Excessive coolant loss????

Suicida1 Zombie

Active Member
Mar 19, 2013
446
2
I have just had the same problem on my SEAT Leon this morning. I have had the car 7 weeks now and was greeted with the warning light when I arrived at work. I now have to drive the car home and may call the dealer asking for a car so that I can get to and from work. Still... I have to drive home but will check the level before I go driving the car again... Not very happy.

Hope this isn't going to start a trend.....

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Daniel1431

Active Member
Jun 21, 2008
453
0
Walsall, West Midlands
It does seem to be going that way I have to say. Will have a look at the car on the car park after I have finished work. May give the garage a call and ask them to collect it later this evening or first thing in the morning to get me to and from work. Spent more time going to and from the garage with this car in 7 weeks than I did with 2 1/2 years with my Ibiza FR...
 

Jarre

Active Member
Dec 9, 2011
5,365
11
Stockton-On-Tees
Why would you faff around booking it in with a dealer? You have seat assist, since the cars not old enough for it to have expired, which includes a hire car if it takes more than 2 hours to repair:
http://www.seat.co.uk/content/uk/br...-roadside-assistance/roadside-assistance.html

Get them rung.

This.

If the AA come and say 'I'll top it up and see how it goes' tell them that you've already topped it up and it continues to go down, and you want the car taking to the dealer of your choice. Through SEAT assistance you'll get a hire car for upto 5 days (although I had mine for 7 as it's through enterprise) for free. I was only 18 at the time but managed to insure enterprises car on my insurance for £30 for the week.
 

Suicida1 Zombie

Active Member
Mar 19, 2013
446
2
Surely they would just come out and top-up the coolant. The car hasn't broken down as such so its technically temporarily 'fixed' just by topping the coolant up.

I might be wrong but considering its AA cover at the end if the day they see it as if if drives with no faults then they will send you on your way, its not as if the car has dumped a gallon of coolant, its more like a 10th of the coolant at most, its not going lose it all in a hurry. Mine hasn't actually dropped since I filled it up.

Perhaps I just worry less in my situation as its not really 'my' car..... I think if I was paying the kind of cash you guys were I would be more worried.

EDIT: Jarre beat me to it.
 
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Daniel1431

Active Member
Jun 21, 2008
453
0
Walsall, West Midlands
I will go out and check it. Drive it home and then call them to get them out to top it up right away. I will of course take it to the dealer to get it looked it. Depending on the level it has dropped may just have to stay at work and get them to come to fill it up here!

Wonder if it a problem a few cars are having?
 

kopnyr

Active Member
Nov 8, 2013
64
1
Nitra, Slovakia
I have so many cars and used them on hot summers but I have never this problem. Now I have new Leon 1.8 TSI DSG and no sign on leakage or missing the coolant.
This massive loss of coolant must be leakage or no good sealing between the coolant system and motor. In both cases it must be a warranty issue.

Please inform us about solution.
 

Daniel1431

Active Member
Jun 21, 2008
453
0
Walsall, West Midlands
Will let you know what happens when I take the car in to the garage. I had the AA come out to me at work yesterday and topped it up for me. I told him of my other problems with the car and he said if he was me he would drive the car to the showroom, park it and demand a refund. Haha!
 

dw911

Active Member
Mar 30, 2013
1,036
6
Mine hasn't used any coolant in 10, 000 miles and my mk2 used none in 30, 000 miles
If mine was losing coolant I would have it straight back to the dealer, especially if you can't see where the coolant is leaking from
You really don't want to find out what happens if your engine tries to compress coolant
 

dw911

Active Member
Mar 30, 2013
1,036
6
I take it anyone with coolant loss has removed the oil cap to Check for any signs of water contamination?
 

Suicida1 Zombie

Active Member
Mar 19, 2013
446
2
I have, nothing on the cap other than pure oil, No creamy residue anywhere (Did have a look in the rocker with a flash light too...)
 
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dw911

Active Member
Mar 30, 2013
1,036
6
It could be a small airlock or the system not bleed properly at the factory when they filled it

As the air finds its way to the top of the system (coolant bottle) it causes the coolant level to drop
So in fact you have not lost any coolant, it was just air trapped where there should have been coolant, now the air has gone the coolant has taken its place and the coolant level in the coolant bottle has dropped to replace the space previously occupied by the trapped air

The above is just my thoughts as to what may be possibly be happening and why the coolant level drops, I would have thought the system would be pressure filled at the factory to avoid any air trapped, but you never know, the above could still be the reason

Anyway as they are brand new cars its wise to get the dealer to investigate any drop in coolant level, just to rule out anything more serious
 

Suicida1 Zombie

Active Member
Mar 19, 2013
446
2
In regards to last post: See that was acutually my thoughts but so with people on here advising that any drop in coolant is a leak somewhere I thought it would be better safe than sorry.

I assume they will just do something like pressurise the system and check for any leaks....

Your input is reassuring, hopefully thats all the problem will be as its not dropped since and I have done about 150 miles since I topped it up.
 

ZBOYD

Looking up at the stars!
May 19, 2001
9,468
15
Cheshire
www.seatcupra.net
I think in most cases its better to air on the side of caution than potentially damage the car and all the hassles involved in that scenario, even if it is covered by the warranty.

As I posted earlier in the thread.

SEAT's own User Manual states:

Any loss of coolant fluid normally indicates a leak in the cooling system. Take the vehicle straight to a specialised workshop to have the cooling system examined. If there are no leaks in the engine cooling system, a loss of coolant can only occur if the coolant boils and is forced out of the system as a result of overheating.
 
Jun 15, 2013
268
2
SEAT's own User Manual states:

Any loss of coolant fluid normally indicates a leak in the cooling system. Take the vehicle straight to a specialised workshop to have the cooling system examined. If there are no leaks in the engine cooling system, a loss of coolant can only occur if the coolant boils and is forced out of the system as a result of overheating.

When an engine boils and expels coolant there is always an unholy mess over the expansion bottle or wherever the system expels its water. Easy to spot.

DW 911's explanation makes sense to me.

A simple pressure test at the dealer should discover any leak.
 

ZBOYD

Looking up at the stars!
May 19, 2001
9,468
15
Cheshire
www.seatcupra.net
This is true, and all of this I know very well. However that isn't what I was addressing.

Which is just to be cautious.

Some people may take that advice without taking it to a dealer when it could very potentially be a serious fault that could cause more damage. Though it's something that would surely be covered should the worse happen, you have to ask yourself do you need that hassle for the sake of treating any sudden coolant loss as a problem.

It's just as likely that it isn't a huge issue and it is a simple air lock in the system as has been theorized.

But the official company line and what to do should you have any problems with the coolant system is what's in the manual.

That's the only point I was making.

Is it worth second guessing a potentially serious issue.

If you read what dw911 says he also points out the importance of taking it to a dealer to investigate a sudden drop in coolant. So I'm just reiterating his own point.

:)
 
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