My coolant level keeps dropping really low underhood and the light comes on on the dash, but I went and bought coolant, opened the hood, and the level was back to normal. Where is it all going? Should I add any when it's low if it's coming back? This just seems weird.
View 11 RepliesHave a small coolant leak. The level is dropping and I can smell it but I cant find it. The radiator was new at 100K miles and the heater core is bypassed. No evidence on or near the hoses, water pump or radiator. Getting ready to replace all the hoses because they are overdue but I would like to find the leak(s) first.
View 5 RepliesJust noticed my level is about an inch below the full mark, it was fine at the last oil change, no leaks that I can see....nothing on the ground.
View 8 RepliesAbout a month ago I noticed the coolant level looked a little low. I attributed it to the fact that the engine was warm after driving. Tonight the coolant light illuminated and the mfd states the level is low. Sure enough it's quite low.Is this normal for the R? I know my MK5 GTI burned oil like crazy. Should I be concerned?
View 2 RepliesI've got some problems going on with my 2001 VR6 Jetta. I was driving home from my way to work this evening and all of a sudden the indicator light came on and told me to stop and check the coolant level. Within about three minutes the car was already up to about 200. I pulled over to a gas station and the coolant reservoir was completely empty. So I began to pour coolant in the reservoir and fill it up I notice I was pouring a lot of coolant so I went to the hood looked on the driver side below the bumper and water/cool was pouring out everywhere. I inspected as many radiator hoses as I could and did not find any cracks. The water seem to be pouring out from around the thermostat housing. My question would be since I don't know whole lot about cars would they crack thermostat housing because you need to have this problem?
View 24 RepliesMy friend bartered for a '99 F250, 2wd/auto, 4 door, 7.3, 258k miles.
It had reportedly sat for one year, though the expired registration sticker and other things point to it sitting for two.
It ran low on oil, sputtered and died. Oil in the degas tank. Filled to oil to mid way on the hatch marks on the dip stick.
I drove it 25 miles to my house, and the oil level is not reading on the dip stick.
The sludgy fluid level in the degas tank is unchanged. Where is the fluid going?
I will refill the oil to see just how much it lost in the 25 miles if it important to someone, but I prefer to not waste the oil.
My first plan is to remove, inspect and replace the oil cooler o-rings. Even though the dealership charged him for this, I don't trust that they did it right. I think it is the easiest and mostly likely place for oil getting into the coolant.
It does have a really long crank before there is enough low pressure oil for it to start. At the moment I think this is a separate issue.
The dealership also charged him for a replacement injector. No idea if they replaced the cup or not.
On Sunday I'm driving to the store my LOW COOLANT light goes on. So I buy some coolant. I get home let the car cool off and check my radiator, it is full. My coolant recovery tank is also at the proper level.
Been three days already checked levels again and I'm not losing any coolant.
What the car is NOT doing:
1. Not losing fluid
2. Not running hot
I'm thinking coolant level sensor?
This morning I went to my car started it for 10 seconds the light on my dash said stop and to check coolant, I got a ride to get some coolant filled it up, drove to work than drove home after work and the coolant level is at the same place I filled it up as this morning. What happend that it was gone last night than fine today? 03 vw gti vr6 24v ....
View 6 RepliesLevel in the tank going down? I don't appear to have any leaks but it's now down to the "Min" level cold.
View 9 Replies95 caprice 4.3L V8 150,000 miles. I smell coolant every time i drive the car (everyday). Drives fine, doesn't overheat. Smell is not inside the car but when I get out and stronger as I walk towards front of vehicle or stick my nose to the grill. Low coolant light came on about 2,000 miles ago. i filled to proper level in the coolant tank and since then only has lost an inch or so. no leaks on the ground but distinct coolant smell every time. Anything to worry about?
View 1 RepliesI just did my 60k km service at dealer. And in the next morning, I found out that they pour too much G12 coolant into the reservoir. It is way more above the maximum line. I have booked another service appointment on next monday, but I am just wondering if the car still safe to drive?
View 2 RepliesUp until my last oil change at 105,000 miles, I didn't notice any oil usage. When draining my oil, it didn't look like it was quite 4 quarts. After the oil change, I ensured that I had the engine exactly topped off to the upper mark on the dipstick. Around 600 miles later, I parked in the same location and have noticed that the oil level has dropped enough to notice. I am guessing that I will lose well over a quart between oil changes. Before I resign to the normal mechanical reasons (rings, cylinder wear, etc.)
The loss doesn't seem to be gradual which has me looking for other explanations. I also had a Toyota mechanic go over the car and replace the other fluids and filters at 100,000 miles (coincidence I think ).
I bought an 04 F150 SCrew 5.4 3V a while back. The power steering fluid level keeps dropping. I have topped off the power steering reservoir at least 3 times in the last month and a half.
