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<E36> 328i Coolant Loss

Fellow digesters,

I may have hit my first significant snag with my 328i in 15,000 km (9500
miles). As our mornings started getting a bit cooler, mid-August, my Check
Function would say "Low Coolant Level", on the first start in the morning.
It only stays on, while the engine runs, for about 10-20 seconds or so.  My
guess is that once the engine heats up, the coolant expands and the sensor
no longer senses a low level.  It never reappears throughout the day.

I see no evidence in my driveway of obvious coolant loss.  I popped into a
BMW dealer which was conveniently located on my way home from a business
trip, and the service tech donated a little coolant (not bad since I didn't
buy the car there).  I'll dilute it to the proper 60/40 ratio and add it
tomorrow morning to see if this works.  He says if it recurs, I should have
the car checked for coolant leaks.

Anybody else have this problem?  I drive the car hard (but did respect the
break-in period), with many drives like today's involving long stretches at
170+ km/hr (about  110 mph), and lots of runs up to redline while overtaking
on two-lane country roads.  The temp gauge so far has never budged off its
normal position about midway up the scale, and the car has never needed oil
between changes.  Any clues?  I once had a Merkur XR4Ti which routinely lost
coolant. Never caused problems, as long as you topped it up.  We had it
checked, and it appeared to be related to the plumbing from the turbo (but a
permanent fix was never found), but obviously this can't be the problem with
the 328i.  Any similar experiences?

Thanks in advance.

Mike Gammon
1996 328i 5-speed