Has anyone had this happen to them?

I was checking the coolant level on my 1.9 TDI the other day, and was suprised to see that it had dropped from MAX (where it had always been for the last two years every time I'd checked) to MIN.

So I put in more coolant to bring it back to MAX, then lo and behold, 24 hours later when I checked again it was sitting on MIN again; so topped it up to MAX again. Maybe half a litre or so.

Two days later, and a trip from Portsmouth to Warwick and back, it's still at MAX: like the problem, whatever it was, has gone away

There's no sign of any leaks, no rough running, no steam in the exhaust, no oil in the coolant header tank.

??????

Was the engine stone cold both times, and the car on level ground?

If it keeps dropping try K-Seal - it works wonders on slow leaks. Oil cooler and EGR cooler are common issues with slow leaks on the PD140 engine, not sure on the 1.9 though.

If it keeps rising get worried ...............

Weird! I had the same last week. SWMBO phoned me at work to say the dash warning light had come on re. the coolant. Told her not to thash it and pull over if the temp guage started to climb and call the RAC.

I checked later on that day and sure enough the level was well below the min. Topped up to the max and checked a few days later to find it was again back down at the min. Topped up again to max and plan to check again later this week.

Engine was cold on each occassion the level was checked/topped up. No signs of a pink puddle on the garage floor either so no idea where it all went.

Thanks Rab-k & andyvee. I'll check again in a few days. One month left of my 3 year warranty!

Just keep your eye on it.

If it drops again get it into the dealers if still under warranty

Said on an other similar thread...

If there's an air pocket in the system, it can work it's way out and be replaced, never to happen again, so that's a possibility. Much like a heating system in your house, sometimes there's areas where air can accumulate when you drain the system and refill which results in it needing to be bled several times before it works 100%, it may have been there from new, just took time to be displaced by coolant, normally through the vibration of everyday driving..

On a 3 year old car though you wouldn't expect a sudden drop due to an air lock somewhere.

I could understand this on a new car, or one that has been drained and re-filled recently.