What's got me baffled is I can't find evidence of a leak anywhere. The hoses, the pump, or on the belt. I've crawled over & under it. I can't find anything anywhere.
For the last several days, most of the times I've started my car I've had the Red "Check Coolant Level" message on the MFD - accompanied by a tone / chime.
The first time it happened, I was a tad below Min, so I added a 'glug' of G13 to push it back up into the normal range. Everytime I've checked it since, the level is in the normal range.
So how is the level "sensed"? I had a new coolant reservoir put in about 18 months ago, so my "hope" is that it's not actually that (though those are really cheap).
Is there something else I should be cleaning / renewing? Maybe as simple as the electrical connection on the reservoir?
Turned my car on this morning and heard a long loud beep, i look at the car at its saying "Check coolant level low - Check owner's manual"
Turn the car off (engine still cold) pop the hood and coolant reservoir is almost bone dry, way below min level. Check underneath, no apparent leaks, no puddle, etc. Turn car back on, no warning light, drive to dealer, the service advisor looks at it and says there should be no way it's that low that soon.
He said in the morning its common for it to be low but after the engines warmed up it should be higher (and it was) but still below min level. He thought that it was strange and topped it off. Said to keep and eye on it and it will gradually gone down since its 40% water and when it slowly evaporates the level should go down.
So not sure if i have a leak or my car came with low coolant from the factory or something else even, but check your coolant levels
Noticed my coolant was going down. also realized my driver side radiator fan was not working. I ordered the part, im on that. But (1) should or can I still drive my car to work? Also would my driver side fan cause some of the radiator fluid to evaporate.?
View 24 RepliesThe last week or so, the coolant level low light has been coming on in my 04 Touareg V6, and I've noticed that it is leaking underneath the car. I've been keeping a close eye on the level, and filling it back up until I could get it into the dealer. They can't get me in until the 24th, so when I was under it last night changing the oil I checked it out.
It is dripping from a round plastic piece on the firewall with a square "knob" on it. This "knob" has what looks like a cross indented into it. It was dripping slowly while the car was on, and continues for a few minutes after it's been turned off. I originally thought it was the a/c condensation dripping off, but it's definitely antifreeze.
I fear that it's the heater core and that it is leaking from the inside, but I could just be paranoid. It should still be under warranty (34,000 miles).
So I recently bought a Chevy Impala with about 150,000 miles on it. The check engine light is on and sometimes it will tell me my coolant levels are low. I filled it up with coolant and the message still comes on sometimes. Also, when I'm driving, I can feel my rpms go way up when I press the gas, but they car won't accelerate for shit. Sometimes the check engine light will blink, which I've heard is for safety, and my car will barely accelerate at all. I can drive it around town easily the way it is now, but I don't want to risk ruining it. On top of that, my radio and lights will cut in and out sometimes and get better the more gas I give it.
View 3 RepliesI started to feel the brakes get spongy. So I pulled the master cylinder forward and turned the 7mm about a half turn. Also noticed the brake fluid level low. I topped it off. Drove down a steep hill....red dash brake light comes on.....plow truck stopped at the base of hill with on coming car. Used emergency brake.
The down side is that I don't have a dry area to pump and check where the leak is. The up side is I have a 2nd car to drive (yaris).....the truck only has 45k miles on it. Where is that area that is prone to leakage on these trucks....... 2004 heritage 4.2 v6 with stick shift.... only 45k miles ....
Okay so recently I was driving my 2000 Jetta and the coolant temp light came flashing on, when I went to check the coolant I was surprised to discover that it was like a mud brown color, almost looks like peanut butter. From everything I have read this can be from a few things, either rust build up that is gunking everything up and oil getting into the coolant somehow. I'm pretty sure its rust build up but I was wondering what everyone thinks about this, I was also not using G12 coolant which I'm told now is the premier brand for VW's.
View 3 RepliesI am working on my daughters 1999 Grand Am with the 3.4 L V6. I was told by a shop that the heads gasket(s) were blown and needed to be replaced.
Well, the front head, cylinders 2,4,6 showed a "clean" cylinder2 while 4 & 6 looked ok. The rear head had no visible signs of leaking to a cylinder. After cleaning and reassembly, everything appears to be in order except for;
When starting from cold, the engine runs for about 15-30 sec. and the radiator fans come on. I thought that this was strange since this didn't happen before and I was told by someone that the fans don't come on until the coolant temp reaches 230 degrees.
After running the vehicle for about 20 minutes the heat to the interior is very good. In fact its downright HOT. However, the temp gauge on the dash reads "100". Thinking I broke the sensor while I was working on it, I replaced the sensor. No change.
The "Low Coolant" light on the dash is on, yet the level in the surge tank is above the full cold mark. I've replaced this sensor twice. No change.