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Lower cooling shutters stuck

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84K views 102 replies 46 participants last post by  enjoydriving  
#1 ·
Driving home this morning I noticed the engine light was lit yellow. There were no notices or abnormal flags showing in Vehicle Status in iDrive. I made an appointment with BMW when I got home and took it right over to have it checked out. I was just informed that the cooling flaps/shutters under the front bumper are sticking and have to be replaced. Fortunately, they have the part so they are replacing it right now. Hopefully, this will fix the problem and extinguish the engine light. I'll post back when the job is done.
 
#2 ·
Fixed. I have the car back and the light is out. It was important to get this done quickly as we are returning home to Canada on Monday. Kudos to BMW of Sarasota for taking the car in right away, diagnosing the problem, having the part in stock and doing the repair all within a few hours of my reporting the problem.

Excellent job!
 
#6 ·
:thumbup:
 
#22 ·
The problem, of course, is that if one is driving, one isn't looking at the shutters.

I have the 530e phev and when I am charging the batteries, sometimes the AC goes on to cool the batteries. Today I noticed that with the AC on for that purpose, with the car otherwise turned off, that the shutters were open. When the car finished charging, I looked again and saw that they were closed.
 
#10 ·
Well, we know that if they aren't working properly, the engine light comes on...
 
#13 ·
The Germans are just thrilled to include high tech devices in their cars before their reliability is established. Toyota/Lexus will thoroughly test new technology before putting them in their cars so that their high reliability can be maintained.
If I could I would remove the louvers or just lock them in the open position.
 
#17 · (Edited)
The top and lower shutters on my 2017 540I stopped working after the first year. Took it in for service because they never closed. Had both replaced. Still open when I picked it up and have never closed since. Mention it to my service adviser every time I'm at the dealership and he always says unless I get a notification it's normal. Don't think anyone has a clue. Like the look better when open so I haven't pushed the issue.

Just a gimmick in my book, but I guess it's better to have them always open than closed.
 
#19 ·
Mine are always closed when the car is stopped. I assume they open when the car is running in hot weather but I've never actually observed it because I'm driving when they might be open.
 
#23 ·
They'll most likely still be open after driving a little while especially in warmer weather and then parking as long as you don't turn your car off... at work they keep cones in front of our reserved spots so I have to get out to move it and noticed they're always still open even though my car was in park. As soon as I turned off the engine the shutters closed...
 
#21 ·
All AGM batteries have the registration issue. Blame the EPA for all this stuff, demanding manufacturers get every last tenth of an MPG out of them, they have to resort to these gimmick technologies, while at the same time NHTSA demands ever higher safety levels which means the cars get heavier and heavier every year.
 
#24 ·
So, chalk up another active shutter failure. Mine seems to be an intermittent problem, but - the MIL (malfunction indicator light) came on today, totally threw me for a loop until I hooked up my OBD dongle. I have the OBDlink MX (really handy gadget if you're into cars, it will also code the vehicle if you want with bimmercode) and had it read the fault codes.. It came up with P05AF. I did some searching and came up with the shutters...

The shutters are supposed to close when the engine is off. Sure enough, in my garage with the engine off, they are still open.

Not a serious problem, but I guess I'll have to take it in sometime.. (pain in the you know what)
 
#26 ·
So....dumb request. Could someone snap a pic for me of the lower shutters closed? I've never seen mine closed.

The grill shutters work as I'd expect. It's just the lower shutters that always appear open for me.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Lower shutters

So....dumb request. Could someone snap a pic for me of the lower shutters closed? I've never seen mine closed.
The grill shutters work as I'd expect. It's just the lower shutters that always appear open for me.
Just posted and checked mine - too. Open after parked overnight (cold engine). Started car - lower shutters remain open - upper shutters closed. Never had any alerts in iDrive or dash either.

Not sure what is "normal" operation. TIS info is unclear (to me) :dunno:

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/...cs/dde-control-unit/interfaces/serial-data-interfaces/radiator-blind/1VnZE4QuR6
 
#27 ·
I'm the latest victim. Exact same fact pattern. CEL on for 3 days (long enough to be sure it wasn't the gas cap) no Check Control messages on iDrive, no Drivetrain Malfunction. Took it into the dealership for troubleshooting and 3 hours later the shutters are replaced and I am heading home.

My SA says they are seeing a rash of these across models, with the 2019 X3 being the biggest offender.
 
#29 ·
I had the yellow engine light go on late December due to an improper lower shutter malfunction although the shutters were working correctly when I brought the car into the dealer and the part was backordered.

The same problem happened this week and parts are available so it gets replaced early next week. My dealer, BMW of Ann Arbor, said they replaced several lower shutters last week and they weren't just G30'S.

Not a big deal but they take off the front bumper to access the part.
 
#30 · (Edited)
I've never looked ... never had any "shutter" alerts either.

Am I correct - that there will be an iDrive or dash alert if they are not functioning correctly? Engine off - engine 'cold' = shutters closed ??

I'll have to take a look one of these days.

UPDATE Car has been parked in garage overnight; car is turned off/has not been run since parked last night. Temp in garage is about 55 degrees F. Top radiator blinds are closed. BOTTOM radiator blinds are OPEN. TIS information is not clear on the status of the lower blind when parked and engine is 'cold'?

Can someone advise if the open state is "normal" when parked & engine cold??
 
#36 · (Edited)
Had mine replaced a few months ago. Check engine light came on for 2-3 days in September and I ignored it, just assumed it was the shutters. Went off but came back on in December or Jan, is I took it in and sure enough it was the shutters. No big deal, changed the oil at the same time so didn't bother me.

Will be interested to see if the replacement parts suffer the same issues or they have addressed the design flaw. I mean, it doesn't seem like that complex of a part, it's just a few plastic flaps that open and close occasionally. Maybe the supplier used cheaper materials than BMW specified or maybe BMW just didn***8217;t design it right to begin with.