# Low coolant warning



## JungleMindState (Jun 17, 2013)

6 month old Atlas with less than 7k miles getting low coolant warning at startup the past couple of days. It’s been cold with highs near or below freezing, and I understand the coolant VW uses can contract. Is it a problem to continue to make short trips around town like this for a few more days, or do I need to add coolant and/or take to the dealer ASAP? Wouldn’t the temp gauge warn me if the coolant wasn’t sufficient to do it’s job, or no?


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## Don® (Oct 11, 2011)

I noticed coolant was low from the dealer. If the dealer filled it up with more anitfreeze than water then it will contract more when below freezing. You can top it up with dechlorinated water or swing by the dealer to top it up with 1:1 Ratio of anitfreeze to water.

Drive for a few days and monitor it.


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## edyvw (May 1, 2009)

JungleMindState said:


> 6 month old Atlas with less than 7k miles getting low coolant warning at startup the past couple of days. It’s been cold with highs near or below freezing, and I understand the coolant VW uses can contract. Is it a problem to continue to make short trips around town like this for a few more days, or do I need to add coolant and/or take to the dealer ASAP? Wouldn’t the temp gauge warn me if the coolant wasn’t sufficient to do it’s job, or no?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


What are your average temperature during winter? 
Go to local Wal mart and get distilled water or get bottle of coolant G13 and top off. Make sure engine is cold. Best to top off is in the morning before you hit the road. 


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## atlas7 (May 29, 2017)

What is most important is the temperature of your car. If it starts to overheat, turn on the heater and fan and head for the dealer. It would also be good to note what the actual level is when that warning comes on for next time. Also check for rodent damage to the water lines as those little guys don't just eat the wires they are just looking for a warm place to live:banghead:


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## 2018_Atlas_SEL (Jun 7, 2017)

Wife just told me she too received a low coolant warning lamp today. <7 months and ~8K miles. I thought it looked a little low when I changed the oil last Thursday (there's another story). I also feel like it often smells like antifreeze when she parks it in the garage after work. First I've ever heard of contracting coolant. Most of the systems I've seen, if the coolant was fine and now it is low, it's going somewhere. Oil looked fine so I don't think it's going there. No spots on the ground under the Atlas. Maybe it is just shrinking....wouldn't be the first weird thing with our first VW.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

2018_Atlas_SEL said:


> Wife just told me she too received a low coolant warning lamp today. <7 months and ~8K miles. I thought it looked a little low when I changed the oil last Thursday (there's another story). I also feel like it often smells like antifreeze when she parks it in the garage after work. First I've ever heard of contracting coolant. Most of the systems I've seen, if the coolant was fine and now it is low, it's going somewhere. Oil looked fine so I don't think it's going there. No spots on the ground under the Atlas. Maybe it is just shrinking....wouldn't be the first weird thing with our first VW.


All automotive cooling systems are vented and not sealed. They will lose coolant over time. Top it up and move on with life. BTW, a liquid does contract with temperature until it starts to freeze.


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## kamouche (Sep 22, 2017)

I just got the same warning on my wife's Atlas. The current temperature in NYC is 15 degrees.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

kamouche said:


> I just got the same warning on my wife's Atlas. The current temperature in NYC is 15 degrees.


Is this the first time you yahoos have ever operated a vehicle in cold climates? Good grief, top it up and move on with life. Read the OM for the proper cold and warm level.


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## ribbit (Jun 4, 2012)

Your cars are still in warranty,so the car should be going back to the dealer. Why try to diagnose this type of problem. You paid for the warranty, use it. If you somehow screw something up playing around it will be on you.

Sorry,but I see this going on in web sites all the time.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

ribbit said:


> Your cars are still in warranty,so the car should be going back to the dealer. Why try to diagnose this type of problem. You paid for the warranty, use it. If you somehow screw something up playing around it will be on you. Sorry,but I see this going on in web sites all the time.


You take your vehicle to the dealer just for needed a little coolant added?


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## GiddyGTI (Sep 28, 2005)

Had the low temp warning light come on with the weather in the teens. Added 50/50 mix of coolant and was done. 

I did notice with the warning the remote start will not work. 

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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

GiddyGTI said:


> Had the low temp warning light come on with the weather in the teens. Added 50/50 mix of coolant and was done.....


Why does this logic not occur to others?


