I did this on my 2006 Ford Fiesta 1.6 petrol. The time taken can vary a bit depending on the pump used and the quantity of coolant to be removed.

BHPian GForceEnjoyer recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Our 2006 Ford Fiesta 1.6 petrol recently overheated in traffic due to a stroke of terrible luck: a coolant leak as well as a cooling fan failure. Thankfully, we were able to pull over quickly, avoiding any damage.

Now here's why this thread exists: once we got the car back from the authorised dealer, I was horrified to see that the coolant level in the reservoir was far above maximum! A serious lapse in workmanship as well as quality control. The service experience this time (and the last few times too) was also underwhelming at best, which is why my dad and I decided to take matters into our own hands, removing the excess coolant at home.

Required items:

• Soap dispenser pump (a long pipe is necessary)
• Sufficiently wide-mouthed container that can be held with one hand
• Gloves/cloth for handling the coolant reservoir cap
• A light source (if in a dark basement)

Time taken

5 minutes, although this can vary a bit depending on the pump used and on the quantity of coolant to be removed.

Here's the soap dispenser pump we used. It must be absolutely clean, since it will be coming into contact with coolant INSIDE the car's reservoir.

Here's the container we used

If you plan to use the coolant later, a coolant container or something similar works best. If not, you just need to make sure you can hold it with one hand while siphoning out the coolant (do make sure to dispose of it properly!). We happened to have a coolant container with us, but any sealable container of good quality will do the job.

Note: Take utmost care to ensure that no coolant comes into contact with your skin.

How to extract the coolant:

It's best to do this on a cold engine. If that's not possible for any reason, wait for at least 15 minutes before very slowly unscrewing the cap of the coolant reservoir.

Unscrew the coolant reservoir cap and carefully insert the dispenser pump into the coolant. Then, hold your container in a way that lets the coolant fall from the pump straight into the mouth of the container without any spills. A spill in the engine compartment can cause damage, especially if you're doing this on an engine that hasn't fully cooled down, while a spill on the paint can damage the clear coat (and more if it's left unattended).

Pictures are worth a thousand words, so here's what I mean:

Continue pumping until the coolant level is as per your owner's manual's specifications (between the MAX and MIN markings on a cold engine in our case). And then, you're done! Put the reservoir cap back on and screw it tightly. Wash your hands thoroughly after you're done.

It was difficult to get a clear picture of the reservoir in our basement, so I hope this comparison from the side helps.

This was the coolant level before. Note how it's far above the line of the MAX mark.

And here's how the coolant level should be.

Like I mentioned earlier, be careful if you choose to dispose of the coolant. It's best to find a place that takes in hazardous waste, or to give it to a friendly neighbourhood garage that you know will dispose of it properly.

I hope this little thread will be useful for any other victims of aftersales service incompetence or unintentional overfills while changing coolant themselves.

Cheers!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I have no idea why this could happen. I immediately had the car towed to my FNG.

BHPian PainlessDeath09 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello, Bhpians!

I recently got my 2003 Honda Accord 2.4 AT. It’s been absolutely blissful so far up until today. Got the regular service and everything done. During the general service, there was a coolant leak which was from a pipe that was fixed.

Today, after about a 20-min drive, I stopped my car to find the coolant all over my front bumper. Opening the hood, I see this:

The radiator's neck had sheered off with the pressure. I have no idea why this could happen. I immediately had the car towed to my FNG. They had suggested a thermostat stuck open or a water pump failure.

Something to note, when I drive my car, the temperature gauge is never in the middle, it’s always been slightly cooler than the middle. Not sure if that’s relevant but yeah.

Any ideas/theories/personal experiences as to why this could’ve happened?

Here's what BHPian dhanushs had to say about the matter:

I initially would've thought overtightening of the hose clamp would've done it, but looking at the photo seems like that is not the reason.

If your radiator mount/engine mount is weak and the radiator to engine hose moves a lot, that will also induce a failure over time.

But looking at the bigger picture, the car is 21 years old. Think of it as a wear-and-tear failure.

