Dodge - Stratus :: 2004 Running Hot Than Usual / Strong Smell Of Antifreeze
May 23, 2011
My 2004 Dodge Stratus has been spiking hot on the temperature gauge recently. For the last few days it has had a strong smell of antifreeze. I haven't seen and dampness on the passenger side floor board, so I don't think it is the heating coil. Seems to have been running a little hotter than usual recently (week). Coolant levels seem to be in good shape. Doesn't look low when hot or cool. Fan seems to be running when the car is on.
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My daughter has a dodge stratus 2001 with about 150,000 miles she has had it for about 2 years. She has had it over heat a couple of times and has had it repaired simply fixing a radiator hose. It overheated again and it was almost empty of antifreeze. She has been filling up and checking the radiator level and fills it as needed, which could be daily or now only weekly. She took it to a mechanic who thought it was a blown valve-cover gasket and basically said the car repair would be more than the car is worth. I have a feeling the car did not get really checked out. She didn't really know this guy and took it there because it was close to her. She is still driving it, but only short distances and always stops before it over heats. She really cannot afford another car for a least another year.
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I know if you smell antifreeze when you turn on the heater that is a bad thing. I don't have this issue, but when I walk into the garage after my wife turns off the van I get a whiff of what smells like antifreeze. There isn't a leak that I can find and nothing on the floor the garage out the normal.
2006 Dodge Grand Caravan 80K miles
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My 2010 Dodge Caliber has been leaking anti-freeze very slowly. I notice it when I start the car up and for the first minute I can actually smell the antifreeze coming through the vents when I have the air on. If I park the car and go in to the grocery store for a few minutes and start it up again the smell doesn't re-occur. I imagine I have a leak somewhere that is dripping onto the engine and when the car starts up from cold it burns it which is sending that smell through my vents.
I was told a while ago it could be the heater core, however I would assume that if it was the heater core I would have had a fog up on my window or a constant smell, not one that dissipates after a minute.
I had this problem last year except I was losing a lot of antifreeze (about a whole reservoir in 3 - 4 days. The problem was found to be a broken clamp on one of the hoses. This time however I cannot find any broken clamps or a source of the leak for that matter. I did notice that when I shut the car off the one time, and checked under the hood of the car I seen one air bubble spring up from the reservoir tank. I cannot see any signs of a leak from under the hood. However under the car I can see it is dripping from the frame, but not where it is coming from.
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My car was running rough, with white smoke and strong gas smell coming from exhaust. It died out on me a few times as if it was not getting enough acceleration. Well, I coded it and said misfire cylinder 3 and 4. I also tried to shut down 3 and 4, but did not shut down. I switched 3 and 4 with 1 and 2, still did not shut down cylinders 3 and 4. Engine coils are good, engine module was tested and passed twice. Ok, fuel injectors 3 and 4 were leaky and I changed them out. New spark plugs and boots. New oil and filter..(There was gas in my oil and oil in my air filter.) With the new parts....my car sounds soooo much better!!! still a little rough, does not bog down, but it still has the strong gas smell and white smoke from exhaust..(gas smell soo bad I had to open all doors to the garage!!) What else could be wrong?!?! I'm getting frustrated!! It also has NOT ever over heated, does not run high.
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1994 reg cab 4.ol 13ok.. my wife just got it, been doing some small things like replaced dome light, replaced cargo/third brake light, truck starts and seems to run ok. but i get a headache in it which i believe is carbon monoxide, has a leak or something? i text previous owner, he said he replaced 02 sensors, but didnt say if they were bosch or a good brand.. also trucks has a oil pressure and coolant temp gauge fitted on by the gear shift as the dash gauges for those functions are out. Does this mean the CTS may not be working and affecting fuel/air I do not know these trucks i only just found out what this strange silver looking thing was it is the IAC, I Believe, then there is this black plastic vacuum type cylinder by the passenger side firewall, what is that? and right against the drivers side fire wall is a small reservoir type thingy, is this something to do with ABS? i do have an ABS light on, was hoping it was the bulb out on the third brake light or something quirky like that no such luck its still on after starting engine. but i am concerned about this running rich/strong smell as we really cant take it far as is it, its dangerous, may have to get a smoke test? Just got the truck, trying to get caught up..
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I have a 99 Dodge Stratus 4 cyl 2.4L, automatic.
It has been idling rough for a few months now. It feels just like it is misfiring. Tach confirms quick dip in rpm then return to normal idle. It has never actually stalled, just a quick rpm dip and subsequent shuddering, then recovers for a few seconds.
Also runs very rough, at 47-48 mph under light "cruising" load. Sounds crazy, but it does (did, see below) not happen at 45 or 50, just in the 47-48 mph range. Again, it feels like bad misfiring, with the car losing a lot of power and shuddering until I accelerate/decelerate away from this speed range.
