When I bought my car I had the low coolant level warning. I went and bought the CORRECT coolant and filled the reservoir to the full level. This was a few days ago.

Today the warning light came back on. I checked and the coolant is low again. Is this normal for a Jag? Also the engine has the smell of coolant after driving.

I see no leaks, the temp level on the dash is at half when driving and doesn't go any higher even at idle.

I actually visited the dealer where the car has been for fixes. Per the service tech the car had a new reservoir put in Dec, 2011.

Advice and help is appreciated.

 

That's not normal for any car.
Why didn't the dealer take a look to see if there were any leaks? And didn't you find that waning suspicious when you were buying a car?

 

Do you know if the coolant line under the SC has been replaced? These are prone to failure (small crack) and replacing the line is about a $1600 job! When mine went had the same issue kept losing small amounts of coolant until finally it just went all together and caused the temps to start rising quickly...

Unfortunately there isnt a good way to check for this failure because its on the back side of the motor. You can look to see if there are any coolant leaks on the back side of the engine if you find coolant its likely you need the dreaded coolant hose replacement...

Best of Luck!

 

I don't think the OP's car is an STR. it says it's a "sport". So no intercooler.


You need to find that leak. If you're seeing no puddles under the car, or wet spots on hoses, I'd be checking for moisture in the carpet in the passengers' footwell.....

 

You need to pressure test the system cold. When the engine is hot you can't work on it. Have you changed the DCCV yet? They fail and normally don't leak. Look for red stains using a flashlight under the hood. That's one useful thing about Dex-Cool it leaves a trail.
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I haven't taken off the plastic engine cover but I looked and didn't see any wet at all, nothing under the cover.

 

Why didn't the dealer look? I didn't ask him too. It wasn't doing it at the time. I went to the dealer because the car fax showed that they had serviced the car so I went to find out the history. Thats when I was told the last visit was for a reservoir tank.

Suspicious no, since I immediately brought it up to the dealer and they said they would fix it immediately. BEFORE signing the papers I checked and the light was off and then took the car to the Jag dealer across the street and they said it was in great shape. They didn't make any suggestions or anything. It came back on later and I checked the tank and noticed it was low.

 

We had a similar problem in my daughters S70 Volvo. She called me from college telling me that her coolant light was on when she started the car but went out after driving for 5 minutes, so I told her to fill it when it was cold. Long story short, the car had a bad head gasket. I found it buy taking the car on a test drive.

When the car was cold, I filled the Res between min & max. Drove 4 miles on the freeway, stopped and checked the level, it was at max. Drove 3 more miles and it was over the max line and at the cap. Drove 3 more miles and the coolant was escaping the res cap (pressure relief).

Exhaust gases was escaping the combustion chamber and over pressurizing the coolant causing it to boil out of the res tank, causing the car to loose coolant that was not leaving any leak trail.

You can read the long story here:
http://m.volvoforums.com/forum/showt...ewpost&t=63516

 

It's very easy to determine if the head gasket is leaking. Get the test strip that you dip in the coolant. If any combustion gasses are present it shows up as a color change. It's cheap and easy so if you can't find the problem. I would do the test just to rule out the head gasket.

NAPA has a test kit;
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...006_0361172686
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The first full dry day and yes there is a small puddle under the car...it smells like coolant! From the location I would assume it is the hose at the rear of the engine. OUCH!!

The dealer has a 3 month 3000 mile warranty on the drive train maybe he will fix this even though its not considered the drive train.

Oh yeah catstyle before you come off with your unwanted or un-needed and useless attitude and comment....there was no puddles under the car when I looked at it before buying! It has been raining up here as you should know living in the bay area so the ground has been wet since I bought the car.

 

I don't know if the dealer would cover a hose leak but I would suggest you press them on this one cause it sounds like the coolant leak issue existed before you purchased the car - sounds like they simply just filled up the expansion tank and called it a day... just my $0.02

 

Actually thats exactly my plan tomorrow. I'm going to start out with a little plea that I can't afford this and the car obviously had this existing leak and will they please help me out. If taking the nice way doesn't work then I will be a little more aggressive. The thing is I really don't have a problem calling the BBB and court if necessary. The only problem is that the car is used sold AS-IS but the dealer does have a 3 month 3000 mile drive train warranty. We'll see how it plays out.

 

Diamondrmp - Best of luck and I hope the dealership does right by you - keep us apprised of the findings and outcome.

 

Just got off the phone with the dealer that I bought the car from. He didn't hesitate or argue, I didn't have to plead or threaten, he asked if it was able to be driven and I said yes and he said bring it in and we will fix it for you! My only concern is this, is this something that a normal mechanic can fix? Does it take special tools etc? I don't know how competent their mechanic is but I'm hoping he's good. I told them on the phone that the hose is at the rear of the engine and will need a hoist to access and replace it.

Got my fingers and toes crossed.

 

They can probably fix it.

 

The dealer has the car and they are going to fix it. They admitted when it was on the showroom floor they noticed fluid but could not locate it. I made it clear that I did not want a band aid fix but the hose replaced. They said that was their plan. So now I am siting at the mall wondering how I got so old so fast looking at all of these hot girls! Lmao

 

LMAO as well... glad to hear they are doing the right thing. Enjoy your ride!

 

She failed the pressure test. The water pump is being replaced with the agreement that if it is not the pump they will fix whatever it is until the problem is gone. There aren't a lot of used car dealers that will go the extra mile like this and soak up the cost. They told me when I purchased the the customer is first and their satisfaction is paramount. I guess they meant it.

 

Just out of curiosity - do you know where they got this car from, was it an auction or a trade in?

 

I thought the problem was with the hose at the rear. Replacing the water pump is a nice gesture, but will it stop the leak?