Here's what BHPian NomadSK had to say about the matter:

I would be more interested to know what kind of fix was done to the hose. A new hose or the neck was just tightened to arrest the minor leakage. Rubber tends to lose its elastic properties over a period of time and if only tightening was done then that points to the mechanical damage to the radiator, in addition, due to the ageing of the vehicle the plastic component would have weakened over time.

Sorry, but I guess that doesn’t add up to the failure. Open Thermostat failure will run your engine cooler and the closed thermostat will not let the coolant circulate and will overheat the engine and you will get this warning on the dash. In both cases, nothing to do with the radiator assembly. And water pump failure would simply give you a first warning for engine overheating on your dash.

In my opinion, this is mechanical damage (a brittle failure) and has nothing to do with the temperature/pressure of the coolant. And if I match the clamp location, it almost matches to the location where the failure occurred. So it could be a weak plastic component, due to ageing, which got damaged during the clamping of the hose.

Here's what BHPian arjab had to say about the matter:

This looks to be a case of mechanical ageing. Can happen with any "teenage-d" automobile.

Don't lose sleep over it. Yes, a replacement radiator for an Accord will be pricey but you do not have any option but to change the whole radiator assembly. Avoid getting talked into "plastic welding" and "changing the top tank and sealing it" kind of stuff. In aluminium radiators, these "jugaad" fixes do not last long.

Also since your vehicle is a couple of decades old, if you haven't already, maybe it is a good idea to have certain main components checked for mechanical integrity & fitness.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I observed there was some leakage from the engine to the exhaust bolt.

BHPian Dtovio recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I bought the Speed 400 after all the positive the responses from the people and media. I've covered more than 2500 kms on this bike.

But today, I noticed some green liquid drops on my engine and transmission casing, still I went ahead to ride it to office. I observed there was some leakage from the engine to the exhaust bolt and then dropping to the transmission casing and also some leakage from the radiator side.

I guess there are some questions to be answered about reliability. Yesterday read the news about a broken Swing Arm of The Speed 400 that was just 600 kms old, that too on a smooth tarmac...!!

Here's what BHPian Funny had to say on the matter:

Coolant leakage. A YouTuber (Travel & Bite) also faced similar coolant leakage issue which was attributed to overfilling of coolant. Your case maybe the same, get it checked at your service center.

Here's what BHPian gtx2 had to say on the matter:

Coolant seems to be overfilled. get it checked, happened with me as well when the bike was new.

Here's what BHPian lazyrev had to say on the matter:

Just want to point out some of the context for this issue here. We need to take the statements of a bike renter from Manali, in whose pictures the bike looks like it has probably been through some serious off-roading, with a more than a pinch of salt.

The bike was ridden 600 kms within just 4 days (not run-in or done with first service), in icy and snowy conditions. This just screams absolute abuse by customers. The bike rental service claims it was a "minor slip" but you can check the photos. There is not a scuff mark on the footpegs or the exhaust. There is just a clean fracture on the swingarm and no other mark.

Cracks like this are usually due to direct impact so if a huge rock was on the left of the bike during some over-excited 40bhp torque-y off-roading session by someone who didnt have to shell out their own 3L for this bike, it could get damaged this way. This was not an incident on a normal city road.

We need to be careful and get more information before assuming that something is wrong with the product. If it had happened to a regular/average customer I would be a lot more concerned.

Here's what BHPian Ratan Prabhu had to say on the matter:

This coolant leakage doesn't seem like an overflow. The bikes are equipped with specific coolant overflow pipe which safely lets out the excess coolant on the floor without touching any other part. This one is an unusual spot for the coolant to leak from but my guess is a break in one or more of gaskets which isn't too uncommon. Coolant hose gaskets are much less sturdier than oil containing gaskets atleast on my CBR250R.

Anyway, anything and everything to resolve this issue should be covered in warranty including the labour. So don't worry. Do let us know what the solution was though.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The car always went to a dealer owned workshop for servicing and in my last 2 service bills I was only charged for what seemed to be just a coolant top up.

