thorin

Morning guys,

a few days ago i noticed the low coolant warning came on my dash, temperature went higher and the red light on the temp gauge starting blinking.

when i got home, i opened the hood and noticed the coolant was below the minimum line. so i picked up some coolant and filled it again. now about a month later the problem has returned. problem was solved or so i thought.

this morning the warning came back. when i checked there was almost no coolant and even though i filled it with nearly 3/4 bottle of the coolant i had left, it still didn't come up to the minimum mark. but i had to drive into work, so i drove it anyways. the car runs fine and there doesn't seem to be any problem and i'm not sure if this is because i drive is so much traffic everyday. has anyone else experienced this?

the car did have an RMS replaced a few years ago. i did one trackday a few months ago (where the exhaust kept smoking on startup). ANd the coolant cap looks pretty clean to me.

do i need to take this into the dealer? what am i looking at in terms of cost? any help appreciated.


UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

So after another week of driving I checked it again - all the coolant is still there... last week it drank a full bottle, this week nothing - what gives!?

Checked the oil and cap - both seem fine, no weird colours or stains, just plain old oil.

Checked the coolant cap - nothing to report there, but i was surprised how under pressure it was. some coolant shot out of it when i opened it (kind of like a pressure cooker would). i just checked it again and i could hear a very low hiss as if it was still under pressure. so i took the cap off and put it on again, but didn't apply superman pressure this time and the hiss went away. so now i'm not sure if i should be really giving it the full beans when i put the cap back on or not. when i supertighten it i hear a hiss, but maybe it needs to be that tight to prevent leaking? any thoughts guys?

on a sunday morning, when i find that perfect twisty road, this car is pure bliss, but as a daily driver its pretty brutal. and given how everytime some minor issue pops up, there is a chance that the engine needs replacing. i can't live with that kind of stress from a car i need to use everyday.

so i'm thinking about trading her in for something else.... please talk me out of it...

pszikla

General consensus on this is a defective coolant cap, or cracked coolant tank both of which are common issues.
About $ 20.00 should do the trick if it is the cap, and that is what you should change first. (Many people on this forum say that if the part number ends with "00" on the cap then that is likely the culprit.)
Pete

uberskier

+1 on the coolant cap. I just had the same exact signs and symptoms. It was a the cap.

cdodkin

Based on the quantity lost however... the tank has to be a high probability here.

Look under the car and see if there's any white crud on the exhaust under the coolant tank area.

The coolant hits the hot exhaust and evaporates before hitting the ground in many cases.

New tank is $600 + for dealership fitment.

C4CRNA

Did you look at your dipstick?

thorin

why would i need to do that? the oil seems to be just fine....

MagnusB

A new cap is $12 plus $8 in shipping.

Guybrush Wilkinson

I had my coolant expansion tank replaced lately. Same symptoms as yours, exept the amount of fluid my car lost was not that significant.

Franklin229

You would want to check for any foaming or white film that would suggest that water has gotten into the oil.

GeoT3

"i did one trackday a few months ago (where the exhaust kept smoking on startup)."

smoke on the start up and massive coolant lost could mean you have coolant leaking into the combustion chamber.... I don't know if this is a common problem with these engines...

yasuro

or it could be just a bad cap and overfilled oil. if you're right at full on the oil, the engine has been known to smoke at the track.

just submitting the non-worse case scenario.

Guybrush Wilkinson

Open the oil filler cap and check if there is white or yellowish foam on the tube. Do not panick if you find some. It is normal that water condensates and evaporates creating some foam in the tube.

Foam accumulation about the size of your thumb is perfectly normal if your car has been driven, say, 5000 miles after an oil change.

Phil G.

Or in my case that would be pink crud on the garage floor.

thorin

UPDATE

So after another week of driving I checked it again - all the coolant is still there... last week it drank a full bottle, this week nothing - what gives!?

Checked the oil and cap - both seem fine, no weird colours or stains, just plain old oil.

Checked the coolant cap - nothing to report there, but i was surprised how under pressure it was. some coolant shot out of it when i opened it (kind of like a pressure cooker would). i just checked it again and i could hear a very low hiss as if it was still under pressure. so i took the cap off and put it on again, but didn't apply superman pressure this time and the hiss went away. so now i'm not sure if i should be really giving it the full beans when i put the cap back on or not. when i supertighten it i hear a hiss, but maybe it needs to be that tight to prevent leaking? any thoughts guys?

on a sunday morning, when i find that perfect twisty road, this car is pure bliss, but as a daily driver its pretty brutal. and given how everytime some minor issue pops up, there is a chance that the engine needs replacing. i can't live with that kind of stress from a car i need to use everyday.

so i'm thinking about trading her in for something else.... please talk me out of it...

thorin

Also one more thing.... is it okay if i topped of the coolant with coolant i bought at the local auto store? now i'm reading all these threads telling me that mixing the oem coolant with the new coolant can be a disaster.... FAAAAACKKKK!!! this is driving me crazy... with this bloody car, ANYTHING i do could blow it up!