coolant concern

[trocar]

I have been having a problem with the heat in my car. It seems that when the car is running about town there is no heat from the HVAC, on the highway it is fine. Took the car to the dealership today regarding the problem, and when the service advisor looked at the coolant level, he said that there was next to none in the resivoir(I know that is spelled wrong). He seemed quite concerned.(Never a good sign) Has anyone had this or any thoughts as to what it might be.

[Sub-Vibe-R]

I've heard some people complaning about coolant leak.One has his water pump remplaced.If it had almost no coolant, if has a leak somewhere. It is to your dealer to find out this leak and fix it.

[trocar]

I was thinking about leaks, and have never seen anything resembling a coolant leak on my drive way. Just went out and checked and nothing there. I wonder where it could be going.I would think that if it was going into the engine I would have noticed something right(he asks with a sheepish grin)

[Mr.D]

Could it be that it was never properly filled?

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by trocar »I would think that if it was going into the engine I would have noticed something right(he asks with a sheepish grin)When coolant leaks into the crankcase, it usually mixes with oil to form a sticky goo that looks like a chocolate milkshake. (at least on the cars I've had with that problem, On these cars with red coolant maybe you get strawberry) You might see it when you change the oil, maybe some on the dipstick, maybe when you take off the oil fill cap. It could be bad news depending on where the coolant went. How many miles on the car? If the dealer just filled up the reservoir for now, pay attention to the level, check it periodically to see if it drops again, make sure you know what is gooing on before your warranty runs out.

[Stang2Vibe]

Good advice there. Also, if the coolant has leaked into the oil, the oil will be very thin and watery. The car should also make lots of white smoke coming out the tailpipe at all times while the engine is running. You wouldn't be able to miss that so I'm thinking it didn't leak into the engine. The dealer should have also very easily caught that when they checked it out. Coolant is not something that the car should consume, so it has to be leaking somewhere if the level is dropping. Keep a watchful eye on the coolant level as joatmon said, and don't hesitate to take it back to the dealer if it gets low again.

[jhugh]

I had a similar problem a while back with a BMW 3 Series. It would 'loose' about a cup or so of coolant every 10 months and there was never a sign of where it was leaking out of. I would just top it off and never gave it much thought and never mentioned it to the dealer. That was a BIG mistake. After the warranty ran out I noticed coolant on the garage floor. Taking a few pulleys off I finally found where the coolant had been going.....out the 'weep' hole in the water pump and onto the inside of a pulley which would just spray it into a fine mist. With all the pulleys and guards in place it was not noticeable when it was a small leak. The only problem was that it was now really leaking and I needed a new water pump. If only I had the dealer look at it while in warranty!!!

[Houston]

All I can say is that your reservior coolant should be between those lines on the back of the container on your Vibe. I remember being real concerned about the low level on my Grand Prix, but they said that was normal. Maybe they were right, because after six years I've never had a problem with it. The way the Vibe reservior is set up, though, it's obvious whether or not you're low.

[Houston]

If it's a leak that occurs only during driving it can evaporate immediately leaving no trace.

[Houston]

What you say can certainly happen - that it was not properly filled during build. I worked Quality Control for thirty-three years at Buick and saw this many times. Don't let your dealer off the hook with this one.

[JohnC]

I am also "loosing" coolant. First noticed it by the faint smell of antifreze after a long trip. I then used a permanent marker and marked the exact level, date and mileage so I can document the coolant lose to the dealer. It is a very small amount of leakage (for now) and the dealer was unable to locate a leak.If you mark the coolant level make sure it is when the engine hasn't ran for a long time (over night), this will give you the most accurate level. I have a coolant sytem pressurizing pump (made by Bulkamp $70) and will be doing a pressure drop test next weekend.

[futseal04]

Just to put this out there.....Has anyone used Evans coolant in their Vibes? I had it in my 96 Cobra, and it works really well. Will be putting it in the Vibe as soon as i get a few more miles on it. It works really well in forced induction applications, and has a noticable effect even on stock cars. I have it in my '01 Grand Am GT and my '01 Suzuki SV650S....for those interested, here is the link:http://www.evanscooling.com

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by Houston »I remember being real concerned about the low level on my Grand Prix, but they said that was normal. Maybe they were right, because after six years I've never had a problem with it.That's funny, my parents had a problem with a coolant leak. At one point, they actually got a low coolant light. Turned out it was leaking into the cabin somehow (yielding a moldy smell we noticed earlier but never could pinpoint the source of)...ended up needing a new part...can't remember what...but not a few months later they had the whole engine replaced under warranty for a heat problem.

[redlava]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »That's funny, my parents had a problem with a coolant leak. At one point, they actually got a low coolant light. Turned out it was leaking into the cabin somehow (yielding a moldy smell we noticed earlier but never could pinpoint the source of)...ended up needing a new part...can't remember what...but not a few months later they had the whole engine replaced under warranty for a heat problem.Sounds like the heater core. My Dakota had that happen. No coolant in the cabin (common symptom), but I had smoke coming out of the vents. And I also had a coolant leak fixed right before I traded it in because an accident I had ruptured one of the seals (can't remember which one anymore) so the coolant was mixing with the fuel and being burnt.