Hey folks.

 Need some advice. My 2014 seems to loose its coolant when it's parked up. The engine doesn't seem to overheat, just get the warning when I strike it up after a day or so after being stood. The tank is normally just under the minimum level. The only link I have is after I have been using the air con. It randomly did it last summer and been fine all winter and just started using th a/c and it stated again. I had the system cooling system drained etc last year incase it was the silicone bag had burst.

 

I recently drove 500 miles with no problems 🤷🏼‍♂️

Edited 15 July, 20214 yr by mustang86

Sounds like one of two areas:

 

1) Check there are no leaks around the water pump - 2013-2017 cars have weak water pumps that are known to fail.

2) Check the cap on the top of the coolant expansion tank - these are also known to fail in random ways.

 

When you stop the car or you have placed extra stress into the car, the coolant gets hots.  When you stop the car, the excess heat will rise to a high point - this being the coolant header tank.  The extra pressure maybe just enough to open a faulty cap and it leaks via the overflow on the side of the header tank.

If it is not something obvious in the engine bay (visible radiator or hose leaks) or cabin (coolant smell), then it could be head gasket.

Early stages of head gasket leak into coolant manifest themselves in similar way, level is OK or even high after a drive because exhaust gases are pushing it up, then after things cool down, coolant level goes down plus coolant leaks slowly into the cold engine.

In later stages, even accelerating e.g. to join a motorway can boil the coolant out of the bottle.

I guess on newer cars a similar leak could also occur in EGR cooler, though exhaust pressures are much lower there.

 

I had this with Mk1 Octavia diesel after dealer workshop failed to fill in the engine head fully with coolant following the timing belt job. 

 

Check coolant for contamination, if it is not entirely pink/violet but has definite yellowish or oily residue, time to visit workshop.

Later on, if you notice the coolant needle moving anywhere past 90deg C, it is time to visit workshop fast. HTH

This is interesting as my header tank has changed colour and the garage want the car back (next available slot with loan car 02/08) but also my car tells me that it is upto full working temperature in around 2 mins (90° on the VC).

 

This is impossible as far as I know. But it's also losing coolant somewhere and I'm having to carry a 5ltr bottle of water with me to keep topping it up.

 

It makes no odds with me if the air conditioning is on or off.

 

As my car is under 3yrs old it's being done under warranty. 

6 minutes ago, TheWanderer said:

header tank has changed colour

Bad news. That's the Silica bag gone south then..... definitely new heat exchanger and water pump.

Is that why the coolant level keeps dropping and the car telling me to add water to the system? 

 

Are you meant to see the bag when topping it up? If so then you're right because I can only see the interior of the expansion bottle (header).

Edited 17 July, 20214 yr by TheWanderer

At a guess, I think you may have had two of the issues crop up together. The Silica Bag is known to let go after a period of time (my 3.5 year old VRS was about to let go on its bag but caught it in time) and the water pumps do go. What I think you are seeing is Silica mixing with the coolant in the header tank making it a dirty sludgy brown colour and it is either the water pump letting go (symptoms are sudden overheating) or the coolant pressure cap failing. If the coolant colour is yellowish then I agree with @dieselV6 that coolant and oil is mixing and you have a gasket going. Either way get it seen to asap and minimise driving if you can. Car is not happy.

Could this also affect the oil sensor? 

Yes, if coolant is getting into the engine, then you will get prompts to change the oil quite quickly due to contamination.

All I get is Oil sensor failure take to workshop. 

 

It seems erratic that if ambient temperatures are >23° then the problem occurs, but also there's a patch of something that appears under the engine when I have left the car standing for a while. 

 

I've thought that it maybe condensate from the air conditioning system and that's been recently serviced and recharged. But the patch of something has been going on for a while. 

 

 

I was wondering if the two are connected in some way. Would water in the oil be detected by the oil sensor and cause it say that there was a failure? 

 

If so slightly odd that it only does it when the outside ambient temperature is >23°

 

Nothing I can do until August 2nd anyway. No long journeys planned until after that date.

Edited 17 July, 20214 yr by TheWanderer

Good luck. Hope it is sorted soon.

Here's the colour and state of my expansion bottle. Funny colour isn't it? 

 

It got a bottle of perrier still water the other day!  Posh water 😄

 

Edited 17 July, 20214 yr by TheWanderer

It's not great. Coolant change is reqd every 5 years. But that coolant definitely looks browny red.....

Should be bright pink through the wall of the expansion tank, and your tank has Mit Silikat written on the side which is the evil tank that can deposit granules into the heater matrix and block it up. Check heat on drivers side vents, might be tricky as it 25C at the moment, 😃 if they feel cooler than the other side, its a new heater matrix to fix it. 

It's still under warranty, so it's Skodas problem. 

 

It's been serviced by a franchised dealer to their specs and time frames.

 

They've got the car for at least 3 days from August 2nd. 

26 minutes ago, varaderoguy said:

It's not great. Coolant change is reqd every 5 years. But that coolant definitely looks browny red.....

 

The car is only a very late MY19.