Thermostat Gates or OEM BMW

PartReview Score

Rank #3 in ranking

4.3

Cabin heat

3.0

Overheating

4.5

Slow warm-up

1.2

Owners' choice:

Dodge RAM

PR Score

Ranking

Votes

Reviews

Average rating

Properties

Car

PartReview Score

Rank #9 in ranking

3.1

Cabin heat

3.0

Overheating

3.8

Slow warm-up

3.1

No data

Reviews

All

Gates

OEM BMW

Gates › Thermostat

Pavlov_Maddog 15 Dec 2025, 20:29

Overheating:

Rating 5.0

I only use Gates now after some cheap ones failed but didn't leak. Gates are very good. I have not had to replace one.

Pros: Gates are very good

Cons: cheap ones failed

OEM BMW › Thermostat

Valhallacomes 13 Dec 2025, 13:22

Rating 4.0

The gasket looks fine. Normal procedure would be to buy a new one from BMW. always go OEM with the thermostat, there's a lot of shit knockoffs.

Cons: shit knockoffs

OEM BMW › Thermostat

OkSheepherder1565 21 Nov 2025, 18:05

Overheating:

Rating 4.0

I recently moved on from a 2016 X3 35i (N55) with a little over 100k miles on it. The only things to break on it were the thermostat and a control board for one of the headlight modules. When I replaced the thermostat I did the water pump as a precaution.

Pros: only consumables

Cons: thermostat broke

Vehicle: BMW X3

Mileage: 160934 km

OEM BMW › Thermostat

SlackJK 7 Oct 2025, 22:34

Overheating:

Rating 5.0

My 535i with the 740d thermostat sits at 90-95 during normal use, even sat stable at 95c during 40c weather in traffic. When beating on it in the mountains got it up to 99 at like 28c ambient.

Pros: stable 90-95c temps

Vehicle: BMW

OEM BMW › Thermostat

DarthJapan 3 Oct 2025, 21:29

Overheating:

Rating 5.0

I have this exact engine and installed a diesel thermostat. Previously, with the standard thermostat, the plastic timing chain guides would start to disintegrate after three years, but now I have no problem with that. The engine temperature is around 96°C.

Pros: no guide disintegration

Cons: guides disintegrated (standard)

Vehicle: BMW

OEM BMW › Thermostat

TheTow 15 Jul 2025, 16:22

Overheating:

Rating 4.0

Thermostat is an bmw part so its fine

Pros: fine performance

OEM BMW › Thermostat

yello_downunder 8 Jan 2026, 05:50

Overheating:

Rating 3.0

Notice the radiator is leaking. Replace that. Car still not happy, cooling fans on full blast. Codes point to a thermostat, but the radiator hoses get warm. In my pea brain thermostats don't normally just sometimes go bad, they're typically either all broke or not broke. Ordered a thermostat from Trumplandia anyways.

Cons: expensive, complex design

Vehicle: BMW

Gates › Thermostat

catmanslim 10 Oct 2025, 03:21

Slow warm-up:
Overheating:
Cabin heat:

Rating 2.0

I installed a Gates one a couple months back and it worked well for a little while; engine got up to operating temp fairly quickly and stayed there, but now it’s running really cold no matter how long or how hard I drive it. Think it’s stuck open.

Pros: quick operating temp

Cons: running cold, stuck open

OEM BMW › Thermostat

martian_bot 18 Aug 2025, 18:27

Slow warm-up:

Rating 1.0

I bought from FCP euro one of the OE water thermostat and water pump. The thermostat sticks open since new so I get check engine light on my M54 engine.

Cons: thermostat sticks open

OEM BMW › Thermostat

deyaintready 1 Apr 2025, 23:40

Overheating:

Rating 1.0

I have had brand new bmw thermostats not work and cause my car to get hot on the highway.

Cons: thermostat not working, car overheating

Vehicle: BMW

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Which thermostat to choose — Gates or OEM BMW?

If choosing thermostat across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.

We compare thermostat across these categories:

Comparison of thermostat Gates and OEM BMW

PR Score.
Overall ranking.
Vote balance.
Average rating.
Number of reviews.
Feature ratings.
Car owners’ choice.

Which thermostat are better — OEM BMW or Gates?

In March 2026 on PartReview, thermostat Gates were overall better than OEM BMW.

Gates received a PR Score of 85 out of 100, and OEM BMW scored 60 points.
Gates ranked 3 in the overall ranking, and OEM BMW ranked 9.
The average rating based on reviews is the same for Gates (4.3) and OEM BMW (3.1).
Thermostat Gates have better feature ratings than OEM BMW:
- Cabin heat - owners believe, that by this property Gates does not differ from OEM BMW.
- Overheating - drivers claim, that this property for Gates is outperforms OEM BMW.
- Slow warm-up - reviews suggest, that this property for OEM BMW is preferred to Gates.

Which thermostat are more popular — Gates or OEM BMW?

In March 2026 on PartReview, thermostat OEM BMW were overall more popular than OEM BMW.

By vote balance, thermostat Gates surpassed OEM BMW:

For Gates, the ratio of positive (36) to negative (6) votes is 30 votes.
For OEM BMW, the ratio of positive (26) to negative (17) votes is 9 votes.

By number of reviews, the manufacturers are equal:

For thermostat Gates there are 14 reviews: 12 positive, 0 neutral, 2 negative.
For thermostat OEM BMW there are 14 reviews: 8 positive, 1 neutral, 5 negative.

Which thermostat do car owners prefer — Gates or OEM BMW?

In March 2026, according to PartReview, thermostat Gates led more car-specific ratings than OEM BMW:

Gates are chosen by owners of cars such as: Dodge RAM, and others.

Thermostat OEM BMW have not yet taken leading positions in car-specific ratings. You can help by adding a review and specifying your car.

Other comparisons of thermostat

If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.

For example, comparisons of thermostat Gates with: MotoRad, Wahler, OEM Volkswagen, Mahle, OEM Mazda, MOPAR, MISHIMOTO, OEM Nissan, OEM Audi, Duralast.

Also available: comparisons of thermostat OEM BMW with: MotoRad, Wahler, OEM Volkswagen, Mahle, OEM Mazda, MOPAR, MISHIMOTO, OEM Nissan, OEM Audi, Duralast.

You can also see who is better among other thermostat manufacturers: Wahler or MotoRad, OEM Volkswagen or MotoRad, Mahle or MotoRad, OEM Mazda or MotoRad, MOPAR or MotoRad.