedules. (how long do they claim for oil change intervals)?

 

Coolants have anticorrosion additives that get used up over time. Renewing them is important in an ICE's harsh environment with dissimilar materials an caustic combustion products. I don't think any of that applies to a well built EV. Air exposure just evaporates the liquid.

 

I'm hoping you are right...

As a former owner of a 1997 Acura NSX, I have been shopping around for a 2019 or 2020 BMW i8 (or any year that has blind spot monitoring). I like cars that aren't seen on every corner (my one mistake was a Tesla Model 3) and I like the looks of the i8. I'll get laughed at since it has a 3 cylinder engine, but I don't care....at my age, I'm more about efficiency.

 

For MINI it's always been around 8,000 miles, but I believe there's an "intelligence" thing with the car that decides when change is needed so not specifically that exact time frame. And MINIs use synthetic oil (or should be), so that seemed reasonable to me back when I drove ICE MINIs.