BHPian shandilyapiyush recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hey! I was not sure as to when the car's coolant was completely drained and refilled. The car always went to a dealer owned workshop for servicing and in my last 2 service bills I was only charged for what seemed to be just a coolant top up. The change interval as per the user manual is 20,000km/2 years. Since I had time to spare I decided do a complete flush and fill in new coolant.

Huge thanks to dbhpian vigsom and bhpian Ashtoncastelino for extending their advice and help. This was my first major DIY and all went well thanks to both of their inputs.

Car - 2013 Ertiga (petrol)

Tools and parts used-

• A 12mm ring spanner
• A pair of pliers
• Flathead screwdriver
• Coolant (premix) - Part number: 99000M24120-965

Thermostat valve - Part number: 1760M83F00

Thermostat valve housing/elbow - Part number - 17561M68K00

15-20L of distilled water

Step 1

The radiator drain plug was located and undone to remove existing coolant from the radiator. This plug is located on the bottom left of the radiator. Opening the radiator cap aids in faster flow of the existing coolant from the radiator. Collected this coolant in a small tub to ensure proper disposal. Wait for a while until the radiator is empty and the coolant stops dripping out.

Step 2

Undo the upper radiator hose. I used a pair of pliers to undo the hose clamp on the thermostat housing and then proceeded to remove the hose. The hose was super tight hence I used a flathead screw driver through the end and slowly tried to pry out open making sure I'd not damage the hose and that worked.

Step 3

Removal of the thermostat housing and thermostat. The thermostat housing has 2 12mm bolts, one at the top and one on the bottom. Using a ring spanner undo both these bolts and remove the thermostat housing. Next, proceed to remove the thermostat valve. Do remember how it was installed to able to put it back the correct way.

Step 4

Rinse the radiator with clean water to remove whatever coolant is left behind. I did so by using a pipe and introducing water from the radiator cap with the drain plug open until the water coming out was clean and colorless. Once colorless water begins to flow out, stop the water flow and wait for the water to completely drip out. Close the radiator drain plug.

Continue reading BHPian shandilyapiyush's review for more insights and information.

I cleaned up some of the fluid, and since then, I've driven about 120 kilometers.

BHPian dijkstraind recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I own a Brezza torque converter automatic, which I purchased two months ago. I've driven a total of 800 kilometers so far, and the first service has already been completed. Yesterday, while traveling from Bangalore to a destination 250 kilometers away, I opened the bonnet(don't know why) and noticed pink, oily fluid on multiple components. I've attached some pictures for reference. I cleaned up some of the fluid, and since then, I've driven about 120 kilometers. To my observation, the same amount of fluid remains on the same components, suggesting no new fluid leak. I also had a local mechanic inspect it, but he couldn't identify the source of the issue. Notably, there are no warning lights illuminated on the MID.Please note that yesterday was the first time I drove my car at high speed, with the maximum reaching 120 km/h. The car didn't go beyond 120 km/h even with the pedal fully depressed.

Could someone please assist me in understanding what this mysterious fluid might be, and do I need to urgently visit the service center?

PS: I am not a new driver, I have done 60,000 KM on my previous car with manual transmission.

Here's what BHPian shankar.balan had to say on the matter:

Pink oily Fluid cannot be coolant. Coolant isnt oily.

To me, sight unseen, I think it can possibly be a brake fluid leak OR ATF leak. No other possibility comes to mind.

Please have the car taken immediately to the service centre and start a thorough investigation. Also keep a check on your insurance. Being a brand new it probably covers all critical Components, engine and gearbox and all.

Here's what BHPian NomadSK had to say o the matter:

This looks like a coolant leakage/splash and has been stagnant there for a long time before it was observed.

Check underside of the bonnet, do you have pink fluid splashes or marks there too ? If yes, it could be a leakage in the coolant from some of the hoses/joint, since it’s a closed loop pressurized system and getting splashed in various directions. However, as car is almost new, I’m ruling out any wear and tear issue related to the hose.

Another way to troubleshoot is to run your car and check the radiator/cooling system while it’s in hot condition. Any leakage would be visible. Check for the rubber hose connections to the engine and radiator for indications of any leakage.