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## hoobafrank (Feb 22, 2006)

I also received this warning when we hit the teens and below. It goes away when the car warms up, but the remote start still won't work. I added a 50/50 mix of G13 and distilled water last night. We'll see how it helps.


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## edyvw (May 1, 2009)

ribbit said:


> Your cars are still in warranty,so the car should be going back to the dealer. Why try to diagnose this type of problem. You paid for the warranty, use it. If you somehow screw something up playing around it will be on you.
> 
> Sorry,but I see this going on in web sites all the time.


What would they screw up? Adding coolant or distilled water, VW cannot deny warranty. 


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## Don® (Oct 11, 2011)

hoobafrank said:


> I also received this warning when we hit the teens and below. It goes away when the car warms up, but the remote start still won't work. I added a 50/50 mix of G13 and distilled water last night. We'll see how it helps.


If your gas tank is less than 1/4 full, remote start won't work.
If a door, hood or trunk is ajar, remote start won't work.

Coolant light cannot be on.


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## ribbit (Jun 4, 2012)

The point I was trying to make is your new car shouldn't need to have coolant added. I have had over 25 cars AND NEVER HAD TO ADD COOLANT BETWEEN NORMAL INTERVAL CHANGES. Something is amiss,go to the dealer and make them deal with it or go it alone.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

ribbit said:


> The point I was trying to make is your new car shouldn't need to have coolant added. I have had over 25 cars AND NEVER HAD TO ADD COOLANT BETWEEN NORMAL INTERVAL CHANGES. Something is amiss,go to the dealer and make them deal with it or go it alone.


I trust you do realize that coolant systems are not sealed and will lose coolant thru the pressure cap. How do you know the OP's vehicle was ever topped up? I regularly need to add a bit, usually with the onset of cold weather and my vehicles have never had a coolant leak.


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## edyvw (May 1, 2009)

ribbit said:


> The point I was trying to make is your new car shouldn't need to have coolant added. I have had over 25 cars AND NEVER HAD TO ADD COOLANT BETWEEN NORMAL INTERVAL CHANGES. Something is amiss,go to the dealer and make them deal with it or go it alone.


It could be that it came from factory like that. Add coolant and see. If it happens again, then drive to dealer. 


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## Atlasowner2018 (Jul 28, 2017)

*low coolant warning in cold weather*

Zero degrees in Detroit and Atlas seems to take a long time to warm up. Low coolant light went on and dealer filled up my empty reservoir. My light went off and remote start is active again. I have not lost any fluid since refill. Maybe just because nit is so cold and vehicle is so large, it seems to heat up slowly. 5 miles/ 8 mins for gauge to go vertical


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## edyvw (May 1, 2009)

Atlasowner2018 said:


> Zero degrees in Detroit and Atlas seems to take a long time to warm up. Low coolant light went on and dealer filled up my empty reservoir. My light went off and remote start is active again. I have not lost any fluid since refill. Maybe just because nit is so cold and vehicle is so large, it seems to heat up slowly. 5 miles/ 8 mins for gauge to go vertical


Set HVAC on cold and turn off fan (also AC). That will warm up engine much faster. If you keep HVAC on hot and fan on you are basically cooling additionally coolant. 


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Atlasowner2018 said:


> Zero degrees in Detroit and Atlas seems to take a long time to warm up. Low coolant light went on and dealer filled up my empty reservoir. My light went off and remote start is active again. I have not lost any fluid since refill. Maybe just because nit is so cold and vehicle is so large, it seems to heat up slowly. 5 miles/ 8 mins for gauge to go vertical


What similar vehicle have you used that warms up quicker?


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

edyvw said:


> Set HVAC on cold and turn off fan (also AC). That will warm up engine much faster. If you keep HVAC on hot and fan on you are basically cooling additionally coolant.....


I assume you are ignorant of the sophisticated coolant management system VW uses.


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## kamouche (Sep 22, 2017)

Went to the dealership yesterday and they did a pressure test and didn't observe any leaks. They said that the coolant was legit low, perhaps they didn't top it off when I got the car in October. Go Figure. Since it's been topped off, I haven't seen any more alarms.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

kamouche said:


> Went to the dealership yesterday and they did a pressure test and didn't observe any leaks. They said that the coolant was legit low, perhaps they didn't top it off when I got the car in October. Go Figure. Since it's been topped off, I haven't seen any more alarms.


