My car is now three years old with only about 8K miles on the clock. When new the coolant level (when cold) was a tad above the 'max' mark, it is now on 'min'. This appears to have been a very slow loss but not what I would have expected of a sealed system. As the car is about to go out of it's warranty period I am getting more concerned about potential faults. Has anyone else noticed this?

As long as it stays above minimum it is fine, no need to worry,

If it goes lower then you have a problem.

 

It is a sealed system with an overflow/valve system if this got too hot.

 

Nothing last for ever, just do not go filling up to 'Max' because it is not necessary.

(it may set its own level again. Mine does.)

Do not go opening the cap, just observe that when the coolant is cold that it is not going any lower than minimum.

 

If it does lose coolant from now on, then get it checked out.

 

george

even closed systems need a top up now and again; There's always a loss however minimal, that's physics.

Remove the oil filler cap and check whether you have a whitish emulsion on it.  This could only be condensation (perhaps more likely as your car doesn't get much use), but it could be head gasket (coolant getting into the oil).  If there is emulsion, clean it off and take the car for a good long run to drive off the condensation. If the emulsion comes back, be concerned.   I had the same unexplained coolant loss plus emulsioning and was told it was just condensation.  It wasn't, and the fault was eventually found to be a leaking head gasket (Fabia 1, 1.9TDI).  For the record, my Fabia 2, 1.6CR has done 23500 miles in a bit over 3 years and the coolant has never needed topping up.

Thanks for the advice guys. The car has just been serviced so nice clean oil. Will keep a check for any signs of water in the oil although I've not noticed anything worrying so far. Although the car is low mileage it isn't used for short journeys (always a minimum of 20 - 30 miles) so if I do find any 'emulsion' it may indicate a head gasket problem rather than condensation. Hopefully though I am just being paranoid now that the warranty has run out. The loss isn't much but I wasn't expecting to see any level change.

I've never had a car lose water without there being a problem - not sure how much it might cost, but a local garage should be able to do a leak down test on your car to see if there is a problem anywhere.  Can't see this being more than £100 (although I've never had one done) - at least then you'll know if there is anything at fault or not.

In my experience, much more likely to be a water pump problem than a head gasket one.

 

Have you topped up (with correct coolant mix, or if unavailable, ionised water) to the correct level to see if it is losing, or just differences from expansion etc in the system?

Haven't topped up yet, it is right on the 'min' line when cold so I have a good reference point. I remember it was just above the 'max' line when new so a little has gone somewhere. Probably need to check weekly from now on to see what's going on. It has just been serviced but nothing was mentioned then.

If there was a 'Correct level'  there would be a big Arrow saying 'Fill to here'.

 

Cars drive in all environments and ambient temps.

All around the world.

Uk min Ambient might be -15*oC, Max 34*oC, the coolant probably is never above 100*oC

There is a MAX & a MIN,  it is a filler/overflow bottle. 'Expansion tank'.

The Coolant system should and will be full & under pressure unless there is a leaky Water Pump, Gasket etc.

*First check is Hoses and Connections,clips, and clamps,

not looking at 'Whats the worst it can be', How much will this cost me.?

You just check the hoses & radiator for signs of Coolant Leaking.*

 

Often, like at every 'service' a Dealership workshop will fill to Maximum, if the drive home is long enough,

once cold the level is back to between Max & Min on some vehicles.

 

Minimum is a good place to judge if you are having a Coolant Loss.

Nothing to stop topping to Mid Way and mark the Level where you can easily see with a Freezer Marker pen.

(be sure you see that Mark Clearly as you look at it, put your eyes in the same postition, or take a picture and keep track.)

 

Use,

and type of use, driving and how hot you get a car,  might mean some Coolant Drop, but really normal UK driving it should stay pretty much the same,

 

Only use the Correct Coolant, do not overfill. and if it needs replacing then get it replaced.

Correct Strength/Ratio for where the vehicle gets used, ie Minimum Temperatures in Winter.

 

george

Old Webbo

 

When my car was around 2.5 yrs old I had the coolant light come on.  I had generally kept an eye on all the fluid levels before that and had noticed it was nearer the Min than the Max line.  I also park on a slope so not always easy to judge.  The light came on at just beneath the Min line.

 

Anyway, having read the manual and seen the warning there that I should get this checked I decided to call Skoda assist.  The guy came out, topped it up and told me that this was likely due to general expansion of the hoses.  I.e. a very small increase in diameter (probably due to ageing) across all the hoses will result in a slightly larger volume to fill in the system and hence level dropping below the minimum.  This made sense to me.

 

It has been fine since then.  I've done 42,000 now and prob had about 36,000 on clock then - but seems like it relates to age rather than mileage?

 

Of course all the advice to check for leaks, etc is still the first thing to do (and the Skoda assist man did do this before reaching his conclusion).

 

Hope this helps.

Funnily enough had a low coolant level warning on mine last week.  Even though I'd driven about 2000 miles since its accident repair, I've put it down to it having finally settled at what was just below the Min (cold).  Was late at night in the middle of nowhere, so it got a top up of Highland Spring (all I had in the car at the time) - level still at Min when I checked on Sunday.  

 

I did see some discussion on the correct coolant to find - bottle says G12, but I believe it should be G12++ or G13 or something like that?

Before I had my engine replaced last year I had noticed some crystalline deposits on one of the water hoses, looked like it had been split slightly from the clip holding it on. After new engine installed, the hose was replaced and as yet it hasn't used anything.