My car is leaking coolant and telling me to stop the car and check coolant.
My car is leaking coolant. It tells me to stop and check coolant. I have to refill my coolant at least twice a week. After driving the car it leaks alot. I can't find where the leak is at. If I don't drive the car the coolant doesn't leak.
My car has 100000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
Going by your description and the age of the car, I’m going to guess you have a problem with your water pump. The water pump has a rotating seal that often doesn’t leak unless the engine is running. If your water pump is leaking you might be able to see a drip from the bottom of the engine front cover. Before jumping to any conclusions though, you should have a professional pressure test the system to be sure. If you contact Your Mechanic. they can send a technician to your home or office to check out your leak and tell you what it will take to solve it.
How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?
Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced mechanics :
What causes the coolant warning light to come on? The most common reason for the coolant light to become illuminated is simply that the coolant level is too low. There may be a floating sensor in your coolant tank that triggers the warning light when the level drops. You may need to book a coolant change.
The most common reasons a Volkswagen Passat has a coolant leak are loose hose connections, a broken radiator, or a failed water pump. A coolant leak may develop after oil filter replacement. the coolant o-ring… The water pump and/or other cooling system may develop a coolant leak.
Coolant leaks are usually a matter of time and age. Rust, corrosion and impact are factors, as well. They can be the result of many different components going bad. These include the water pump, radiator, heater core, thermostat, heater hoses, and radiator hoses.
The indicator lamp flashes red. Engine coolant temperature too high or engine coolant level too low. Do not drive on! Stop the vehicle as soon as possible and when safe to do so.
Switch off the engine immediately and do not drive any further. Check the coolant level (refer to the owners manual or seek professional assistance).
Some modern cars are equipped with a safety feature that shuts off your car if you have too little coolant. Although this will prevent your engine from sustaining damage, it could be a safety risk.
A coolant/antifreeze leak can occur for a variety of reasons, including a blown radiator hose, a bad hose clamp, warped head gasket, or the most common reason, a foreign object kicked up by the truck in front of you penetrating the radiator itself.
One of the most common signs that your water pump is starting to fail is leaking coolant. Coolant leaks can occur for a number of reasons, but one of the most common is a bad water pump.
So what kind of antifreeze do you use in your VW? It is highly recommended that you don`t use any kind other than the specific Audi/VW G13 or G12 approved antifreeze. Regular, store-bought antifreeze often has chemicals in it that can wear down gaskets and other parts in your system.
Is it safe to keep driving if my engine coolant light comes on? If the light is red, you should pull over as soon as it is safe to do so and switch off the engine. If the coolant level is low or there is another problem with your cooling system, you could cause serious damage by continuing to drive.
If your car has a low coolant you can drive for some time. It really relies on the level of coolant. If it is low but it is above the minimum, you can drive your car for a few days. But if it is below the minimum, please do not even try to run your engine.
If your coolant light is on, but the coolant is not low in the reservoir and it appears there are no leaks, then your vehicle may have a coolant sensor malfunction. A faulty coolant sensor can falsely trigger the dashboard warning light.
If the coolant level is low in the reservoir, you can refill it to the max fill line but do not overfill it. The coolant mixture expands when it heats up and needs the extra room. Keeping your coolant at the correct level is one of the ways to keep your radiator good working order.
Still, you should have the problem remedied by a mechanic. Your radiator cap may be leaking, the heater core may be cracked, or holes in the radiator hoses may be causing the coolant leakage. Staying on top of your car`s health is just as important as staying on top of your car insurance.
Gaskets and Seals
One common place of a coolant leak is the radiator pan gasket. The drain plug can also cause leaking, and if the cap that seals the radiator can no longer contain the pressurized coolant, it will leak or spray out from underneath.
Relevant Questions and Answers :
the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue
My car is leaking coolant and telling me to stop the car and check coolant.
ANSWER : Going by your description and the age of the car, I’m going to guess you have a problem with your water pump. The water pump has a rotating seal that often doesn’t leak unless the engine is running. If your water pump is leaking you might be able to see a drip from the bottom of the engine front cover. Before jumping to any conclusions though, you should have a professional pressure test the system to be sure. If you contact Your Mechanic. they can send a technician to your home or office to check out your leak and tell you what it will take to solve it.
No coolant in the reservoir. Seen low coolant message. I added 2 quarts of 50/50 coolant. Still getting the message. How much coolant doe it need?
ANSWER : Hi there. For the coolant light to go out, you would need to have the coolant between the low line and the full line for the light to go out. If the coolant is low and keeps on being low, then look for any signs of coolant leaks. You may have to use a coolant pressure tester to pressurize the reservoir to allow the leak to be found.
