It has happened to me several times.. The car asks me for coolant but today the reservoir was almost completely empty... I have no leaks and my cooling systems is working fine so where does the coolant go?
View 6 RepliesI just purchased a 2015 sonata last Friday from a large non Hyundai dealer. An hour ago while upgrading my headlights i noticed the coolant reserve tank was completely empty. I am going to check the main radiator level tomorrow because the engine was still hot at the time. I am hoping it is not a blown head gasket, i did remove the oil cap and noticed a very small amount of greyish oil in the cap threads other than that it looked good directly under the cap and inside the hole. Should i call my local Hyundai dealer or just fill the tank back up? I am wondering if it just burned off over time and the original owner never filled it back up. Also what type of coolant is compatible?
View 6 Replies2010 MKVI GTI ... Woke up this morning and there was a puddle under my car. Reservoir was completely empty. I jacked it up and got a look under while running some coolant through and think I found the leak.
What this is, and if it's leaking as it appears to be and if a choad can fix it, or if a certified mechanic must be engaged.
It seems to be dripping all along this clam shell along these star nuts.
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1999 Honda CRV. Just took a 3-hour highway trip. Before trip I topped up coolant reservoir which was a little low, but radiator was full. I did notice some dried white spots on the front of valve cover and spark wires. Wasn't sure what it was, but now realize it was coolant residue. Probably only 1-2 cups were missing from the reservoir, so the leak had just started.
After 3 hour trip, checked engine compartment again. This time the reservoir was totally empty (radiator still full) and the engine was well sprayed with greenish coolant residue. The radiator was cool by the time I checked it, so the leak source wasn't obvious, but it looks to be coming from the seam where the plastic top meets the aluminum.
I will replace the radiator when I get home, but first have to drive the 3-hour return trip. Will it be OK as long as I start full of coolant and keep an eye on the temp gauge?
I was driving my 2008 Santa Fe last week (before I went on vacation) and noticed the the A/C wasn't coming through quite a cool as usual (almost felt like the vent was on w/ no AC). Then after about 10 minutes of driving I noticed the thermostat on the car get to about the 3/4 line pretty close to the red lines.
Luckily I was home so turned the car off and popped open the hood. I noticed the reservoir tank was empty and there was some coolant that dripped down on the fans & a small pool of coolant on the engine block right under where the oil is poured. (nothing has been dripping under the car)
I added a little coolant to the reservoir tank and the next time I turned it on and let it run for ~10 minutes, it was the same thing.
Anyway, I came back from vacation and opened the hood to try and identify exactly where the leak was, and ran the car for ~30 minutes, with A/C on full blast and the car didn't overheat or leak anywhere. Coolant tank was still full from when I filled it the first time.
What could have caused the leak/overheating in the first place?
While servicing the bosses 121k 6.0, I noticed the coolant resevoir empty. It took 1 1/2 gallons to bring to proper level. Returning under truck to install drain plug, I noticed coolant coming from rear of the engine(right side). And of course Ford has changed the cooling system cap, so I wasn't able to pressure test it to pinpoint the leak. Started the engine and seen coolant coming from the left rear as well. I've been reading here to see what others have been seeing, (EGR cooler, head gaskets). With all the heat shields,not much room to look.
After work I did go and buy the adapter to test the cooling system. With any luck I will be able to see leak better.
So I noticed some grinding noises in my Mk IV VR6 the other day... checked my PS Reservoir and it was empty. Topped it up with some Pentosin, then 3 days later it was dry again. Looked underneath the car and the steering racks were drenched...
View 10 RepliesYesterday after getting to work i noticed a few drips from under the front of the car, at first i shrugged it off thinking maybe it was condensation or whatever. After coming back to my car about 5 hours later it had made a good sized puddle under the car and i knew something wasn't right. Well on my lunch i got under it and collected the liquid only to find that it was coolant. To make matters worse on the drive home my temp gauge would go to operating temp then drastically drop to almost cold temp.. weird. And last but not least when i parked the car at home i noticed that the cooling fans did not stay on after the car was off, since it was about 95deg this seemed wrong. Took the car to the dealer this morning and I'm hoping its just a loose pipe or something little and not anything that will keep it in the shop for a long time. Car is completely stock except for cat back exhaust, 12,000 miles on the odo.
View 6 RepliesI have a 2006 3.5L Sante Fe. and i noticed there were coolant drips under the car and that my coolant reservoir was empty. In the engine bay below what i assume is the water pump i noticed the coolant pooling (See Photos). I am not sure if the seal is bad where the top radiator house connects to the water pump (circled in red, or if the thin metal line (circled in Blue) sitting in the coolant pool would have anything to do with it, since it seems to trace back to the radiator.
View 4 RepliesBack in February, received a light and discovered that the inverter coolant reservoir was empty. I refilled the reservoir and cleared the code. Today, only 3 months later, the same thing happened. I don't see any wet hoses, puddles, or obvious signs of leakage. Where all my coolant is going? What steps should I use to properly troubleshoot...
View 8 RepliesWas under the hood today and noticed the coolant tank is completely empty. Car hasn't overheated or anything...just odd that it apparently wasn't filled correctly from the factory. It should be in the middle of the high and low markings, correct?
