I checked the coolant level on the reservoir and it was low.
I decided to add coolant by removing the radiator pressure cap, however, the coolant fluid is full under this cap.
So my question is where should I add coolant? through this cap or the reservoir?
2006 with 58000 miles. Never noted overheat or leak on garage floor. Fluid level low in coolant reservoir. Dealer wants to replace water pump.
View 2 RepliesMy wifes 2002 gls has a coolant leak from the top radiator hose. I put a new hose on and two new clamps on the leaking end and it still leaks!! I have never seen anything like this and I am not sure how to stop it.
View 3 RepliesI just picked up a 2014.5 Camry (my 1st Toyota) and how full the windshield washer reservoir should be at max level. Now hear me out before you fall off your chair from hysterical laughter, if I fill up the reservoir up to the lid like every other car I have owned, after a short drive it will go down and be below the filler neck, clear down under the fender even though I haven't sprayed the washer fluid.
I haven't seen any fluid dripping but I believe I have a leak. Sounds pretty cut and dry but I'm asking just incase Toyota has a weird fill level on the washer reservoir.
Windshield washer fluid light is on but reservoir is full.
View 8 RepliesWhen the car has been running awhile the coolant reservior and radiator make a boiling sound. It really only does it when it's been at idle for a bit. Radiator is full. Fan doesn't seem to come on after it has been running awhile but does when you turn on air. At what temp should it come on? The temp gauge never goes above the middle point so it stays in normal range, even when the tank are radiator are gurgling.
View 2 RepliesI have a 99 Honda civic LX 4 cyl. There is an oily residue in the coolant reservoir an on the fill tube but when the radiator is opened the coolant is clean. The car is using oil but not running rough or hot. There is no tailpipe smoke or evidence of leakage. I am planning to do a compression check and look at the plugs.
View 5 RepliesMy 2000 Accent with 164,000km is not overheating but is dumping coolant into the reservoir so that the radiator is about a quart low. I did have a few problems with it overheating in the past month, but that was solved by thermostat removal (always above 80F here). I stopped before the overheats reached the redline and allowed the engine to cool before continuing, no known adverse performance during the overheats. No water in oil.
Failed troubleshooting:
Drained and replaced coolant x3
New radiator cap
* No thermostat.
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 have a 2011 SE I4 with roughly 12k on it. Here's my problem: The past few days, I've been smelling something sweet coming out of my AC. I thought nothing much of it until today, when I noticed that my coolant/antifreeze reservoir level was slightly below the low "L" point with the engine cold. I am not sure if this means that I have a leak or something more serious? Is there something that I can do to try and figure out what the hell is wrong? My car is still under warranty, is this something that the dealership should look into? Will there be a cost for that?
View 7 RepliesHave a 1996 Honda Accord that had a tune up ( new plugs, wires etc). also had a leak in a radiator hose fixed. About a month later, the engine started to over heat. Fluid in radiator was very low, but no physical leak. Filled it up and in 3 days radiator is low again. This time I noticed a soft brown buildup around the radiator cap. I checked the oil filler cap to see if the underside was caramel color ( head gasket leak), but the cap was clean. Now, it is running rough and will not idle when I come to a stop. Can't figure out what is going on!
View 4 RepliesI have a 2007 Prius, my coolant is always overflowing to my reservoir. It doesn't have any overheating problem, if I will fill up the radiator I could see bubbles coming out, How can I resolve this problem?
View 8 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?
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 RepliesToday, the air conditioning stopped working in my 2003 Elantra. Just stopped blowing cold air. Then the engine thermometer kept on climbing. When I pulled over home, I lifted the hood and heard a lot of bubbling and gurgling sounds, and coolant fluid leaked out underneath the car.
What could be the cause of this? When I let the car stay for a while, the AC did kick back on, but only for a few moments and the thermometer kept on climbing again until I turned the car off. The fan is blowing, I can hear it, but it is obviously not cooling the engine off appropriately.
I have a 2006 Lexus GS430 w/ 100k miles. I've been trying to solve my coolant issue for the longest and I've been doing research like crazy!!! The issue that I'm having is that coolant from the radiator is blowing back into the reservoir causing the reservoir to be overfilled and splattering all over the engine bay. Also, when this happens the fluid in the radiator drops significantly ( I have to keep dumping the lost coolant from the reservoir back into the radiator). Under normal driving the fluid wont blow over to the reservoir that much (just a little) but, when I drive long distances or if I floor it that is when the coolant from the radiator really pushes over into the reservoir. When the car cools, I find out that the coolant from the reservoir does not draw back into the radiator. (I'm guessing due to the air in the cooling system?)
