# 2015 S3 Coolant Issue



## troeg (Dec 3, 2014)

Driving into work today coolant sensor came on. 15k on the car and the coolant level was really low, anyone else experience this?


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## 2011boostd (Nov 30, 2013)

Yup 8000 miles and I added to mine. I hear these cars eat coolant or at east that what an old school Audi told me. When I showed him the car the first thing he did was pop the hood and point!! he doesn't speak good English.


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## crackkills (Mar 10, 2007)

troeg said:


> Driving into work today coolant sensor came on. 15k on the car and the coolant level was really low, anyone else experience this?


That is not normal and have the system pressure checked. You just don't eat coolant regardless what people say. Check your oil and make sure it doesn't look like milkshake. Coolant in oil will diminish the viscosity and lubricating ability and cause massive bearing and internal engine wear and failure. 

I would drive it to the dealer asap and also get an oil change and have the oil analyzed by blackstone, ASAP.


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## gamegenie (Aug 24, 2014)

Yes this happened to me last week at 11,500+ miles , I phoned the Audi dealer service center and the guy told me he's had several instances of this issue pop-up of late and that it was possibly caused by air-bubbles in the coolant that made it's way to the engine. 

My coolant level was a half-inch below the low-line level. He told me that it was okay to just add water to the reservoir to top the coolant back up to the high-line mark. Which I did and the check coolant message went away.


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## 'AZA' (Feb 27, 2015)

I experienced that about 6000 miles ago. Pulled over and topped her off, reserve was a half inch low. 23,000 miles and no issues since. Love this car.


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## 2011boostd (Nov 30, 2013)

HMMMM seems my old school Audi mechanic knows what he is talking about!


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## Penti (Nov 29, 2014)

Only time I've seen an issue, I was at an increased altitude, in Yosemite. Warning lights came on, pulled over, saw low coolant level. I carefully opened the cap, and the coolant level shot up again. No issues since.


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## troeg (Dec 3, 2014)

gamegenie said:


> Yes this happened to me last week at 11,500+ miles , I phoned the Audi dealer service center and the guy told me he's had several instances of this issue pop-up of late and that it was possibly caused by air-bubbles in the coolant that made it's way to the engine.
> 
> My coolant level was a half-inch below the low-line level. He told me that it was okay to just add water to the reservoir to top the coolant back up to the high-line mark. Which I did and the check coolant message went away.


This is pretty much what I was told from my dealer as well. Just wanted to see if I was the only one with this problem.

Thanks for the replies.


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## robcz (Sep 7, 2014)

The same thing happened to me around 8k. I took it immediately in to the dealer to have the coolant lines checked. No leaks found, immediate pressure release upon removing the cap on the reservoir, and after a top off I've not had an incident since. I took pictures of the reservoir level at random intervals for a few weeks after both before and after a ride and did not notice any downward trend after the system re-pressurized.


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## M this 2! (Feb 8, 2012)

Just asked my Service manager and he agreed with the above. There is a service bulletin out for it. There is a possible pocket of air in some and once it makes its way through the motor, the level drops instantly. Not a big deal, but def an odd one.


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## jared_703 (Aug 17, 2016)

bumping this up. This just happened to me today, 2016 s3 with 12K miles. Got the alert and saw it was like 1/4" below the min line.

I called the service department but I probably won't here back until tomorrow. In the meantime can I top it off with water? If so, does it need to be distilled?

Thanks.


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## Crzypdilly (Feb 20, 2004)

Happened to me over thanksgiving. I opened the reservoir and it bubbled back up to normal levels.


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## jared_703 (Aug 17, 2016)

Did the same and it come up to the min line. Added a few ounces of distilled water. I'll watch closely as it's not supposed to loose anything as it's a closed system.


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## S3n (Nov 22, 2015)

2016 s3 same at 8k. Burp and has been good since..now at 13k


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## beflythis (Dec 11, 2017)

*ditto on 2016 s3*

2016 S3; exact same symptom experienced at around 15k miles. Went to shop, they checked for coolant leak (found none), topped up coolant and have had no issues since.
now at 17k.


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## jared_703 (Aug 17, 2016)

So I noticed that my car had a slight smell of coolant after driving it and took it to my audi dealer as I'm under warranty.

I had to have the water pump, gasket and thermostat replaced as there was a small leak. Just something to think about if you've had a low coolant level.

My service guy said he's seen this before, he didn't say s3's specifically but I assumed so.


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## alexdva (Mar 30, 2016)

I just recently had my thermostat housing replaced due to a really small leak on my 2015 S3. I only had to top it off twice @11k and 27k miles.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


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## 949 (Mar 11, 2008)

this is the second time this has happen to me. im at 31k miles. i do smell coolant all the time in the engine bay area. i know im not supposed to smell coolant. the car is stock. 2015 s3


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## jared_703 (Aug 17, 2016)

949 said:


> this is the second time this has happen to me. im at 31k miles. i do smell coolant all the time in the engine bay area. i know im not supposed to smell coolant. the car is stock. 2015 s3


No, you should not be smelling coolant. I had this as well. There's likely a leak and I recommend having it pressure tested. Mine was all covered under warranty.


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## LilJonny16 (Jan 13, 2009)

I would suggest you crawl under and take a look to see if your water pump is leaking or take it to the dealer and have them to do a pressure test on it. I kept losing coolant over the course of a year. I didn't really think anything of it because it wasn't a lot and the dealer told me it was normal. While doing an oil change I noticed some white residue and corrosion on my block, come to find out my water pump was leaking at some point. The corrosion had since sealed the hole so it wasn't leaking anymore but I got the dealer to replace it under warranty.


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## qwijibo (Nov 18, 2012)

*Don't Ignore*

2016 S3, got a low coolant alert at 22k miles, went away when i released pressure. Added a little bit (~1/4 liter) anyway. I thought it was just a "burp" as I'd seen it this and other threads. Got another around 24k, added about the same. Took in for 25k service and asked them to check it out, and yes, the water pump was leaking. Replaced under warranty. This looks like a trending issue. Have it pressure tested if you get this alarm.


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