View 60 RepliesToday, I was greeted by a big red STOP! warning from my 2000 Passat 6 cylinder. The car drove fine last night. The coolant reservoir appears empty and has brown residue all over the inside. I notice for the first time that there is pink fluid on the floor -- I'm assuming this is the G12 coolant.
It's not a hot day, so I put in distilled water, turn up the heat and drive my Passat (trying to stay under 2k rpm) down to the dealer. They say that the coolant from the oil cooler leaked into the oil (and presumably, vice-versa).
2008 Santa Fe 2.7 105k miles Timing belt replaced two years ago at 80k miles I have no smoke, no sweet smell, no milk on oil dipstick, oil looks as clean as honey, no crustiness anywhere, no wet spots under hood or car. Yet my coolant reservoir was empty when I did my last oil change two mos. ago. I filled it up then. Today I checked it was just below the min. line. Car runs like a top, but I'm going to have a pressure test done today. I thought head gasket issues were very rare in these cars.
View 17 RepliesI noticed recently that I have a coolant leak in a used car that I got a few months ago. I've been driving this thing pretty regularly at this point, but I haven't noticed any overheating. The engine temp stays shy of the midpoint line on the meter, both at speed and in idle.
The coolant reservoir was empty a little over a month ago, so I filled it up. A few days ago, I took a look at it, and it was empty again. I refit a hose that was a little loose and decided I'd just wait and see what happened after driving it some. Over the past few days, I've noticed slight decreases in the coolant level each day.
Today was no different, except that after I drove for about 15 minutes on probably the hottest day of the year so far (about 95 degrees, don't know if that matters at all), I noticed there was coolant sprayed on the hood. I opened the hood and there was quite a bit of coolant pooled on the far left of the radiator top, right between the coolant reservoir and the radiator pressure cap. What's going on here?
So the car broke down on my wife while on the way to work again. This time the coolant is completely drained from the system. It is all over inside the engine compartment so it's impossible to tell where the leak actually is. Within the last year we have replaced the pump and thermostat so I am going on the assumption that neither of those are an issue at this point.
Although I figure a stuck Tstat might cause too much pressure to build up and blow a line. Ill cross that bridge when the time comes. I also assume there should be nothing wrong with just putting water in there just to find the leak and then of course draining and putting the proper fluids in. Is this a wise course of action to take? You never know with these German things. I would of course use the same type of water that is used to mix with the coolant already.
My wife also stated that she did not see any smoke coming out of the tailpipe and only the engine. This means the engine itself should be safe and no gasket blew inside.
1,500 miles ago my car had it's 30k service. Today, i got "CHECK...". At home this evening i checked the inverter coolant reservoir, it was empty. I've added 1L of de-ionised water (which got it to full, and i see turbulence in the fluid) until i can get the correct fluid.
View 13 RepliesHad overheating issue with the wife (she doesn't monitor fluid levels like she should). Now you can't operate it for more than a day or two before the reservoir is super low to empty. Mechanic coolant is going into the engine, probably through the intake manifold. Says investigating further will cost a ton. What can I do cheaply to figure out what's going on before I give up? I followed her when the engine was started from cold & could see water vapor (more than I would expect) in the exhaust until when I figure the engine reached full operating temp. It has about 225k and is the 6 cyl engine, btw.
View 1 RepliesI've got an '08 Cobalt. There is a large leak in my coolant system. The plastic reservoir is empty and if I add coolant and start the engine it all gushes out of a hole in a piece of plastic on the side of the radiator. Can I drive it to the shop if I watch the engine temperature or should I have it towed? Is the engine temperature measurement affected by the lack of coolant?
View 6 RepliesWhy my 96 dodge neon is leaking coolant. I was checking my oil and I noticed the reservoir tank was half empty, so I assumed it was nothing out of the ordinary since it's a 17 year old car. When I filled it though, it came pouring out of the tube that sits right under the tank. I'm capping it off every day before I drive and it holds, but it's definitely got a slow leak. It seems to only hold it for 4 days of driving for an hour. My temperature gauge stays at the normal level, but you can smell the antifreeze burning and the engine's running hot. I'm not too mechanically inclined, but what could be wrong with it? I've recently installed a new alternator and clutch cable and found out my valve cover gasket is leaking. I really want to save this car instead of getting a new one.
View 2 RepliesI have an '01 GTI VR6 and I was driving a couple weeks ago when my coolant light came on. I popped the hood and the reservoir was basically empty. I filled it up with 50/50 g12 and water but it was all gone in about a week. I put water in the car and ran it to see where coolant was leaking from and the only thing I noticed was some brownish colored water dripping off that black ball near the oil pan(I'm guessing it was dripping onto it and not from it). What can I do to find out for sure what's causing the leak and what needs to be replaced? One person told me that my water pump and radiator could be rusted.
View 4 RepliesSo I started the car today, proceeded to back out, and the STOP: check coolant light message comes on. I check the coolant reservoir, and its near empty. Then I notice a puddle. Filled it back up and let it run for a bit. No leak. Looked at the front of the engine and didn't see any leaks.
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