Checklist on what has been done to the car:
- NEW Water Pump (Installed by Lexus)
- NEW Timing Belt (Installed by Lexus)
- NEW Thermostat (Installed by Lexus) (I also tested the thermostat in boiling water and it opened and closed)
- NEW Radiator (Installed by Lexus also was pressure tested and passed)
- NEW Radiator Cap (Genuine Toyota 1.1 bar)
- Coolant Flush (flushed radiator and engine block with water hose)
-Bled System with my Lisle Spill Free Funnel and Heater on MAX HOT Full blast! Heater is working good!
(Did this 3 times for 30 min+ to get rid off all the air bubbles)
- Performed a Block Test to see if any combustion gasses were in the cooling system, to determine if it was a blown/failing head gasket (passed)
I dont know what else to do at this point other then do a compression test and a leak down test. There is no coolant in the oil and no coolant leaks. Car drives solid and strong! Is there a bleeder valve on the GS430 somewhere or does it have a bleeder valve? Is it something I'm doing wrong?
I purchased a 2008 Prius with 117,000 miles lat month. I took it to a friend's house recently. When he was looking at the car, he told me that my coolant level is low and put some coolant in the reservoir. The next day when I was driving the car I was hearing a rattling sound every time I pressed on brakes. I could not figure out what could be the reason. The sound went away after couple of days. Today I was going through the manual and noticed the place where my friend put coolant in is actually brake fluid reservoir. It looks a lot like coolant reservoir of my other car. So now I am wondering what could happen if coolant goes into brake fluid reservoir. Will it harm my brakes? It has been about 2 weeks since that incident happened.
View 19 RepliesSo 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.
View 4 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?
So a few days ago, I decided to check the anti-freeze for adequacy. It was just replaced with the timing belt / water pump job; but I'm a pilot, and I'm accustomed to checking things for myself. Lo and behold, the hydrometer didn't even register. I thought it was stuck, but then I noticed the oily film, and got scared. And then as I investigated further, I got puzzled.
The car had been driven maybe 500 miles since the timing belt / water pump job, had not overheated, and had not lost any coolant. The level in the radiator was up to the cap. Also, there was no oil at all in the radiator (at least that I could detect), and the concentration tested fine. But there was oil in the reservoir -- but it didn't look like crankcase oil. It was clear -- like water -- and felt a bit thinner than crankcase oil. Also, the outlet at the bottom of the reservoir was clogged.
There also was some sealant in the reservoir (it looked like the BarsLeak tablets), but none that I could detect in the radiator. That in itself doesn't bother me because a lot of people (including me) routinely toss a few tablets in the coolant -- Saturn used to do it from the factory -- but it does suggest at least the possibility of a previous coolant leak that someone treated with BarsLeak.
At the moment, there's no evidence of coolant loss, no water in the exhaust, no water in the oil, and no oil in the radiator. I haven't done a compression test. I did change the plugs, and there were no obvious coolant deposits on them. They were carbon-fouled, but considering that the PCV valve was clogged and the mileage on the plugs, that didn't surprise me.
So what I'm postulating is that the previous owner's son (who was the primary driver of the car) mistakenly poured some sort of engine oil additive, power steering additive, or something else intended for use elsewhere, into the reservoir; and the mechanic who did the timing belt and water pump didn't notice it (which also kind of bothers me).
The fact that the power steering pump had a bit of chatter would tend to reinforce that hypothesis. I've been doing a gradual replacement of the power steering fluid, which seems to have quieted things down. It was black as tar when I started, so I probably should completely replace it. I may do that this coming weekend. In any case, I removed, cleaned, and unclogged the coolant reservoir, replaced it, refilled it, and everything seems fine. It's kind of baffling, though.
Why my 2002 Jetta 1.8t does this?
After I drive for a while I have to [slowly] open the overflow cap and relieve pressure in order to not lose coolant while the car sits. It steams for a bit when I open the cap and then the coolant rises in the reservoir then I close it.
If I don't do this then the car loses coolant but I don't see any leaks visible under the car.