Not a sealed system....it is going to loose coolant via the pressure cap. Normal and all vehicles do it.


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## 0macman0 (Nov 6, 2017)

I got the low coolant light this past weekend but it took sub-0 temps to get the coolant to contract enough to trigger the low coolant warning. Even then there was still s little coolant left at the bottom of the reservoir and quickly refilled as the engine warmed. I did notice that when the car is fully warm it is only at the min line, I’m betting they just didn’t fill it up enough at the factory. It’s about 1 cup short.


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## 800ftTallAngryRobot (Dec 5, 2018)

*Low Coolant Warning - 2nd time around...*

Long story short, I picked up a new 2018 Atlas SE w/Tech v6 back in September. We have been pretty happy 
About three weeks ago I went to start the car and got an error message saying coolant levels were too low, turn off. The car had about 1,600 miles or so on it at the time, and I certainly didn't have any marks under the car. Dealer goes through it, can't find a leak, pressure tests it, can't find any issues. They say that sometimes there could be a "bubble" in it from the factory, etc, they fill it back up & say I should be good to go.

Today, about 3 weeks later, and just over 1,900 miles, bang same issue. I'm going to have it towed to the dealership again, they've been good about getting me a rental/etc. But I have to say I'm pretty f'ing frustrated here. 

Anyone else out there having this issue?


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

See this *thread* as some others had a similar issue.


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## ToySlacker (Aug 10, 2007)

I had this issue pop up at about 6-7 months and 6000-7000 miles on mine... but expensive AF VW coolant on my own because the dealers around me are terrible at scheduling. Filled it up, haven't had any issues for the past 1000+ miles, but I'm driving around with extra coolant just in case (they only had the gallon jug when I needed it).


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## kkress (Sep 11, 2017)

Our Atlas is the fifth new VW our family has bought. So far, they've all needed a liter or two of coolant added to them between 20 and 40k miles. All have been pressure tested and no leaks. Once that is done it's done. Atlas only has 11k on it but haven't had to add any coolant to it yet, but I'll bet I'll need to at some point. I'm not concerned about it now but was during the 1st and 2nd cases.


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

Only thing to add to this discussion is that it is known that VW G-whatever coolant does contract with temperature.



Hfqkhal said:


> See this *thread* as some others had a similar issue.


You linked to this same thread.


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## 800ftTallAngryRobot (Dec 5, 2018)

mhjett said:


> Only thing to add to this discussion is that it is known that VW G-whatever coolant does contract with temperature.


I'm in the San Diego area, so our lows are in the mid-40s lately. First time it did it was at 1,200 miles, back in early November, the dealer couldn't find an issue, they did a pressure test & it passed. Their only guess was that there was a bubble in it somehow from the factory, and that when it went it lowered the coolant.
However, 3 weeks and about 700 miles later, bam same thing. So this means it's not a bubble, it will be something more serious. Dealer got it yesterday, they gave me an SE loaner as I needed the 7 seats since we have family in town.
Last time it happened was RIGHT before the new one arrived, I got the car back the day before we needed to get to the hospital. This time around with the in-laws here, great timing!

Still waiting to hear back from the dealer...


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

mhjett said:


> Only thing to add to this discussion is that it is known that VW G-whatever coolant does contract with temperature.....


And what water based fluid does not? :screwy:


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

800ftTallAngryRobot said:


> I'm in the San Diego area, so our lows are in the mid-40s lately. First time it did it was at 1,200 miles, back in early November, the dealer couldn't find an issue, they did a pressure test & it passed. Their only guess was that there was a bubble in it somehow from the factory, and that when it went it lowered the coolant.
> However, 3 weeks and about 700 miles later, bam same thing. So this means it's not a bubble, it will be something more serious. Dealer got it yesterday, they gave me an SE loaner as I needed the 7 seats since we have family in town.
> Last time it happened was RIGHT before the new one arrived, I got the car back the day before we needed to get to the hospital. This time around with the in-laws here, great timing!
> 
> Still waiting to hear back from the dealer...


LOL. I had to think about for a bit only to realize it got moved into it.