If you need further assistance with the coolant being low and the warning light being on, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.
I used stop leak to fix a slow leak in my water pump,it worked but the car went into limp mode after it.
ANSWER : Stop leak in the cooling system is likely to cause more problems than it will solve. Modern cooling systems are much more finely drawn and have far smaller passages than older cars, and stop leak will jam things up. I can’t think how it would make your car go into limp home mode however, unless it was a coolant level fault.Of course a code read is in order and that should tell the story. Meanwhile, it’s clear that you need to take care of that water pump problem It may appear to be fixed, but the leak will be back. If you want some help with this, you can Contact Your Mechanic. They can send a technician to your home or office who can read the codes on your Jaguar and tell you what this limp home thing is all about.
My car has a coolant leak – 2001 Lincoln Town Car
ANSWER : The heater AC (air conditioning) case has a drain to let out condensation from the case. The heater core is positioned in the case that allows it get out through the case drain on the outside of the engine firewall between the center toward the passenger side of the car in the case of a leak. Bypassing the heater core has stopped the leak but the heater and defroster is not inoperative along with the automatic temperature control of the air conditioner. I recommend having the heater core inspected and replaced to fix the system.
Check engine light on, engine knocking, loss of power, and coolant leaking.
ANSWER : Hi there. Grab a flashlight and look under the vehicle for where the coolant leak is coming from. Either there is a gasket, hose, or freeze plug that is leaking causing the coolant to leak or the engine has cracked. The knocking noise is from the engine getting too hot and causing a detonation sound. If there is a crack in the block, then it could be from a piston rod that broke off. The loss of power is when the engine had not enough coolant to operate properly and caused the engine to overheat and not burn the fuel properly. If you need further assistance with your engine having a coolant leak, then seek out a professional, such as one from Your Mechanic, to help you.
Fuel EVAP line that runs under car is kinked how do I know if it is leaking? Also can I drive it like that if it’s not leaking?
ANSWER : Hi Ricardo. We answered your question earlier. However, if you didn’t receive the reply, here is what we stated earlier. In most cases, an EVAP leak will create an OBD-II trouble code. The best way to detect an EVAP leak is by having a professional mobile mechanic complete a check engine light inspection, they will be able to download the code and determine the source of the leak. That’s the best advice we can offer you. Thanks.
My car has a coolant leak
ANSWER : Hello. The most common cause of a random coolant loss on this vehicle is a leaking intake manifold gasket. It commonly starts leaking coolant into the engine, which will be burnt off or will leak externally. I typically do a pressure test and a dye test on the system first to see if I can locate an external leak. If nothing is found, then I do a block test to make sure that there is not a head gasket issue. If nothing shows up there, then I replace the intake gaskets. If you need to have this done, consider YourMechanic, as a certified mechanic can come to your home or office to diagnose the coolant leak and replace the intake gaskets if necessary.
Oil leaking from under car and "remote control car" sound when car is first started for a few minutes until it warm up.
ANSWER : Hello,
There are a number of things that could make an engine noisy when starting up. Depending on the specific type of sound you are referring to, this will determine how to properly diagnose. If there is a bit of a hissing sound, this may be a sign of a vacuum leak. If this is more of a shrieking sound, this may be a sign of a worn out or out of adjustment serpentine belt. If there is a bit of a howling or growling sound, this may be a sign of a worn out or low on fluid power steering pump. A rattling or pinging sound may be caused by an ignition problem. An engine can ping (or knock) due to an improper combustion process. A "spark knock" is the result of combustion occurring too early. Early combustion can occur from carbon buildup inside the combustion chamber, a lean air/fuel mixture, and advanced ignition timing (spark plug firing too soon). A clattering type sound may be a result of improper lubrication in the valve train which could be a more serious problem and should be addressed as soon as possible. I would suggest having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle to ensure everything is in proper working order.
There are a number of things that could make an engine noisy when starting up. Depending on the specific type of sound you are referring to, this will determine how to properly diagnose. If there is a bit of a hissing sound, this may be a sign of a vacuum leak. If this is more of a shrieking sound, this may be a sign of a worn out or out of adjustment serpentine belt. If there is a bit of a howling or growling sound, this may be a sign of a worn out or low on fluid power steering pump. A rattling or pinging sound may be caused by an ignition problem. An engine can ping (or knock) due to an improper combustion process. A "spark knock" is the result of combustion occurring too early. Early combustion can occur from carbon buildup inside the combustion chamber, a lean air/fuel mixture, and advanced ignition timing (spark plug firing too soon). A clattering type sound may be a result of improper lubrication in the valve train which could be a more serious problem and should be addressed as soon as possible. I would suggest having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle to ensure everything is in proper working order.
