Honda - Accord :: Reservoir Tank Losing Coolant - No Leak On The Ground
Dec 3, 2014
A few weeks ago my car over heated and stopped. I had it towed and the mechanic changed the water pump, timing belt, gasket cover and more. About two weeks ago I noticed antifreeze on my drive way. Took it back in and the mechanic changed a clamp on the radiator. it continued to leak antifreeze. I took it to Pep Boys for a pressurized test, they couldn't find a leak, but did say my radiator hoses needed changing and they suspect the radiator cap is the problem. That was a week ago. I just got back from vacation and the reservoir keeps getting low every day, but not at the minimum line since the first mechanic filled it to the top. There is not apparent leak under neath the car. No smell when I start. Oil is not milky. Called first mechanic he said sounds like a blown head gasket....
Car is Honda Accord 1999, 138K miles.
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So my civic has been running hot this week. Had plenty of antifreeze. Oil.changes and tuneup are up to date. Started running hot monday so I went ahead and changed the radiator cap and replaced the thermostat. Still running hot at this point and im losing all my fluid from the coolant reservoir. I run my heat as a guide to when I lose all fluid. Once the heat turns cold I pullover and refill it up. Oil isnt milky and no white smoke. Could it still be a bad head gasket? Possible water pump? Plan to flush the radiator tomorrow.
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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?
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My 2001 Civic sedan coolant reservoir was full after a long drive - with coolant blown out from the top. I am trying to isolate the problem.
1) I Did not notice if temperature gauge rose above the mid-point on the gauge.
2) I Discovered issue after 120+ drive on a hot day (90 degrees plus).
3) The car has almost 230,000 miles.
4) About 1,500 miles prior to this incident I removed my drive belt and replaced it with the shorter drive belt to circumvent the A/C compressor as it or the compressor clutch crapped out on me.
5) The morning after this occurred the coolant reservoir was still ful.
6) I removed the radiator cap and ran the engine for about 15-20 minutes. During this time I noticed the coolant in the radiator begin to rise into the fill neck area of the radiator - no bubbles or movement other than up into the neck area. The top hose was warm and then got hot but it seemed the bottom hose remained cold. I then throttled the gas briefly and nothing happened to include the radiator remaining off. The temperature gauge read just below the mi-point. I then throttled up to about 3,000 RPMs and coolant blew out of the radiator – about 1/2 to 1 liter of coolant came out. At that point, I shut everything down, installed the radiator cap, and cleaned up the coolant. I noticed the bottom hose appeared to now be much warmer than before the coolant blew out. The next morning the coolant reservoir was empty.
7) Today, about one week later, I applied power at both fans and both worked. I checked the relays and both registered no continuity across terminals 1 and 2 - as they should. I checked the radiator fan switch for continuity when cold and there was NO continuity across the contacts - as it should. I ran the engine for about 20 minutes with the radiator cap installed. The temperature reading rose to just below midpoint (normal) and stayed there. Radiator fan had not come on yet. I throttled up and nothing. Idled for several minutes and the temperature gauge rose to about ¾ of the way to “H.” I throttled the engine to look for smoke from the tailpipe – there was none (there is no history of any kind of smoke coming from the exhaust of my civic). I throttled up again, the temperature gauge dropped quickly below the mid-point, and the radiator fan came on for the first time. After the fan kicked off the temperature gauge again rose to ¾. I hit the gas, the temperature gauge dropped quickly to below mid-point, and then the fan came on again.
I was thinking this could be a blown head gasket but now I am questioning my initial thoughts. As of right now there is no coolant in the reservoir. One would think if the head gasket was blown that I would continue to get fluid in the reservoir even with the lost ~1 liter from my earlier test. I checked my engine oil dipstick and it looks clean - just oil. Nothing unusual visible when oil fill cap removed. Wy my coolant reservoir would have filled, blown over, not empty when cooled, only to empty out by the next morning after blowing 1/2 to 1 liter. This has been a loyal car (other than the recent loss of A/C) and I would like to see if I can get 250,000+ miles out of her with no serious maintenance.
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So i have a 1996 honda accord, it has 253k miles, i know, alot of miles. Well, i noticed it has been losing coolant pretty fast, i would fill it up with coolant and it would run out by the next day. I also notice that when i am sitting still, it runs hot, not sure if that goes along with it losing coolant rapidly or if that could be something else. I checked my oil dipstick the other day, it doesn't seem to have coolant mixing in with the oil, so i don't think it would be a head blown, i know i do need a gasket changed, but not an actual head for the engine. I haven't noticed any coolant in my driveway, then again I shouldn't have a leak, i just had the radiator, thermostat, water pump and the bell housing all changed a couple months ago. I also noticed that i am running low on oil more often as well. The other day, after i topped it off with oil, it was blowing out white smoke off and on and then it stopped, what could that be?
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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?
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The engine oil is being sucked into the cooling system and filling up the coolant recovery tank. It's a peanut butter mess. The radiator is loaded also and I can't what the passages in the block look like. Some say its a head gasket but why would crank case be empty. I would think there would be coolant mixed with oil in the crankcase. I think its a engine porous issue. The vehicle was bought used with 133k miles and a 3 month warranty.