Also check the overflow container of the coolant and the lid is properly closed, but coming out from there is a least possibility unless there is physical damage to the plastic container or the lid is loose, which any mechanic would have checked in the first place.

Here's what BHPian anjan_c2007 had to say on the matter:

Please check you brake master cylinder and brake oil level on the top up bowl. More of leakage is dangerous and could affect your brake's performance. Presently please keep a brake oil refill bottle to top up everytime you see the level dropping below minimum.

And your Brezza needs to go to the service centre at the earliest to get its brake master cylinder and the system thoroughly checked.

Here's what BHPian shancz had to say on the matter:

Find out what's pink in the car, typically coolants of OAT/HOAT types are pink, more info in Vishy76's thread (Types of Coolants and debunking myths associated with grades & colours).

Apart from that brake fluids could be reddish in colour. No idea about the ATF.

I am going with a coolant leak/spray under the occasional high load driving hypothesis.

Probably due to the coolant reservoir cap or the radiator cap not closed properly or a puncture/leak in the coolant hose. Thankfully this is easy to check and rule out.

Check your coolant reservoir for loss of fluid, a misaligned cap(green) or any punctures. Also check if the radiator cap(next to the coolant reservoir cap) is properly closed. Instructions are marked on the cap itself.

The pink circle in the image below is the reservoir cap(green), check if its closed properly. It usually(not sure if its the same in Brezza) has an arrow mark on the cap and one on the reservoir below which should be aligned:

PS :

I once had green liquid exactly on the location you've marked on the battery and around the coolant reservoir. As expected the mechanic hadn't aligned/closed the reservoir cap properly and when the pressure was high enough it would've sprayed the coolant around. When I checked the cap was misaligned by barely a centimetre.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Got the engine running for about 5 mins and drained it again to check for the colour of the drained water, It was still green.

BHPian Ashtoncastelino recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

It was time for the coolant change as it was 2 years since I got the car and Service Manual states coolant to be changed every 2 Years or 20,000kms. DBHPian Vigsom was running Toyota LLC Pink Coolant on his Grand Vitara since more than a decade and DBHPian Leoshashi was running the same on his GG (800). The LLC Pink Coolant is to be changed every 5 years which is twice more than the regular green coolant given by Maruti.

Took the plunge and ordered 5 Litres of Golden Cruiser Pink Coolant ( Premix ) from Boodmo around ₹210 per litre. Swift has a requirement of 4.75 Litres of Coolant. Watched lot of YouTube Videos on coolant change and also got in touch with Vigsom and Leoshashi, both were of immense help. I understood that the entire Cooling System needs to be flushed THOROUGHLY and only then new coolant should be poured in.

Since I'm doing the coolant change I thought it would be wise to get all the hoses changed as preventive measure and moreover they don’t cost a bomb. Sourced all the parts from Boodmo. One tip which Vigsom and Shashi suggested is to change the Radiator cap as well, one might think its a simple cap but it plays an important part in the cooling system and many seem to skimp on this little fella. The thermostat valve casing was smothered with RTV by MASS, I felt it’s better to change the casing as it just costs ₹54. The hose will sit flush and tight with the new casing.

So I got the Following parts from Boodmo:

• Golden Cruiser LLC Pink Coolant Premix 1Litre X5 Cans.
• Radiator Inlet Hose.
• Radiator Outlet Hose.
• Heater Core Inlet Hose.
• Heater Core Outlet Hose.
• Thermostat valve.
• Thermostate valve case.
• Radiator Cap.

Funny part is my radiator doesn’t come with the drain plug for the radiator and the only way to drain the coolant is to remove the radiator outlet pipe. Ran to my Petrol Pump and got 5 litres of Distilled water to completely flush the cooling system. Started of by loosening the clamps and unplugging the radiator outlet pipe while the engine was cool.

Removed the thermostat valve and poured regular tap water into the radiator after it was completely drained from the green coolant.