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## 800ftTallAngryRobot (Dec 5, 2018)

Update: got the car back on Monday. They refilled the coolant, did a pressure test and left it on there for 3 hours, nothing. Drove it 20 miles, still good. VW Techline told them to add dye to the coolant, and it was released to me because it was "working as intended."
I'm sure it will happen again, and this time the dye will help track down where it went I suppose. I have to say while I was happy with how the dealer treated me, it's frustrating to hear "yeah we couldn't find anything wrong so we filled it up and here you go."

I'll keep folks posted if it happens again...


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

800ftTallAngryRobot said:


> ....I'm sure it will happen again, and this time the dye will help track down where it went I suppose...


So, does that include if it is going into the cylinders and being burned?


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## RFGuy_KCCO (Feb 22, 2016)

ribbit said:


> The point I was trying to make is your new car shouldn't need to have coolant added. I have had over 25 cars AND NEVER HAD TO ADD COOLANT BETWEEN NORMAL INTERVAL CHANGES. Something is amiss,go to the dealer and make them deal with it or go it alone.


And every new car I have purchased in the last 15 years, which includes several VW’s and BMW’s, have ALL needed to have coolant added at some point within the first year of ownership. I view this as very normal at this point and just add coolant/water to top it off and I’ve never seen the problem recur after that first top-off. 


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

RFGuy_KCCO said:


> And every new car I have purchased in the last 15 years, which includes several VW’s and BMW’s, have ALL needed to have coolant added at some point within the first year of ownership. I view this as very normal at this point and just add coolant/water to top it off and I’ve never seen the problem recur after that first top-off.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


So true, on my side the Mercedes and the Murano needed coolant after 3 months. A friend of mine took delivery of his E350 ( a few years back) only to experience the car shutting down on him and have it towed back to the dealer. They had to give him a new one as it was delivered with little oil in the engine and the engine seized. All I can say things happen and all we can say is hope it is not as bad as others.


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

Hfqkhal said:


> So true, on my side the Mercedes and the Murano needed coolant after 3 months. A friend of mine took delivery of his E350 ( a few years back) only to experience the car shutting down on him and have it towed back to the dealer. They had to give him a new one as it was delivered with little oil in the engine and the engine seized. All I can say things happen and all we can say is hope it is not as bad as others.


 "delivered with little oil in the engine" There was no warning from an oil light indicating low oil. Also the engine would have sounded awful.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

*DesertFox* said:


> "delivered with little oil in the engine" There was no warning from an oil light indicating low oil. Also the engine would have sounded awful.


Yup that was my question to him and he said no lights or warnings what so ever. He was like a couple miles away from the dealer and it happened. oh yeah, way back then I had bought a new Fiat, drove it for 15 minutes, stoped to get coffee and came out and the car would not start, towed to the dealer and they had to change the fuel pump on it. 2 weeks later the same happened and another fuel pump. After that not a single issue for 3 years and sold it to get a new Red Golf GTI


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Hfqkhal said:


> Yup that was my question to him and he said no lights or warnings what so ever.......


And you believed him?


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## 800ftTallAngryRobot (Dec 5, 2018)

800ftTallAngryRobot said:


> Update: got the car back on Monday. They refilled the coolant, did a pressure test and left it on there for 3 hours, nothing. Drove it 20 miles, still good. VW Techline told them to add dye to the coolant, and it was released to me because it was "working as intended."
> I'm sure it will happen again, and this time the dye will help track down where it went I suppose. I have to say while I was happy with how the dealer treated me, it's frustrating to hear "yeah we couldn't find anything wrong so we filled it up and here you go."
> 
> I'll keep folks posted if it happens again...


Here we are again! Went to start the car today, it wouldn't turn on the first few times I tried, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Then it did start and coolant alarm went off. I've driven it maybe 500 miles since the last time it was in the shop, about a month ago. Just around town, errand type stuff. And I hadn't driven it in maybe two days due to my kids being sick and being house-bound.

This makes try #3 for them to figure out what's going on.


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## mwilgosh (Jan 17, 2019)

Had this same issue, low coolant warning so I checked the reservoir and it was in fact low. This is the wife’s vehicle and I could always smell coolant when she would pull into the garage shortly after we purchased it. Went and bought the VW coolant and mixed it 50/50, had to add roughly 2 cups to the reservoir. Took it into the dealer and the thing needs a head gasket which is apparently 2-4 weeks away????? They gave the vehicle back meanwhile they had another Atlas in the shop that also had a bad head gasket but that one also had damage to the head as well. I wasn’t impressed with the fact that they have to do a head gasket already and open up the engine a year into the life I’d the vehicle nor the fact they gave the vehicle back risking the potential for more damage. They agreed and gave us a Tiguan to drive until our Atlas can be repaired which was good of them. Parts availability for these has been terrible and our local dealership agreed. We waited 3 months for parts when she was in an accident and the drivers door was hit. Love VW’s but this one is definitely leaving a sour taste. If you smell coolant and have been seeing your coolant level decrease, get it into the dealership.

