# Coolant Issue



## Atlas Driver (Aug 15, 2018)

Hello all. Just wanted to share an ongoing saga with our 2018 Atlas SEL Premium w/4Motion (10 months old, 13K miles, all recommended maintenance performed by the dealer).

Disclaimer - Besides this issue, the car has been fantastic.

Two weeks ago, my wife (the daily driver of the Atlas) had a low coolant alarm when she started the car. It quickly cleared, but it was enough of a concern she called the dealer. They had her verify the coolant level which appeared normal. A few days later she had the same issue so she made an appointment to have the dealership look at it. 

Dealer looks at it, makes sure all fluid levels are good and tells us it is good to go. As I am driving to pick it up, they decide to perform a pressure test. They pressurize the cooling system and the coolant disappears. No visible leaks, nothing in the oil pan, just gone. After literally taking the engine apart, they say the cylinder head assembly is warped, likely due to heating from a bad head gasket. 

Now they are saying it could be a week or longer before replacement parts arrive. 

I will provide an update when available, but wanted to get this out there since there doesn't seem to be a lot online yet.


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## PvilleStang (Aug 6, 2018)

So where did the coolant go? Leak out the back of the block onto the ground? And why is the coolant reservoir still showing as full? Something doesn't mesh up there...


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

PvilleStang said:


> So where did the coolant go? Leak out the back of the block onto the ground? And why is the coolant reservoir still showing as full? Something doesn't mesh up there...


Head gasket issues mean it went out the tailpipe...vaporized! :laugh:


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## Atlas Driver (Aug 15, 2018)

KarstGeo said:


> Head gasket issues mean it went out the tailpipe...vaporized! :laugh:


That is the current theory. I don't 100% buy it, but I'm willing to go with it until it proves false.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Atlas Driver said:


> That is the current theory. I don't 100% buy it, but I'm willing to go with it until it proves false.


Why don't you buy it? It's the most logical explanation as to why you didn't see any leaks.


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## Atlas Driver (Aug 15, 2018)

KarstGeo said:


> Why don't you buy it? It's the most logical explanation as to why you didn't see any leaks.


It isn't so much the coolant going out the tail pipe I don't buy as it is their explanation of an issue with assembly causing the cylinder head to warp. Granted, they could say anything and I would be skeptical, but that is just my nature.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Atlas Driver said:


> It isn't so much the coolant going out the tail pipe I don't buy as it is their explanation of an issue with assembly causing the cylinder head to warp. Granted, they could say anything and I would be skeptical, but that is just my nature.


Could be a bad head gasket or manufacturing defect, at some point, they can't deliver 100% QA/QC during the process and there will be some failures with ALL brands. At least that's how I see it.


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## Atlas Driver (Aug 15, 2018)

Quick update to the situation. Car is still in the shop. Took a while to get all the parts. While performing the work, the dealer damaged some of the hoses. They were honest with us and are making it right, but it is causing a few more days delay due to parts availability again. Should have the car back in a few days.


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## Shangus (Nov 2, 2014)

Thanks for sharing this. Did you ever notice a coolant smell while or after driving it? Mine has a coolant smell as if it was leaking though no spots on the floor, the reservoir is at the bottom line on the tank, but no warnings or anything. I took it in 2 weeks ago before a long road trip to have them top it off, but they said there was just an air bubble in there, when they opened the cap the level moved up to the top. At this point it is just at the bottom line again, and I opened the cap and it just stayed there. I am going to make an appointment for my seatbelt recall and ask them to look at this too.


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## Atlas Driver (Aug 15, 2018)

Shangus said:


> Thanks for sharing this. Did you ever notice a coolant smell while or after driving it? Mine has a coolant smell as if it was leaking though no spots on the floor, the reservoir is at the bottom line on the tank, but no warnings or anything. I took it in 2 weeks ago before a long road trip to have them top it off, but they said there was just an air bubble in there, when they opened the cap the level moved up to the top. At this point it is just at the bottom line again, and I opened the cap and it just stayed there. I am going to make an appointment for my seatbelt recall and ask them to look at this too.


I never noticed a smell, but my wife did. Never consistently and never strong enough to be concerned. At the time just chalked it up to new car/engine and a particularly hot summer. Needless to say we will be paying closer attention from now on. The dealership initially told us it was an air bubble as well (along with the fact that sometimes they come from the factory with low fluid levels) to which I countered with the fact we had been driving it for 10 months/13k miles and it had been in for the 10k mile service a few months prior (dealer topped off all fluids as part of the service). They dropped that possibility after that was brought up. Shortly after that, they found the cylinder head assembly was warped. 

Should be picking it up tomorrow after work.


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## EPilot (Jul 27, 1999)

Atlas Driver said:


> Should be picking it up tomorrow after work.


Are they just replacing the head or whole engine?
Are they replacing the timing chains too?


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## Atlas Driver (Aug 15, 2018)

EPilot said:


> Are they just replacing the head or whole engine?
> Are they replacing the timing chains too?


They are replacing the head. Don't know about the timing chains, but I will find out.

Another update... was told yesterday that repairs were complete and they were going to have the service manager drive it to and from work to make sure there were no surprises once the engine was used in a variety of conditions, but it would be ready for pickup by lunchtime today. 