NOW, over the last few days, the rough riding has gotten a lot worse, and occurs at all speeds. It is worse under load (mild acceleration, hills). Still feels like misfiring. Loss of power makes it hard to maintain speed up hills, at any speed. Also, today for the first time in its life the car backfired while trying to accelerate up a hill from a stop, at a speed of about 15 mph.
When idling, I can occasionally smell gas.
So, the coils are 2 years old, spark plug wires are 2 years old, spark plugs are 2 weeks old and air filter is 4 days old. Check engine light is NOT on and there are no error codes as of yesterday. Fluids are all good, except I am about the kick the stupid thing until it bleeds. Parts store suggested Idle Air Control Valve, but I am dubious, as this now happens at all speed.
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My 2004 Dodge Stratus with 2.7l V6 has been good to me, now up over 140K miles. Lately, though (twice), I drove it a under a mile, shut it off, and when I returned to it could not get it to start. It turned over just fine, but didn't seem to be firing. When I returned several hours later, it started, running roughly for awhile. Once it smoothed out, it ran just fine, and I've had no other problems. My mechanic had a similar problem with a Dodge pickup of the same year, and it turned out to be the crankshaft sensor. Is there anything else we should be suspecting?
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2004 Dodge Stratus 80K... What happened is my check engine light came on maybe 6 months ago and I took it to have it looked at and they were closing but the guy told me don't worry about it and I be ok until I come back and it probably wasn't a big deal. The light went off a day or two so I didn't worry about it. It came on about a week ago and I haven't had time to take it in yet. So here is the chain of events-
Check engine light (6 months ago approx)Check engine light off (couple days later)
Check engine light (1-2 weeks ago)
Put my car in drive, transmission didn't engage right away. I thought I had it in neutral by mistake. then it engaged.(about a week ago)
Same thing happened last night except it took longer for it to kick in and when I ran into the store and came out, it backed up ok but wouldn't go in drive right away. I thought it was because it was freezing) out and maybe needed to warm up better. (we had a terrible ice storm here in Washington).
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I have a 2004 Dodge Stratus (165,000 Miles). The check engine light has been on for at least eight months. I took it to have it checked out and the mechanic said ''there is a very small crack in the exhaust line''. Well, now if I turn the car on cold, it shakes all over and sometimes will turn off. It smells like straight exhaust.
Yesterday I started the car and the check engine light flashed for a good minute, then stayed on. Also, when I get out from a normal drive, you can smell gas. Plain ole gas.
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I have a 2004 Dodge stratus recently it makes a really loud noise for like 15 seconds then stops if I have the heat or air on. If I don't have it on it doesn't make the sound but either way after 15 mins of driving white smoke will come out of the passenger side and a funny smell. It starts fine isnt overheating, and drives fine.
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My front brakes have never been right in this car. Rotors go bad within a few thousand miles of being replaced. I don't drive fast or anything like that. After years of paying for new rotors at every brake job with Firestone, I decided to do it myself. I put new rotors and pads on a year ago and they went bad in a few months - they feel warped again. I took the rotors off and took them to O'Reilly to get them turned but a micrometer revealed they're not warped, just showing uneven pad wear. The tech said maybe I have a bad caliper. When I did the brake job nothing seemed wrong; both pistons went back into the calipers without issue. Now I'm thinking about replacing both front calipers and pads, but I don't want to waste more money. How do I tell if the calipers are bad and if they are can I fix or replace?
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My 06 Prius seems to be a little louder than usual when the motor is running. What could be going on? Just had the hybrid battery, water pump and belt replaced, but it still seems to be making the same noise.
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I have a 2004 Jetta w/ the 2.0 engine, auto transmission. Lately it has developed a very gassy smell when idling. Could be all the time I guess, but I only ever notice it when idling. It seems more noticeable on the passenger side of the car, or maybe my wife just has a better sense of smell than I do since she noticed it before I did.
The car seems to run fine, about the same as it always has. The idle is slightly rough, but it has been like that ever since I got the car. I got it with about 110,000 miles on it and had the timing belt and water pump replaced as soon as I got it. Mileage now is about 130,000. No info on the maintenance history of the car, but when I had the timing belt changed they said it looked like it was probably the original one.
The check engine light has never come on. I think I'm due for some new spark plugs so I was going to be replacing them soon anyways. Not sure what to check out here that might be causing this?
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I'm possibly being paranoid, but twice, after hard driving, my Prius has smelt strongly of burnt plastic/rubber.
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I bought a 2004 Santa fe with the 2.4 engine not running. It will not get spark, it is getting fuel I can smell it strong after cranking...It has a new crank position sensor, I took the timing cover off to verify. Whoever put the sensor on cut the wires and soldered/ heat shrink them back together obviously because they didn't want to remove the timing belt. It Also it has a new ignition failure sensor, all fuses are good, there was a spare computer in the vehicle which I tried still no luck. I took loom off and looked at the harness and can't find anything.
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My umbrella and few other items stowed in prius for some months now has a strong plastic/rubbery prius smell. How do I stop/reduce the smell at the source? There seems to be some discussion on its origin but no mention on how to reduce this.
