Good evening. I was idling at a light the other day and I noticed my heat would go out and then come back on once there was a load on the engine again. I immediately knew this meant I had low coolant.
Went and got some coolant. Filled it up to max, ran the engine and heat, filled it back to max an went about my day. Check it when I got home and it has dropped about an inch. Check it the next day and it has dropped further.
A similar thing happened to my moms 07 Honda Odyssey. After looking for leaks and puddles I replaced the radiator cap and that fixed her problem.
Any chance I am having the same issue or is some part of the cooling system destined to have failed me at this mileage? In all honesty I have never checked my coolant level and have owned the car for 5 years. The temperature gauge has also never gone above half in 5 years. There is also no cream on the oil cap to indicate a head gasket leak. Daily Chicago driven.
Any thoughts are appreciated.
P.S. Maybe related, there is a "whine" went accelerating. Water pump maybe? Hose leak?