So last night my wife and I looked on the Car-Net app and saw the car was parked in front of a home. We also noticed that there was an unspecified service warning. Wife contacted the dealership and asks about the service warning. Turns out it was a check engine light and when they read the code, it looks like there is a fuel vapor leak from one of the injectors. Front end has to come off again, as does the intake manifold so they can fix it. 

To the dealer's credit, they admit is was most likely the result of something not seating right during reassembly and they are having the car professionally detailed before they finally return it to us, and they offered to make our next car payment for us... but man this is frustrating.


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## Atlas Driver (Aug 15, 2018)

Atlas Driver said:


> They are replacing the head. Don't know about the timing chains, but I will find out.
> 
> Another update... was told yesterday that repairs were complete and they were going to have the service manager drive it to and from work to make sure there were no surprises once the engine was used in a variety of conditions, but it would be ready for pickup by lunchtime today.
> 
> ...


Yet another update... wife should be picking up the Atlas today. Turns out they used the wrong injector gaskets when they reassembled the intake manifold. They tried to feed us a line about how there are two part numbers. It's all back together, tested and is supposed to be getting detailed right now. We shall see. Maybe the third time is the charm?


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## TablaRasa (May 12, 2008)

Atlas Driver said:


> Yet another update... wife should be picking up the Atlas today. Turns out they used the wrong injector gaskets when they reassembled the intake manifold. They tried to feed us a line about how there are two part numbers. It's all back together, tested and is supposed to be getting detailed right now. We shall see. Maybe the third time is the charm?


so what was their reason for your vehicle being in front of someone's house?


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## Atlas Driver (Aug 15, 2018)

Atlas Driver said:


> Yet another update... wife should be picking up the Atlas today. Turns out they used the wrong injector gaskets when they reassembled the intake manifold. They tried to feed us a line about how there are two part numbers. It's all back together, tested and is supposed to be getting detailed right now. We shall see. Maybe the third time is the charm?


So third time was the charm. The Atlas is back home, apparently no worse for wear. The dealership honored their word and had the car completely detailed, fully fueled and started the paperwork to make this month's car payment. They provided a very detailed written report that documented all repairs completed and all parts replaced (over $10,000 in parts alone). They also showed my wife exactly how to check the coolant level. Took it for a spin last night and everything seems good to go.

To answer the last question, the car was outside the manager's home. We had agreed to let the dealership test drive it to make sure everything was operating fine. They finished repairs a day ahead of schedule and the manager took the car without notifying our service rep (who was off that day). Annoying, but basically just poor communication within their organization.


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## Shangus (Nov 2, 2014)

Atlas Driver said:


> I never noticed a smell, but my wife did. Never consistently and never strong enough to be concerned. At the time just chalked it up to new car/engine and a particularly hot summer. Needless to say we will be paying closer attention from now on. The dealership initially told us it was an air bubble as well (along with the fact that sometimes they come from the factory with low fluid levels) to which I countered with the fact we had been driving it for 10 months/13k miles and it had been in for the 10k mile service a few months prior (dealer topped off all fluids as part of the service). They dropped that possibility after that was brought up. Shortly after that, they found the cylinder head assembly was warped.
> 
> Should be picking it up tomorrow after work.


Brought mine in for the seatbelt recall today and mentioned the coolant situation. Again, the guy opens the hood and opens the reservoir to have it bubble up to the max again - despite that when I did that at home twice it did not bubble up. They offered to check it further anyway, and later he told me that one of the techs bought an Atlas for his wife and he also notices the smell but does not notice a leak. I guess I will monitor it and if my low coolant light comes on I will try again.


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## PvilleStang (Aug 6, 2018)

We got the alarm yesterday after sitting in traffic for an hour, pulled up to OReilley Auto, and popped the hood. Reservoir had maybe an ounce in the VERY bottom, but well below the min line. Went inside, purchased a jug of coolant, popped the cap, and it had bubbled back up in the time I was inside. Topped it off to the upper threshold, and the alarm went off. Noticed the strong smell of coolant each time we stopped the rest of the day (traveling with a newborn, so there was plenty of stopping for feeding and changing). I'll be contacting someone once I get my other daily taken care of.


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## EPilot (Jul 27, 1999)

PvilleStang said:


> We got the alarm yesterday after sitting in traffic for an hour, pulled up to OReilley Auto, and popped the hood. Reservoir had maybe an ounce in the VERY bottom, but well below the min line. Went inside, purchased a jug of coolant, popped the cap, and it had bubbled back up in the time I was inside. Topped it off to the upper threshold, and the alarm went off. Noticed the strong smell of coolant each time we stopped the rest of the day (traveling with a newborn, so there was plenty of stopping for feeding and changing). I'll be contacting someone once I get my other daily taken care of.


Hopefully you got the right coolant. I'd take it in if you are losing a lot still.


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## EPilot (Jul 27, 1999)

Atlas Driver said:


> They provided a very detailed written report that documented all repairs completed and all parts replaced (over $10,000 in parts alone).


Could you post what they replaced. I'm curious and I'm sure others on here are too.


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## Atlas Driver (Aug 15, 2018)

EPilot said:


> Could you post what they replaced. I'm curious and I'm sure others on here are too.


Sure, it will be a day or two before I can sit down and enter it in, but I'll post the list.


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