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I have a 2004 Subaru Legacy Wagon with around 90,000 miles on it. I purchased the car in 2008 with about 26,000 miles on it. Starting two years ago, whenever the air temperature is below 15-20 degrees, my car will develop a smell of antifreeze in the cabin when I start it and let it warm up for a minute or two. It did not do it for the first winters I owned it. I have not been able to detect the smell outside of the vehicle, and I have not been able to detect the smell in the summer months, even if the car is left idling for several minutes. The White Whale (my cars name according to my wife) was worked on by my local mechanic (where the car was purchased) last winter. They considered and replaced the thermostat, a leaking (or at least they thought it was possibly leaking) hose, and then finally after consulting over the phone with the Subaru dealer that is a little over 45 miles from my house, decided that the problem was likely the head gasket.
So at around 65,000 miles I had the head gasket replaced by the Subaru dealer. Problem is, they replaced it in March, and the temps were high enough that I couldn't really tell if the fix had fixed the original problem or not. It had seemed that the smell was at least less intense, but hard to tell. So, here we are in the midst of January, yesterday the car started beautifully (which is one reason that I love this car) after sitting outside all night at -11 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chills down to below -30. Last winter, in these conditions, the smell would be so strong that I would get nauseated driving the entire 15 minutes to work.
This winter, since the repair, the smell seems limited to only the first idling time. After that, the cabin seems to get cleared out with fresh air, and the smell dissipates. There have never been any check engine lights, the oil and coolant levels have never been a problem, the temperature is never higher than just above the mid-line on the gauge which has stayed the same all throughout the time I've owned it, and performance has been completely unaffected by the smell, other than my performance as a driver when trying to navigate in a car that reeks of antifreeze. Also, I have never noticed what some describe as a haze or liquid building up on the windshield when a heater core goes out and my mechanics, both dealership and local, assured me that this was not the problem.
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I have a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe with a 3.5L engine and 92,000 miles.
For the past week or so, I have noticed a very slight smell of antifreeze/radiator fluid every once in a while. I assumed that it is a radiator hose leak or possibly a leak in the heater core. But, the vehicle does not overheat, there is no steam or fog inside that would indicate a possible heater core leak, and the radiator fluid level seemed full or almost full (although the radiator overflow container was empty). I added a little water to the radiator and filled the overflow container to make sure there was plenty of radiator fluid in the system.
I haven't seen any radiator fluid on the ground around the vehicle at anytime. When I open the hood, I don't see any leaking hoses. I took off the engine cover to see better, and I don't see any leak around the water pump, or dripping from the pump, or dripping from any hoses, etc. But, BELOW the water pump is something made of cast metal that I am guessing is the automatic transmission(?) -- I really don't know what it is. And, sitting in some valleys or crevices in that part are small pools of green fluid that clearly looks and smells like radiator fluid with antifreeze.
I ran the vehicle for a long time while watching to see if I could create or see the leak or anything dripping etc. But I don't see anything other than
those pools of green liquid just sitting there. I tried moving or wiggling the hoses, and nothing changed. I also tried keeping it running with the heat on high, then later with the AC on high -- still no change. Then I tried using paper towels and sopping up what I could that was in these valleys/crevices, then I drove it again (but only for about 4 miles so far) and I don't see any new fluid in the crevices or anywhere else.
Here are 5 photos that I took with the engine cover off while the green fluid was still there. The photos go from a wider angle overall view down to a view of the green puddles from a slight angle and then down to a top view of the green puddles.
[URL] ....
Where you may see dark areas on the water hoses near the water pump, they are just shadows created by the flash or the sun or whatever. The hoses themselves are all one color and are not wet etc.
My questions:
Am I correct that where the small green puddles are is the automatic transmission?
Is it possible that there is some connection between that (the automatic transmission(?)) and the radiator cooling system?
Is it possible that the cooling system somehow also cools the automatic transmission (or whatever that is)?
If so, could the leak be right there -- maybe where that bolt or the other wire/connection piece is -- and the radiator fluid is coming UP from there? What this may be or where the leak is coming from?
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I was warming up my wife's 07 Expy the other day. Yes, I know this is the F150 forum but it's essentially the same drive train and there are more users in this forum. So anyway, it was a cold day so I started the truck to let it warm up for 10 minutes. When we went to leave I could smell anti freeze in the truck. The truck wasn't over heating, there were no puddles underneath it. I opened the hood and there was no obvious leak anywhere. The only thing I noticed was a spritz of droplets all over the intake cover and other black surfaces were it stood out. It was as if the engine had sneezed out some anti freeze, but no visible sign of where it might have come from. It's running fine and hasn't done it again since.
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I have a 08 f-150 with a 5.4. Started smelling anti-freeze in the cab, with that classic windshield haze of a leaking heater core. I don't have anything on the floor, nor is the engine heating up. Temp gauge is where it always is. This doesn't smell all the time.I just drove 4 1/2 hrs. with no problems. Other than the heater core ?
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