In these engines the water pump is not belt driven but has its own electric motor. It gains on fuel consumption, but it opens a new failure path: the pump or its electronics often simply stops with no warning. Measured in the official complaints, the typical mileage is 161,000 km (a tenth of the complaints already at 81,000, a tenth only above 257,000 km). So the common wisdom of "around 100,000 km" is early: most of the failures happen between 130,000 and 250,000 km.
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With a belt driven pump the flow weakens gradually, here the circulation stops in an instant. In urban traffic the temperature crosses the limit within minutes, the cylinder head distorts, and the repair is an engine rebuild.
Replacing a still good pump at around 120,000 to 150,000 km costs less than repairing an overheated engine. If the replacement is already in the service book, the pump has already been changed.
What to check
- Watch the coolant temperature gauge after startup: it should settle evenly, not jump around
- Standing still with a warm engine, listen for whether the cooling fan and the pump are working
- Ask for a fault code read: codes pointing at coolant flow belong here
