EdwinP007

I have a Skoda Octavia 2.0 FSi which appears to have a very strange coolant leak. I first noticed in December 2008 where the coolant level dropped from the maximum level to minimum level in a period of a week. At present (hot summer weather) in drops from maximum level to minimum level over a period of 3 to 4 weeks. I have topped the cooling system up with just over 3 litres of 50/50 G12++ coolant and distilled water between December 2008 and July 2009. In cooler weather there appears to be clouds of white smoke / mist from the exhaust pipe – this is not so apparent in hotter weather. Occasionally there has been funny condensation of the windscreen with a sweet smell inside the car but this has only occured 3 or 4 times since December 2009. No damp patches have been found in the passenger footwell (suggestive of heating matrix issue). Brief smell of coolant in cabin has been observed about three times since December 2008 but only while car has been warming up. The temperature gauge on the dash board has never indicated any overheating – the temperature has never gone above 90 degrees centigrade. It has been taken into my local dealer a couple of times for pressure testing and they have identified no leaks although they did replace the EGR valve back in February 2009, although it still currently leaks coolant. I have been trying to get the original dealer to identify and fix the issue before the warranty expires in a couple of months time (they have known about it since december 2008) although they keep informing me that as they cannot identify an issue they cannot make any repairs. I have been in contact with a couple of independant mechanics who said that they beleive it could be an internal leak (head gasket failure or crack in engine / cylinder head block) but will need to do a block test on the engine which they will charge around £50 for (which would not be covered under warranty). A respected mechanical engineer that I know has also provided the same feedback. The original dealer have said they have already done a block test, pressure test and exhaust emissions test and have found no faults. They have passed it onto the Skoda technical team, which is part of the warranty department at Skoda, who basically said that as the dealer could not find any faults there can not be any faults with the car. I have even supplied a list of symptoms to both the dealer and warranty department with digital photos clearly showing coolant going down in the expansion tank (all taken when the engine had cooled overnight). Would anyone have an idea of what these symptoms could be an indication of and what action needs to be taken to confirm the diagnosis? Also would anyone know how we can get the issue fixed under warranty seeing as the warranty company and dealer cannot diagnose the issue at present?

Took it to the dealer who inspected it with pressure testing equiptment. Could not find a leak but suspects it is an EGR valve issue. A replacement part is on order which will arrive net week (Sounds like an expensive job but covered under warrentee). Is it possible that coolent could leak through the EGR valve?

Have a strange problem with coolant going missing and would like to know if anyone has any ideas on it. Basically purchased a 05 Octavia about 4 months ago and have been checking the coolant level regularly. When I have checked it after the engine has cooled down it has always been at the minimum mark until about six weeks ago when it dropped to about 2 mm below the minimum mark on a cold day. A couple of days later (on another cold day) the temperature gauge alarm went off so checked the coolant level and it had dropped to the bottom of the coolant reservior. Topped it up with mixture of coolant and distilled water and everything was fine for a few weeks. At the begining of last week when we had a very cold spell the coolant dropped again by about a cm each day (which was topped up). This continued until earlier this week - the level stopped dropping when the weather improved (temperatures were above freezing). I have not had to top up the coolant since Tuesday. There has been lots of white smoke from the exhaust especially when the engine has been warming up. However the engine does not overheat and there is no white mayonase under the oil filler cap suggesting that the head gasket is OK. Although there is some greasy condensation on the windscreen after driving off (suggesting a heating core issue) there is no damp patch in the pasanger footwell or coolant smell within the car. The heater is working normally as far as I am concerned. There are no apparent leaks from any of the hoses within the engine compartment having checked it myself and getting a mechanic to look at it using a pressure tester.