Hi
My 7 year old P reg 216i (new shape) has recently started to overheat on short journeys (~5 miles) on the motorway. On a recent 1hr trip to Ikeaaaargh, the coolant overflowed bubbling out of the tank onto the road just as I was parking up, and I did smell burning while on the motorway but assumed it was a lorry's tyres or something.
I took it to the garage and they couldnt find anything amiss but they replaced the filler cap just in case (they've got to make their money...;o))
The symptoms are as follows...
The needle sits at less than 0 for about 2 miles then starts creeping up to halfway then shoots down as the fan kicks in then maybe 10 seconds later starts creeping up again then drops back to about 1/3 full scale then stays there and occasionally shoots up minutes later and then drops down again.
Currently its not getting above halfway before the fan cuts in but I'm worried its the start of something that could prove to be expensive.
Is this "normal" behaviour as it never used to do this? If not, anybody got any ideas?
Do the words "blown head gasket" loom large on the horizon...?
TIA
Mike