A month or so ago my 2008 R56 S threw a CEL and the P0597 code for the thermostat. That's also 2EE5 DME: Map Thermostat, Activation on my cheap aftermarket BMW code reader. From what I can tell from previous posts, this means the thermostat will basically stay wide open/is stuck wide open, so the car won't overheat but the heat won't work. However, I've tried the heat a couple times in my car, and it seems to work fine. That begs the questions:

1. Does this mean the thermostat itself is fine and the likely culprit is a bad sensor as part of the thermostat assembly/housing?
2. If so, is the fix for the problem to just replace the thermostat assembly? I.E, there's no good way to just replace the sensor?
3. Is there anything else this might be?

I've been driving around like this for a bit, and the car seems to be running fine. No loss of power or temperature warnings. I did try clearing the code, but it came right back.

Any advice from the wise hive mind on this one would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

I've got the exact same situation! Hoping someone can answer your question, and they will be helping two of their peeps.

 

A bump. I am also getting the 2EE5 Map Thermostat, Activation code. After I clear mine it will eventually come back but it usually takes a week to a month (but, car often isnt driven a lot but sometimes is). The code coming back doesnt seem tied to anything that Ive noticed...ambient temp, speed, acceleration, time, mileage.

We did order a housing to change it out from Amazon but the wiring contacts were incorrect despite it should have being a match (2013 Roadster) so we returned that. Trying to determine it its worth buying and changing out for an OEM part.

 

I would tend to think that the thermostat has gone out and needs replacement.

 

That thermostat is toast get one from ECS bremmen brand and cross over pipe.......

 

This is an old post at this point, but figured I'd add this for the record.
I ended up just replacing the whole thermostat housing. I couldn't figure out a way to test if it was just a sensor, or to just replace a sensor. Putting in a new thermostat has worked in that I haven't gotten any error codes for it since. The heat and A/C works, and no engine temp problems.
One major note: I ended up needed an adapter between the replacement thermostat and the connectors to the ECU. The info I could find online said my particular model year didn't need an adapter, but the thermostat didn't work until one was installed. So I guess the recommendation is to double-check that if you're doing this repair.

 

I did buy an upgraded metal thermostat housing for my mini, that came with an adapter. But my model is 2010 MCS JCW Clubman. I have the unique one vanos, cam sensor, and already had what appeared to be the “final draft” of the connectors and versions. I had originally a fully plastic housing thermostat, with the coolant temp sensor on top. Replacement has the same configuration but a “removable” thermostat. I cannot for the life of me find this thermostat online anywhere to replace if it fails, so it seems useless and this issue came to be after my crossover pipe burst, causing a total loss of coolant on the highway. No damage, pulled over before engine temps soared, but replaced this damn housing with the nice shiny metal one for more money, and am regretting it. That being said, it came with an adapter that connected to both sensors, but then had a male flat 4 pin plug. It’s a short adapter, so I could not find the correct place to even plug this in if I tried. I can’t find any verifiable information as to if my model even needs this, but your comment saying yours didn’t work until you used the adapter.. do you have any pics or information on that?