2006 Fabia vRS @ 91K miles

I'm losing coolant and it seems to be leaking from the passenger side of the radiator.

It can go 2 weeks losing nothing, other times I can lose about 200ml in one journey. Is there a hose that side which can leak? I'm unable to get a good look at the problem this now as I'm working 7 days a week.

Will probably be the weekend before I can get a proper look. I'm thinking ramps and front bumper off?

Is there a known/common issue in this area before I start dismantling the front of my Fabia?

Thanks for any guidance

A dose of radweld might stop a small leak.

My fabia had sudden random coolant loss. Diagnosed as a blown radiator.

A dose of radweld might stop a small leak.

does radweld work well with the VAG G12/13 coolant?

i would defo try find the leak and repair it .... rad weld is more of a last resort in my opinion

id personally go for new radiator as any radiator sealents from what i know and have seen clog up pipes matrixes etc buddy

Do NOT put radweld in!! It doesnt react with VAG coolant at all! Goes lumpy and goey!

The reason it may not leak all the time is the coolant doesnt circulate the radiator all the time only when too hot and thermostat opens (not very likely in winter)

There is a sensor on the n/s of the radiator, that can have a tendency to leak. May be worth a quick look there whilst your investigating!

There is a sensor on the n/s of the radiator, that can have a tendency to leak. May be worth a quick look there whilst your investigating!

thanks for that - do you know if its easy to get at?

It's becoming more erratic. Lost a full litre on the way to work this morning...

I agree, the sensor often leaks in my family Fabias & Polos. You may find you can nip it up with an open ended 29 or 30 mm spanner.

The alternative is to get it up in the air, remove the under engine plastic shields and remove sensor with a deep socket. I got one that is used on front wheel bearings. It's easier to get at with the bottom hose removed so you could change the coolant at the same time. As above - use the correct VAG type of coolant. Having gone to the trouble of removing it, I usually replace with a new sensor ( about £15 ) and seal with PTFE tape.

Hope this helps.

Got the day off work today.

Had a quick look myself and couldn't see anything amiss with the hoses or the sensor.

Took it to a garage who confirmed the radiator is leaking. "it's just rotten"

So one new radiator it is....

I agree, the sensor often leaks in my family Fabias & Polos. You may find you can nip it up with an open ended 29 or 30 mm spanner.

The alternative is to get it up in the air, remove the under engine plastic shields and remove sensor with a deep socket. I got one that is used on front wheel bearings. It's easier to get at with the bottom hose removed so you could change the coolant at the same time. As above - use the correct VAG type of coolant. Having gone to the trouble of removing it, I usually replace with a new sensor ( about £15 ) and seal with PTFE tape.

Hope this helps.

im not a fan of PTFE tape either it is out dated and quite often bits of tape end up in the system and cause blockages too. You can get a liquid pipe sealant which is absolutely awesome and would 100% seal a leaking plug / sensor

I found a leak on mine yesterday after having to top up the coolant regularly. In the engine bay where hoses pentrate the bulkhead into the cabin there's some pipes that connect the hoses to the heater matrix. There's a metal clip on the metal part of these hoses and a little corrosion has appeared causing a slight leak. Very hard to spot as it's behind the exhaust area and the coolant evaporates before I could find any leak.

Rather than replace with new metal pipes/remove the dashboard and replace the heater matrix I might cut the metal pipes away and repalce with coolant hose and a copper insert from some plumbing pipe.

I'll take some photo's to better explain where I found my leak, someone else may have the same issue and this seems like a sensible inexpensive repair.