Radiator was SPIC and SPAN. Got the engine running for about 5 mins and drained it again to check for the colour of the drained water, It was still green. Did this cycle for about 5-6 times till the water drained was almost clear. Just to be double sure I installed the thermostat valve and drained all the water and this time filled with the 5 Litre Distilled Water. Drove the car for about a week with distilled water which was about 500kms. I had my eye close on the temperature gauge on the drives and it stood steady at the Half mark!

After a week, having done good number of kms I decided to drain the distilled water and see the colour of it. The car was taken on a Sunday to my friends Service station where ramp was accessible to easily drain coolant and change hoses. The coolant still had a bit of green tinge on it.

Again, removed the thermostat valve and flushed the system 3 more times till clear water came out.

The thermostat valve was in horrible state, the rubber had cracked and hardened it needed replacement.

Removed all the Distilled Water from the block using the compressed air in my friend's service station. Installed all the hoses, new thermostat valve, thermostat casing and new radiator cap, then poured the Pink LLC Coolant.

Spic and span coolant passage in block.

New heater inlet pipe.

New heater outlet pipe.

Old vs new thermostat valve casing.

New radiator Inlet Pipe vs Old.

New radiator outlet hose vs old hose.

Radiator cap.

New thermostat new vs old.

New heater pipes in place.

In goes the new pink LLC coolant.

Made sure the cooling system had no air present in it by pressing on the hoses and warming up the engine till the thermostat valve opened up. The coolant reservoir was also topped up with the new Pink Coolant. Left the car to idle for about 30 mins to observe for any leaks or abnormalities, none found, and I drove the car home. The next day morning I found the coolant reservoir was a had bit on the lower side as expected, topped it up again.

Odometer reading on the day of coolant change.

Unfortunately, now this product is available on Boodmo only in a Concentrate form and not Premix.

Just for the kicks, I experimented with the old thermostat valve to see how it operates.

I have run the Swift more than 10,000kms since this Coolant change and It seems to be doing it duties effectively without any Issues.

Regards,

Ashton Castelino.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Now ideally, they should have drained the whole coolant and then refilled it with the appropriate type. However, they did not bother with a coolant flush

BHPian Sanidhya mukund recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

It has been raining heavily for the past few days here in Delhi. The roads are all waterlogged and the traffic comes to a standstill everyday. Yesterday, I was stuck in a traffic jam while it was pouring heavily and the roads had become like rivers. This was when I noticed that my Mercedes C-class was displaying this warning on the instrument cluster:

This is the warning for low coolant level, so I assumed that the car could possibly have hit some debris leading to a coolant leak. I was sure that the coolant level was okay otherwise because I had it replaced at the Mercedes dealership in April 2021.

However, I found no physical leakage, so I continued driving. The warning disappeared after about 30 minutes, but I still didn’t want to take a chance, so I stopped at a petrol pump and waited for sometime for the car to cool down. I had gone away from the car for merely 10-15 minutes to attend a phone call, and by the time I was back, I was shocked to see that the fuel pump attendant had unscrewed the drain plug and had drained all the coolant! Apparently, he had a word with my driver and they somehow, without my consent, decided that the coolant will have to be replaced!

Since he had already drained all the coolant, I had no choice but to ask them to fill the coolant that was available for sale at the petrol pump. They filled in about 2 litres of green coolant and commented that they have filled it for the time being, but I will have to get it replaced ASAP since this one isn’t suitable for this car. I was already worn out, so paid up and went my way without arguing.

Anyway, since he had commented that this coolant isn’t suitable for my car, I decided to take it to a nearby FNG and get the “suitable” coolant filled. Now this independent garage has all sorts of tall claims about being “specialists” in luxury cars and even has a YouTube channel. Now ideally, they should have drained the whole coolant and then refilled it with the appropriate type. However, they did not bother with a coolant flush, and simply drained the coolant from below and filled in 4 litres of pink coolant. However, there already was green coolant in circulation inside the engine, so now my car has a mixture of green and pink coolant.

A little bit of research on Team-BHP tells me that mixing pink and green coolant is a very bad idea because it leads to a reaction between inorganic and organic components of the respective coolants, leading to a coagulated sludge being formed. This sludge can have devastating effects on your engine and the cooling system.

