a friend of mine was telling at lunch today that his 2019 Vantage with maybe 300 miles will not start. He was driving it when he noticed the temp was high and the overheating light came on. Well he got home and it will not start. The dealer picked it up but they have no idea what is wrong. The dealer has been dealing with AM to try to figure out the problem. Anyone heard of this, just wonderingly?

Mabye they should consult with a local Mercedes dealer for assistance?
if all the electronics are merc/Bosch or whatever I'm sure they will fix it fast, hard to believe that it could not be diagnosed within minutes.
in my opinion it will be an isolated case ....look fwd to hearing what the gremlin was

Talked my friend with the new Vantage that died. It turns out it was the electric water pumps. That is all he said in a text. Interesting.

“Electric water pump” ? We now have electric power steering. What’s next? Electric oil pumps, electric A/C compressors, electric solenoids operating the valves. Components that were literally fail proof now become prone to failure.
Chasing the ever moving MPG ?

Its the future for combustion engines unfortunately due to increasing demands for fuel efficiency. By using an ECU driven water pump the ECU has better control of coolant flow and energy usage. BMWs use characteristically controlled cooling maps. Basically these are operating zones where the engine will be cooled to a desired or anticipated need. For example If driving at a steady fast speed (highway) the engine will be heated to max to utilize max fuel efficiency from reduced friction, if accelerating aggressively and repeatedly the engine is cooled rapidly to produce more power. There are also few phases (different maps) in between. Each zone or phase uses map set points and target thresholds for key cooling components I.e water pump rpm, thermostat opening (it’s also controlled by the ECU via a wax heating element), electric fan speed rpm, velocity etc.

The biggest issue I’ve seen in the 13 years BMW has employed this approach is a lack of owner forewarning of impending water pump failure. The electric pumps can last 1 year or 12. They are not yet meeting the targeted op time (hours) consistently Unlike conventional belt driven pumps that have predictable MTBF and audible and visual signs (weeping) of failing, the electric pumps only have internal symptoms accessible via factory specific OBD. The water pumps perform continual self testing and record requested RPM vs Actual RPM. When the difference exceeds a threshold 3 times the engine ECU shuts down the electric pump and records this as a fault in the ECU. If the car is running at the time the engine reacts to an overheat and the needle and cluster warnings immediately shows an overheat but the ECU is also programmed to shut down the engine. The engine will not restart until the fault is cleared to prevent damage.

Savvy BMW enthusiasts check the DME regularly for water pump deviation errors which might imply a pending shutdown from DME diagnosed water pump failure.

New Aston vantage owners might be wise to get hold of a tool that can do a similar diagnosis.