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I have a '98 Honda Civic with 230K miles on it. Last month, I suddenly saw few drops of coolant on my garage floor. I opened the hood and saw coolant splashed over the engine. I opened the coolant reservoir and it was empty. Surprisingly, the car never overheated and neither did the temp needle go up. I took the car to the mechanic (Honda shop) and they said that the radiator is leaking. I replaced the radiator and after driving for couple of weeks, the same issue re-occurred.
The coolant ran low in the reservoir and there was coolant splash over the engine. I took the car back to the shop and they said that the hose was not properly installed. They fixed it and said there is no sign of leak. I have been driving for a week now and check the coolant routinely. I have noticed that the coolant level has again dropped significantly. But, after the last fix, I do not see any visible sign of leak. There is no evidence of coolant anywhere under the hood. I am not sure if there is something else going on now. Is there something else I should check?
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I have a 1996 Honda Accord 4 cyl. with 150 K miles. Had a coolant leak that the shop fixed. About 60 days later, same problem. I have to refill radiator every other day. What I noticed is a brown soft muck buildup at the radiator cap area. Also the car seems to run rough on and off. The underside of the oil cap is clean, no carmel color ( oil and coolant mixture) buildup.
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I 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?
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I have a 2000 Dodge Neon with a 2001 Neon motor in it. I have just recently had problems with the car overheating. So we started diagnosing it and replaced parts that we thought were wrong. We replaced the water pump, thermostat, radiator cap, and timing belt. The problem that I am having is that the car won't take coolant out of the reservoir tank. I have bled the air out of the cooling system and it still didn't fix the problem.
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2000 Chrysler 300M with 142K miles. Was a very reliable car until recently.
Problem began with boiling coolant in the reservoir tank. Then began to lose coolant at a high rate. I tried stop leak products and replaced the coolant frequently for a couple months. Some of it kind of worked, but the problem always returned. The car drives fine for about 10 highway miles then begins to steam out from under the hood on the passenger side. It gets about half way up the temp gauge, but does not really overheat. I usually stop when it steams out, let it cool, replace the antifreeze, then do it all over again. I've also tried a bunch of other things too, e.g., radiator flush. None of it worked.
The mechanic wants to replace the radiator. Says the system does not have pressure so there's no real way to determine if there are leaks in the engine. But he does know that the radiator is no good. I'm okay to replace radiator, but don't want to do it just to find out ten minutes later that I have a blown head gasket, which I would opt not to fix. I have read the tell tale signs of a blown head gasket, such as coolant in the oil, but there is none. My exhaust is white, but it's 5 degrees outside and it doesn't look whiter. I have seen some coolant on the ground at times.
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Aside from other issues I am having with my prius, this was one lurking. I originally thought the prius was "using" the coolant insufficiently. Anyhow, I bought this prius from a private dealer....(know how that goes)......
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Why 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.
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Have a 2002 V6 in the family that's losing coolant at a rate of about an expansion tank every 3 -4 weeks.
I have searched all around with a flashlight, don't see any signs of coolant residue near the radiator, expansion tank or cap, water pump, or heater core connections. Heater core does not smell like coolant. Exhaust does not smell sweet or does not steam once the car is warmed up.
I pressure tested the cooling system on up to 18-20 PSI and still can't find any evidence of anything leaking out anywhere.
I'm going to change the upper and lower radiator hoses this weekend in the thought that maybe it's a pinhole leak once hot and under pressure (I pressure tested cold). Any common things I'm missing where it may leak?
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So I have a 2005 Dodge Stratus. It must be a year old model because most of the parts and engine wise are of the 2006 model. Well earlier in Feb/March I had to get my timing belt and heads changed due to the bending. After that my car was working fine, but my coolant overflow tank kept losing coolant. Had that fixed with the repair shop as well. After that it seemed that my car was working well. Then it started to overheat, and I was informed that my lower radiator hose had a small leak. I had that fixed as well. This is when the constant overheating started.
I assumed that the air needed to be removed from the system. So I had it bleed, and then it seemed to work well, but that was not true seeing as my car continued to overheat of the cold air was on. The only thing that keeps it working is if I turn the heater on. That cools the system off. So now everyday I have to keep letting air out of the radiators, and run the heater if it gets too hot.
I just noticed today that my thermostat housing bolts have coolant on them whenever the engine gets to hot. Do you think it's not right enough, or my radiator cap may be bad?
Replacements:
Head gasket
Thermostat
Radiator hoses
I believe the cap of the radiator as well.
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So 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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Yesterday 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.
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Coming out the piece right behind the oil reservoir out a little hole whats this leak coming from...
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My son drives a 99 Honda Accord with over 180k miles.Today as he turned a corner, the lights dimmed and the gauges baled to zero and then all went back to normal- happened within seconds. No loss of steering or braking control.
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2000 Honda Accord. Power steering fluid is coming up and out of the reservoir when the car is shut off. I recently had to take the hose off and move it out of the way just to make it easier to replace the belt. Lost some fluid and put more back in. And now this. Also is whining when you turn the steering wheel. What do I do?
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