The "stop!" check level! alarm sounded as I was parked last evening...
Looked under car and a gigantic pool of coolant flooded under my car.
Where to look under the hood for loose or broken clamps or hoses that may be the culprit. Which hoses (color?) are the ones to check?
When I got the STOP check coolant level message on my 2002 Passat glx. I pulled over as soon as I could and then I began to over heat. The coolant level was good, actually it was a little high. The check engine light also was blinking. I replaced my water pump about 70K miles ago.
View 4 RepliesWhen I start up the car in the morning, the infamous "STOP!! CHECK COOLANT LEVEL" warning will come on, and then shortly thereafter it will go away. I topped off the coolant level (with the pink stuff of course) and yet this light will come on occasionally. It mostly comes on first thing in the morning when the car is started up and cold, and *sometimes* come on when the car is warm. Fluid level is all topped off. What gives?
I was reading that there is a fluid level sensor that sometimes goes bad? could this be it? I changed the coolant temp sensor back in the summer of this year. (not sure if that has anything to do with it?) Not sure if I have a leak, cause I look under the car in the morning and I have no spots of coolant anywhere.
Have 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 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.
I have 2010 explorer. I have to add almost 200 ml of coolant in my reservoir every week. there is no sign of a leak from anywhere even at thermostat manifold as well. but one question, when the car is running for at least 1 hour, the coolant level at reservoir shall be around FULL HOT Level and when car cools down overnight, it should be at around FULL COLD LEVEL. is it right? if yes, then my level remains little more than FULL COLD when the car is hot and when it cools over night, level goes little down than FULL COLD. like this every week I have to add almost 200 ml of coolant. radiator CAP is okay and I replaced it few months back. no apparent sign of leak. any clue what can be reason?
View 2 RepliesChanging my oil today, been awhile since I had the hood open for an inspection a year maybe about 5 - 6K miles
It's been about 2 years since the prior owner had it in for a service, I recall they had it in right before we purchased it in August 2008
I live in Miami Beach where it's HOT
I noticed the inverter coolant level is no longer at full It's hard to see where it's at, actually
It's not below low, and it seems to be at least up to the bottom of the double seam that wraps around the tank, but I can't see where it levels off behind the seam
Should I be concerned enough to take it in to the dealer and pay them to hunt around until they find a small leak, or is it normal to lose a small amount of coolant over the course of a couple years
Should I just buy their high priced Toyota Super Long Life Coolant and top off the extra 1/8-1/4" or so until it's at FULL?
Just 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 RepliesFor 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
I'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 RepliesSo 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 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?
At the end of last winter, I got the warning flash that my coolant level was low. So I topped up (about a pint or more)About 3 weeks later I had to go through the same scenario !! but then it started to get hot outside and my air conditioner mode took over and lo and behold - no more coolant loss.!!?? Now that winter and cold weather is back - so is my leak!!
So I run off to the local dealer and they get the car up. And drop the belly pan with the engine running and the heat cranked up. the mechanic said he found a dripping hose coming from UNDER the intake manifold.
The engine is a 2002 2.8 v6....
It's a 99 Passat 1.8 T
The last time it was checked: Last year around March-April
I have added a quart of recommended oil per the manual (the dipstick is now reading optimal oil). The warning is still on. What actions can be taken and what was the outcome? I am assuming that if the warning is not gone in the morning the sensor is bad.
View 10 RepliesI have a leak somewhere in my car. There are no spots left from my parking stall, or any visible wet spots under the hood, but my car continuously looses fluid somewhere. It disappears fast enough that in a 10 minute drive it can go from full to the coolant light and alarm going off on the dash.
View 1 RepliesHad the check engine light in the 2005 F150 (90,000 miles) come on. Got the code checked and its P0420. I know that has to do with the cat threshold levels etc. so I believe I am looking to replace the o2 sensor, if I am not mistaken.
How hard of a job is this? Ive done a decent amount of engine work and worked in a shop in high school. Just looking to see if that is the right thing to try first, replacing the sensor, before replacing the cat.
Also I know its the right bank, but if I am not mistaken there is a before and after the cat o2 sensor, which do i replace? Both?
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?
I'm a new owner of a used 2008 Prius. Car only has 67K miles and other than the leak, appears to be in good shape.
I noticed the coolant was low in both reservoirs, filled it up (with the proper SLLC), but a day or so later the check engine light came on. Took it to mechanic (dealer is 2 hours away), he read and cleared the codes, then found the leak. Appears to be leaking where the lower hose attaches to the pump, so not sure if it's the pump or the hose that's the problem. I've also noticed that the pump seems a bit noisy for a few minutes after shutting off the car (of course, I'm new to the Prius so not totally sure what "normal" sounds like).
I have a 2006 F-150 XL with the 4.2 V6, auto that has a slow coolant leak that I cannot find.
I bought the truck this spring, 190K, drives good, but it leaks coolant. I have added probably 3 gallons of water this summer, this does not bode well for winter.
I can't see any wet spots or steam, but do smell anti-freeze occasionally from outside the cab.
I don't really want to try easter-egging the repair (replacing things that might fix it).
How to find the leak? Or should I just use some form of stop leak.