Dealer says it is fine. The was 3 days old BMW blue coolant after driving about 50 miles.

 

Those brown floaters are kinda gross.

How old was the previous coolant?

 

Wonder if the brown floaters are oil?

 

That was might first thought.

So "blue coolant" was added to green coolant?

Anyway the coolant does look kinda dirty or mixed.

 

Yes that is oil. Did you flush the system before adding the new coolant?

 

Coolant was changed by the dealer for water pump recall in 2/12. Then again on Thursday with replacement of the thermostat housing.

 

Unless you see more, I would not worry. Just check it evey now and then. If it gets worse, you have a problem.

 

Thanks for the replies. Sent the car back to mini for a leak down test since I can't afford to wait. I bought the car used and only have 50 miles left on the warranty they gave me.

 

My experience was that they refilled the coolant when they replaced my water pump with the recall. The coolant wasn't really changed or flushed.

Depending what they find, you might want to pay them to do a complete coolant flush, at the same time documenting with them the picture that you posted above. I agree that it certainly appears to be oil, which could indicate internal problems that existed when you bought the car.

Keep us posted on the outcome and good luck.

 

Update: coolant system pressure tested over the weekend. Passed, Did not loose pressure. However, a cylinder compression check yesterday reveled cylinder 3 was much lower than the others.

 

Maybe a bad head gasket causing oil to get into the cooling system?
Have you checked the oil lately? Is there any foam on your dipstick?

 

Head gasket is the likely problem. There was no water in the oil via dipstick or fill cap. The oil was about 1/8in low in 500 miles. Coolant was burning off.

 

Most importantly... is the dealer fixing it under warranty?

 

Dealer is going to buy it back....... now I have to find another one. Errr

 

What did they find since they want to buy it back?

 

it was non mini dealer. They freaked when they got the quote from a mini dealer for to fix it.