Coolant light came on

[IronMan-Mark2]

Hey guys is topping the coolant just putting antifreeze in? I've heard some people mixing water with it? My light came on saying it was low. Maybe a leakage who knows but I'd like to top it off to determined that. Thanks

[bwizard]

G12 full strength yes mix it with water

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[949]

my car has had coolant burning off once in a while. I can smell it. I have taken it into the dealer for a look see and they said nothing is wrong and they just topped it off.

[Arclight]

I have topped my coolant at least 2x since I purchased the car a year ago (S3). It seems to be weeping from somewhere associated with the AC system. I only see it on the ground and smell it on hot days when the AC is running. Last time I took it to the dealer they said it was fine - nothing leaking. I suspect we will see a TSB before it's all said and done

[Dc779a]

Funny this popped up, I was headed home on a 2+ hour drive and about half at through my light popped on. I immediately pulled over, shut off the car and popped the hood.

I found mine was well below the min line and I very carefully unscrewed the cap to the overflow. There was an air bubble caught in my coolant system and once that was "burped" it leveled to where it should be.

I turned it back on and let it run for a minute and it stayed. I kicked on the a/c to put a little draw on it and it still stayed. Continued the rest of my trip for over an hour with a single issue. I currently have about 12,500 miles on my 2016. Hope this helps!

[949]

the dealership said there was a tsb about some sort of air pocket that needs to be burped. but since then (6-7 months ago) I have continued to smell coolant on random times. I know that's not normal no matter how they put it. my car is stock so it shouldn't be doing anything like that.

[bigxie]

Interestingly enough, when I dropped my car off at the shop this morning to get my downpipe installed, the tech told me he smelled some burnt coolant in the engine bay. We checked the levels and it was actually a little above max (overfilled?). Kind of relieved to see that other people are experiencing it also, and interested in finding out what's the cause/fix.

EDIT: how exactly does one "burp" the system? Could an air bubble trapped in there cause the overfill (like the coolant isn't flowing)? I never got a light and everything seems to be working fine otherwise. Thanks!

[Baggio]

Hey guys is topping the coolant just putting antifreeze in? I've heard some people mixing water with it? My light came on saying it was low. Maybe a leakage who knows but I'd like to top it off to determined that. Thanks

Mix 50-50 with distilled water.

[949]

I feel that the headgasket is bad on our cars. I'm currently working on anther car that has a bad headgasket and the symptoms are similar to these listed by everyone but in a much faster rate. originally it was a slow leak in the h.g. but now all it takes is some stress on the engine and it starts to push coolant out the reservoir and overheat at a stop light.

symptoms that are similar:
smelling of coolant, in hot form.

coolant levels will rise in the reservoir right after you smell it. the cause; well when coolant is being pushed out from the block it will normally goto the reservoir in turn making it look like there is more coolant than there should be originally. eventually it will over flow out and youll need to refill it because the engine will cool down when parked and the coolant will be pulled back into the block, but most of the coolant isn't there anymore in the reservoir. (like how we all are doing now)

heavy stress will cause the symptoms to show up more such as A/C running, hot days, long drives, or hard accelerations.


burping, the dealership should be taking care of the burping on your car as it should be under warranty still. its just a small pocket of air that is trapped in the hoses somewhere. what that should only do to our cars is throw off the temp gauge and thermostat but the dealership is convincing us that its causing the coolant smell and needed refills.

as for now I'm with everyone here and going with the flow of information that the dealership is telling me and not with my personal experience. as long as they cover any future damages.

[Baggio]

I feel that the headgasket is bad on our cars. I'm currently working on anther car that has a bad headgasket and the symptoms are similar to these listed by everyone but in a much faster rate. originally it was a slow leak in the h.g. but now all it takes is some stress on the engine and it starts to push coolant out the reservoir and overheat at a stop light.

symptoms that are similar:
smelling of coolant, in hot form.

coolant levels will rise in the reservoir right after you smell it. the cause; well when coolant is being pushed out from the block it will normally goto the reservoir in turn making it look like there is more coolant than there should be originally. eventually it will over flow out and youll need to refill it because the engine will cool down when parked and the coolant will be pulled back into the block, but most of the coolant isn't there anymore in the reservoir. (like how we all are doing now)

heavy stress will cause the symptoms to show up more such as A/C running, hot days, long drives, or hard accelerations.


burping, the dealership should be taking care of the burping on your car as it should be under warranty still. its just a small pocket of air that is trapped in the hoses somewhere. what that should only do to our cars is throw off the temp gauge and thermostat but the dealership is convincing us that its causing the coolant smell and needed refills.

as for now I'm with everyone here and going with the flow of information that the dealership is telling me and not with my personal experience. as long as they cover any future damages.

If the head gasket was bad or going bad, you would see milky looking oil when you check your oil. Check your oil and get back to us.

If it is backing up and overflowing the reservoir, it possible could be a bad thermostat and it isn't opening properly.

[bwizard]

If the head gasket was bad or going bad, you would see milky looking oil when you check your oil. Check your oil and get back to us.

If it is backing up and overflowing the reservoir, it possible could be a bad thermostat and it isn't opening properly.

Not always my wife's b6 a4 amb engine had a bad head gasket and was just burning coolant. It is possible for a way into combustion chamber with out mixing with the oil

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[1S32K16]

Just checked my coolant level after reading this thread, seems to be nearing the low marker. Car has roughly 2,200 miles on odo. Running a jb1 for maybe 500 miles. Cant decide to take it to the dealer for a top off and take jb1 off

[949]

Not always my wife's b6 a4 amb engine had a bad head gasket and was just burning coolant. It is possible for a way into combustion chamber with out mixing with the oil

Sent from my S4's talk to text @ a buck thirty

I agree with you. +1
there doesn't always need to be mixing like you said.

[Baggio]

Not always my wife's b6 a4 amb engine had a bad head gasket and was just burning coolant. It is possible for a way into combustion chamber with out mixing with the oil

Sent from my S4's talk to text @ a buck thirty

Well, he needs to make up his mind. In one sentence it's the head gasket, the next he says it is backing up into the overflow and expelling coolant out that way. IMO, if it it is the head gasket there would be a lot of coolant loss. Just my opinion from years of of experience with a lot of cars. I tend to think it it is "weeping" out by the water pump more than the head gasket based on most people's responses here. But who knows it could be anything as no one, including dealers have figured it out.


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[bwizard]

He needs to do leak down test. Turbo engines obviously have pressure in intake and combustion chamber. Which if leak in gasket is big enough not only will coolant expand from overheating but also the pressure from boost will force coolant out overflow tank

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[drew4392]

Just checked my coolant level after reading this thread, seems to be nearing the low marker. Car has roughly 2,200 miles on odo. Running a jb1 for maybe 500 miles. Cant decide to take it to the dealer for a top off and take jb1 off

The D plug makes the decision so, so difficult. Ugh.