I will now be sending my car to the Mercedes dealership for a proper coolant flush, followed by filling of the right coolant in the right amounts. I’ll also ask them to see why this warning appeared and disappeared on its own. This was the first time I trusted a non-authorised garage with my car, and is definitely the last.

My takeaways from the above incident are as follows:

• Petrol pump attendants sometimes can have vested interests of selling their oils/coolants etc. Never let them do stuff to your car and never leave it unattended at a fuel station even for a few minutes. “We checked your coolant and the level is low” or “Your coolant is finished and your container only has water” is a very common thing nowadays. Please ignore them.
• When choosing an independent garage, be VERY careful. Rely on word of mouth rather than YouTube videos or Google reviews. These guys are thugs, they mishandle the cars (mine got damaged) and don’t even have basic mechanical knowledge. Seeing a premium car, all that they care about is milking the customer for money. Any mechanic worth his salt will tell you that one shouldn’t mix two different types of coolants. These thugs on the other hand think that it is okay to do so on someone’s Mercedes!
• Always know about what colour and grade of coolant your car uses. If possible, carry around a small container of the same.

I do agree that most of this was my fault; I was ignorant about what was going on with my car, but I was preoccupied with a zillion other things.

Recommended further read: This lovely thread by D-BHPians Vishy76 and Vigsom. It covers everything one needs to know about coolant.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The car has shown no sign or indication of overheating whatsoever. It has felt, smelt and driven just like at any other time.

BHPian Shreyans_Jain recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

There was once a time when going on a road trip meant topping up fluids the morning of the drive and always carrying a spare bottle of water for the trip, perhaps even a fan belt. It was standard practice to stop to let the engine cool down after a few hours on the road, top up the water and then drive on. Fortunately, modern cars have become a lot more reliable and tolerant to heat. Cooling systems have evolved to the point where you can be stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic in 50-degree summer heat and your car's performance or its AC's cooling will not skip a beat. Most modern cars have in fact done away with the temperature gauge. All we get is a little warning light that is supposed to light up the off chance something goes wrong. But what happens when things actually do go wrong?

2022 has been the hottest summer on record. This year I have had two incidents of cooling systems failing, and the observations have been startling.

Tata Hexa, March 2022

This has been touched upon in my thread. We were parked in Devprayag having lunch when I detected a little whiff of the smell of coolant from the car. I checked but nothing was apparently amiss. There were many tempos, taxis and buses in the vicinity, so I attributed the smell to any one of them. We loaded up and drove down towards Kaudiyala for our rafting session. At the meeting point, the rafting person who was waiting for us was the first to notice green liquid dripping from the car. Within moments, we had the automotive equivalent of a crime scene.

While the rest of the family went rafting, I tried to figure out a fix. Filled in jugs of water from a nearby Dhaba. The radiator was totally empty, and 5 jugs of water went in. I started the engine. Immediately, the point of failure became visible: green water and steam were gushing out of a hose. The hose was pretty deep inside the engine bay, visible but not accessible to hand. The only option was to top up the car every few km and drive on, hoping for the best.

Temperatures were still above 40 degrees. Those familiar with Rishikesh know how bad the traffic jam gets, in Shivpuri and in the bypass in the evening. Heat + bumper-to-bumper traffic + fully-loaded car + no coolant, what could go wrong? Apparently, very little! We stopped at Shivpuri for tea and snacks, so the car got a break to cool down. The water I had filled before was long gone, it took in another 5 litres. The leak was such that it would empty out in a few minutes. We stopped to refill just before Rishikesh, then once on the bypass, then after the bypass and then finally at our hotel in Haridwar. More or less at intervals of 30 minutes. Every time, the radiator would be totally empty and the car would take in 5-6 litres of water while throwing out large amounts of steam as the water was poured in.

Critical point: When filling in water into the radiator of an overheated engine, always do so with the engine running.

The next morning, the car was taken to TASS Haridwar, which performed emergency repairs with MSeal. The damaged hose for later replaced at TASS Faridabad.