We are in Saskatchewan, Canada so we have very cold temperatures but the coolant smell is there in summer and in winter.


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

mwilgosh said:


> Had this same issue, low coolant warning so I checked the reservoir and it was in fact low. This is the wife’s vehicle and I could always smell coolant when she would pull into the garage shortly after we purchased it. Went and bought the VW coolant and mixed it 50/50, had to add roughly 2 cups to the reservoir. Took it into the dealer and the thing needs a head gasket which is apparently 2-4 weeks away????? They gave the vehicle back meanwhile they had another Atlas in the shop that also had a bad head gasket but that one also had damage to the head as well. I wasn’t impressed with the fact that they have to do a head gasket already and open up the engine a year into the life I’d the vehicle nor the fact they gave the vehicle back risking the potential for more damage. They agreed and gave us a Tiguan to drive until our Atlas can be repaired which was good of them. Parts availability for these has been terrible and our local dealership agreed. We waited 3 months for parts when she was in an accident and the drivers door was hit. Love VW’s but this one is definitely leaving a sour taste. If you smell coolant and have been seeing your coolant level decrease, get it into the dealership.
> 
> We are in Saskatchewan, Canada so we have very cold temperatures but the coolant smell is there in summer and in winter.


Out of curiosity, what's the build date on your car?


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## 800ftTallAngryRobot (Dec 5, 2018)

800ftTallAngryRobot said:


> Here we are again! Went to start the car today, it wouldn't turn on the first few times I tried, I couldn't figure out what was going on. Then it did start and coolant alarm went off. I've driven it maybe 500 miles since the last time it was in the shop, about a month ago. Just around town, errand type stuff. And I hadn't driven it in maybe two days due to my kids being sick and being house-bound.
> 
> This makes try #3 for them to figure out what's going on.


"Pinhole leak in the rear coolant core" was the diagnosis. Had to have a part shipped from their east coast parts warehouse, but the car is fixed. Going to pick it up this afternoon. One shy of the 4 repairs needed for California lemon law. Let's hope this is the end of it...


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

800ftTallAngryRobot said:


> "Pinhole leak in the rear coolant core" was the diagnosis. Had to have a part shipped from their east coast parts warehouse, but the car is fixed. Going to pick it up this afternoon. One shy of the 4 repairs needed for California lemon law. Let's hope this is the end of it...


Sounds like the rear heater core inside the center console. Strange... I can see how that was a hard leak to find.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

Sorry if I missed this, but did you pass a pressure test prior to locating the pinhole leak.

Also, my Audi has always smelled of coolant when the engine is hot. The Atlas smells the same way. Both vehicles have been pressure tested. There are other threads on the net about VWs smelling like coolant and there is no leak. If anyone can explain why this happens I would love to know.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

shadytheatlas said:


> Sorry if I missed this, but did you pass a pressure test prior to locating the pinhole leak.
> 
> Also, my Audi has always smelled of coolant when the engine is hot. The Atlas smells the same way. Both vehicles have been pressure tested. There are other threads on the net about VWs smelling like coolant and there is no leak. If anyone can explain why this happens I would love to know.


Since the start of this thread I had been monitoring my coolant levels. At first time checking it at cold level t it was just above the minimum line. Up to yesterday the cold level check was still the same. With now knowing that all is staying the same and while my rout back home is close to the dealership (half a mile out of rout LOL) stopped by the service department and they toped it off for me and while at it they checked all other fluid levels which were as should be. The service person basically told me that the factory fill always results in toping it off again after being driven for while. Now that it is at the proper level I will monitor for another month to see if anything changes.


