Help Over Heat Problems

I have a 2000 BMW 528i with 36000 miles. One week ago as I was driving down the highway, the temperature gage started moving toward the Red (hot) mark, so I pulled over to a gas station. I let the car cool down and opened the radiator cap and fluid began to slowly leak out of the top. The fluid appeared to have oil in it. Once the car was completely cooled down, I added anti freeze and drove it to the BMW dealership in Dallas which was only 2 miles away. The temperature gage remained in the middle even as I drove up to the Service bay. After one week, BMW has torn apart my car and claims that there is no malfunctioning on their part that caused it to overheat. I have had no warning other then what I have already desribed as to it overheating. No lights, no warning, no rising gauges. BMW claims the car was driven hot excessively and is denying my warranty claim. This is a $12000 DECISION IN THEIR FAVOR. Does anyone have any insight as to what could have caused this that i can use when I desperately fight my case. This is my 3rd bmw and no problems before. I have also had a Porsche, Mercedes, and a Lexus with a 150k miles and never anything like this. Please help if you have any insightful information. I am desperate.

Hi, Logan.
There are several reasons for overheating. One is a malfunctioning thermostat (they can jam completely shut, closing off all circulation...which makes it overheat in a hurry). I can't imagine one getting stuck and then miraculously working fine...but stranger things have happened.
The most common one on BMWs is the poorly functioning fan clutch. When that goes, the car will do fine going 40 or 50 miles an hour, but it overheats when you're stuck in traffic, not moving.
The other reasons are stuff like bad hoses, but you'll see them leaking, have steam coming out from under the hood, stuff like that, so those are easy to diagnose.
I don't see how BMW can have it both ways, i.e. they found nothing wrong with the car, yet admit that it overheated (since that's the reason they claim not to have to fulfill their warranty obligations).
One thing you might want to check is the information stored in your car's computer. The computers in some fancy cars store information from every moment of the car's operation. I got caught when I took my mom's cadillac to the dealership for warranty work. They knew I'd burned out three times, maximum braking three times, and hit the top speed limit three times...they also knew at exactly what time I'd done those things.
I would ask for the printout, or however it comes, from your car's computer. That would show how long the car was operated while it was hot...which might help or hurt your case. If that computer readout shows the car overheated for 4 minutes and you pulled over and took action, and that the temperature was fine during the 10 minutes you drove to the dealership, that would support your case and make them look like swine. If the printout shows you drove for 30 minutes until the car wouldn't run, you're screwed.
I would also recommend checking out your dealer on this web site:
http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/dealer.asp?dealerid=58
That'll tell you if anyone else has been burned recently, or if they have a good reputation for being fair.
Definitely, continue making yourself a pain in the ass. Threaten them with a lawsuit, have an attorney write a letter, whatever it takes...you've got 12 grand at stake.
Flunky
PS-Don't forget, you can also threaten to leave a nasty review on dealerrater...which would cost them tens of thousands of dollars of sales...the Dark Side, Luke! Use it!

Logan,

Sorry to hear about your situation.

Flunky hit the nail on the head when it comes to overheating problems...at least to my most recent experiences. For the car to suddenly overheat usually indicates a faulty thermostat.

Please let us know how this turns out either way.

Well so far, BMWNA is the ones that are denying my warranty. I called customer service today and requested that a rep meet me at the dealership. They indicted that the dealership has to be the one to request a rep contact me. So I met with the GM of the dealership and told my story. Everyone keeps stating that the car was driven while it had been excessively overheating. They have determined that the heads are warped and while removing them that the cylinder threads broke which is due to excessive heat. My response was that although that may be obviously true, the car never gave me an indication of this occuring. In fact, it still drove quite well. Dealership says that they checked the gauges, thermostat, and water pump and all were working well. I said, " now that we know what did not cause it to overheat, what did cause it to overheat without me knowing." They don't know the answer, but are sure it is my fault nd should not cover it. for the record, I am not a young school kid and this is my 3rd BMW, and additionally have owned Lexus, Mercedes, and Porsche. I know what a car looks like when it overheats. I am waiting for the rep to come out and in the mean time the dealership is still looking into this to see why it overheated. If anyone has come across any peculiar issues like this on the M52 with a 2000 production date, it would help me to know if there are any trends out there. I am not giving up but they are trying to stick me with $13k to replace engine. So basically, They say it overheated but don't know why, but are positive it has nothing to do with parts failing.

What about information stored on the car's computer?
Cadillac uses that info to deny warranty work, because it helps them prove the car was abused.
Please bring that up next time you make a hostile visit to your dealer. It's your car: you are entitled to that information. Be very suspicious if it was accidentally 'erased'.
Flunky

Thanks flunky. I am inquiring about that. Not sure yet if BMW has that feature, but I am certainly asking the question. I will update you on my findings.