Observations from the day

• The temperature gauge stayed normal at all times during the ordeal. No error or warning of any kind popped up. Nothing.
• The car's behaviour remained perfectly normal. No sign of straining, nothing sounding different, no obvious steam coming out from anywhere while driving. Only when we stopped, opened the cap and added in water.
• I can't stand smoke, which was there in plenty of traffic jams in Rishikesh. Hence, the AC was kept running throughout. The cooling was totally fine. At no point did the AC trip.

Basically, the car gave no indication of overheating whatsoever. Had we not stopped in time and seen the coolant dripping before it had totally run dry, we would have simply remained oblivious. We were lucky, if it were too late, I would have been staring at a seized engine.

Honda City, May 2022

My City (diesel) is in its 8th year and has done 175k km. It has exhibited perfect mechanical reliability throughout with no out-of-the-blue failures whatsoever.

Last week, I and my father went to Murthal for some work and took the City. On our way back home, I took the Eastern Peripheral Expressway route. Cruise control was engaged at 100kmph all the way and the AC was on at full blast. My father had noticed that the engine sounded a bit loud. I replied that he felt so because he was travelling in this car after a long time. Told him the drive also feels a little strained and it has been that way for some weeks now. My theory was that the engine is ageing and is past its prime. Basically, it was normal behaviour overall. It was raining off and on, and I had exhausted the windshield washer fluid by the time we reached home.

The next morning, I popped up the hood to fill in the water. I noticed a bit of green residue near the washer reservoir's cap. As I looked more closely, I was horrified to see a splattering of green all over the engine bay.

I checked the coolant reservoir, it was empty. I opened the radiator's cap, it again was empty. I filled it up with water, and it took in more than 3 litres. The car's coolant circulation system had sprung up a leak somewhere and had totally emptied out.

The car had been going about with no coolant since god knows when.

I rushed to my local Honda dealer, and they diagnosed it as a leaking hose. The damaged part wasn't in stock and I was told it would take a week to procure it. The car is our daily beater and is being put through its everyday grind as always. In bumper to bumper local traffic in the current 45-47 degree heat. We just fill her up with water every morning and drive off. Every day, we find the radiator totally empty and the car takes in 3 to 4 litres of water. I will be taking the car to the dealer tomorrow for the hose replacement.

Observations over the past week

• The engine overheats warning lamp has never lit up.
• The AC has been functioning normally. Cooling is proper, even when idling for 5-10 minutes while waiting. It has never tripped.
• The car has shown no sign or indication of overheating whatsoever. It has felt, smelt and driven just like at any other time.

Again, it has been a case of the car running out of coolant, overheating and showing no indication of any kind. In both cases, it was alertness, timely intervention on my part and sheer good luck that catastrophic damage to the engine was avoided. Why did any warning not show up? Even the ACs did not trip. That is usually the first and obvious sign of an overheating engine. Both Tata and Honda SAs had no answer.

It is my sincere advice to everyone whose cars have done more than 1lakh km or are more than 5 years old: Please get your radiator, water pump and all hoses inspected thoroughly every year. And do lift up the hood and take a good look at the engine bay every now and then. I have been fortunate. You never know when your luck runs out.

Here's what BHPian vigsom had to say on the matter:

Lucky escapes on both cars, Shreyas_Jain. I completely agree with you on the inspection part. In fact, such inspection should be performed when the car is tendered in for service. There will be a checkpoint on inspection of the engine cooling system; however, who performs these checks diligently these days? The objective is just to bill, and hand over a nicely polished car after service - that's all.

From what you've described, this looks like a failure of the radiator bottom hose on the Hexa; Honda City - looks to be the same.

As long as there is coolant circulating, and the ECT (Engine Coolant Temperature) sensor measures the temperature to be normal, it will not trigger the overheat lamp OR trip the aircon.