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## audiyos (Nov 23, 2018)

Bought my Atlas on 3/24/19, a week or so after I got the coolant warning light. Took it in to the dealer and they topped it off and said, "oh they come to the dealer sometimes a little low." Not sure why they don't check when prepping the car for delivery. On 4/3, light came on again. Took it back to the dealer 4/4, no visible leak underneath or by the tank. Leak was found behind the engine near the firewall, I can see some pink pooling on something silver (engine or trans whatever it is). They determined that the coolant hose has failed and claim to have never seen that issue before. Seems like this is happening pretty frequently for other owners on here...

Model: VW Atlas SEL R-Line 4-Motion, purchased at Auburn VW in Auburn, WA
Mileage: <300 miles
Serviced @ University VW in Seattle, WA 

Still at the dealer...:facepalm:


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## 800ftTallAngryRobot (Dec 5, 2018)

shadytheatlas said:


> Sorry if I missed this, but did you pass a pressure test prior to locating the pinhole leak.
> 
> Also, my Audi has always smelled of coolant when the engine is hot. The Atlas smells the same way. Both vehicles have been pressure tested. There are other threads on the net about VWs smelling like coolant and there is no leak. If anyone can explain why this happens I would love to know.


Sorry *I* missed this! Yes, passed pressure tests, 2+ hours. Several of them in fact. It came down to dying the coolant to figure out WTF was going on.

Seemed to fix it, but then boom the other week it happened again, not quite the "out of coolant" warning but another low coolant, so I'm bringing it back in, as I'm at about 8k miles now, and will have them do an oil change/etc...
I'll update again.


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## Jonmike (Aug 16, 2018)

Wasn't able to read the whole thread but happened to our Tiguan. Happened during winter. So apparently the coolant contracts in cold weather but would normalize when the engine temps normalizes. Wasn't this the case for you?

Also, if you top up when there was the coolant was low then tendency is that some will spill when temps normalizes.

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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Jonmike said:


> Wasn't able to read the whole thread but happened to our Tiguan. Happened during winter. So apparently the coolant contracts in cold weather but would normalize when the engine temps normalizes. Wasn't this the case for you?
> 
> Also, if you top up when there was the coolant was low then tendency is that some will spill when temps normalizes.
> 
> ....


Yes! Some folks just don't seem to understand how cooling systems work.


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## EJW1381 (Nov 2, 2018)

Did this go away or ever get fixed? Mine came on when I was up north for a trip right before this pandemic. It has happened a few times here and there and noticed it does this when it is cold out outside or just hovering around the freezing mark.


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## VW/Porsche Fahrer (Dec 14, 2011)

I do not have an Atlas but I did have a similar experience with a new ( at that time) 2008 BMW 535. After a few months of ownership ( 5K miles?) the instrument panel displayed a low coolant message. I took it to the dealer and they topped it off. The tech stated that " they all do that and we do not know why". 

Any car that loses some coolant early on and without any leaks is probably losing the coolant via permeation through a rubber hose somewhere in the system. This would not show up as a leak or during a pressure test as the permeation occurs slowly. If this is the case, the permeation rate would decrease significantly as the coolant has been absorbed into the rubber and then hinders the permeation rate thereafter. This can be the reason why we can sometimes smell coolant without finding any leaks. 

This same scenario has been observed with fuel systems. Certain plastic fuel lines in the past would hold fuel perfectly well except that enough fuel ( very small amount) could permeate through fuel tube wall ( without anyone smelling it) resulting in the design not being able to meet the updated non-tailpipe emissions standards. A re-design of the tube with a barrier layer solved the problem. In this case the fuel loss was almost negligible but enough to require a re-design to meet emissions standards.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

VW/Porsche Fahrer said:


> I do not have an Atlas but I did have a similar experience with a new ( at that time) 2008 BMW 535. After a few months of ownership ( 5K miles?) the instrument panel displayed a low coolant message. I took it to the dealer and they topped it off. The tech stated that " they all do that and we do not know why".....


Cooling systems are not sealed and will loose coolant via the pressure cap continuously.


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

EJW1381 said:


> Did this go away or ever get fixed? Mine came on when I was up north for a trip right before this pandemic. It has happened a few times here and there and noticed it does this when it is cold out outside or just hovering around the freezing mark.


I'd note that VW G12++ coolant (and possibly others) are known to contract in volume to some degree at very low temps. As an example, with my '08 Jetta 2.5, which I'm quite sure has no coolant leaks and doesn't consume coolant, the coolant light came on once or twice in single-digit temps. Once it warmed up and I recycled the ignition, it went off.


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