1. Even if the radiator is, say, half full, the water pump would be provided adequate suction, and the coolant would circulate. The exchanger (radiator) is efficient, and with the fan in operation will continue to cool the coolant. The volume of coolant will gradually pick up more heat, and after a certain saturation, when the mix begins to boil, the temperature will begin to rise, and the gauge (if available) will show a rise in temperature. If the radiator runs dry, there will be no flow of coolant and the temperature sensor will not detect high temperature (have never experienced this situation in a car, but have seen enough of this in a manufacturing unit).
2. The only case when the temperature begins to go up rather rapidly is when there is a leak of combustion gases eg. head gasket leak
3. On a 2007 Honda Accord, I've seen that the engine shut down when the temperature went beyond a certain value (90% of range IIRC). This is the ultimate protection system for the engine, but not sure how many cars have this built-in interlock
4. I would have allowed the car to cool for at least 30 minutes before adding water

Failure of hoses can be attributed to

• Ageing,
• Quality issues in the hoses,
• Quality of coolant,
• Malfunctioning pressure cap

I have a practice of opening the bonnet at least every week and checking

1. The condition of both hoses on the radiator,
2. Heater core hoses at the firewall,
3. Coolant level in the expansion tank,
4. Engine oil level,
5. Power steering fluid level, and
6. After a drive, open the bonnet again and inspect the hoses for bulges, and leaks.

Here's what BHPian R2D2 had to say on the matter:

Those were close calls. You're lucky the leaks were discovered before damage was done.

The temp sensor needs to be immersed in coolant for it to read the temperature and transmit it to the dash. It's a fallacy to assume the dash warning light or temp gauge will function or provide a warning beep without coolant is present in the system.

As you rightly advised, checking the coolant system regularly is a must and more so during the summer.

PS - Call me old-fashioned but I still follow the same age-old routine of checking fluids i.e. coolant and brake fluid and sometimes engine oil before I drive and always before a long-distance trip. Also, checking under the bonnet is a routine as cats and their kittens like to make a home under the hood. I really don't want to see a hurt or dead animal. They are so attached to my car that one kitten, some 6 months old, even lay down in there to breathe its last. Yeah, not kidding. It probably thought of the engine bay as the safest place and a refuge. Poor creature.

Here's what BHPian sagarpadaki had to say on the matter:

Now that you have corrected the cause of the leak, do a radiator flush with LiquiMoly or whatever you like. The tap water you have used will definitely corrode the engine internals.

Also, after doing the flush and filling the new coolant and using it for a few hundred km, replace the coolant once again. This will be a small price to pay for the long-term peace of mind.

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I have seen the coolant temperature gauge oscillating between the middle and quarter position.

BHPian storme'd recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Guys, need some advice. My current drive is an Audi A8L quattro 3.0. Have been having quite an issue free experience with the car, however post getting it serviced from Halfords last week, I have seen the coolant temperature gauge oscillating between the middle and quarter position. It used to be fixed at the mid spot earlier but now the needle keeps moving. Thankfully it's not going beyond the half level so have not faced any issues.

• Can this be due to something that happened during servicing?
• What could be the culprit?
• If it is the coolant temperature sensor, can I do a diy after buying it off Amazon?

Any advice will be helpful.

Thanks.

Here's what BHPian Maverick5490 had to say on the matter:

Does the temperature gauge fluctuate right from start up or once the engine is in operating temperature? Most likely its the sensor that may have failed causing the erratic display.

Here's what BHPian ajmat had to say on the matter:

First - Halfords may be best routine services of popular cars as opposed to a sophisticated Audi.

It could be a faulty temp sensor. Are you getting any error messages, fuel consumption issues? Some of the early 2000 VAG cars had defective sensors. My Skoda RS has this issue. For £15, I got a new sensor posted to me. Replaced it and it was sweet as a nut. This sits at the bottom of the block. Considering your v8, you could get lost!

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When the motorcycle's engine was disassembled at the service centre, it was found that all 4 intake valves were leaking.

BHPian rvrmvaishnavi recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi folks,

First some background. After having dreamt of owning a big bike pretty much all my life, things finally came together for me in March 2020. I picked up a brand, spanking new KTM 790 Duke.

On paper, pretty much the perfect bike for my needs. Doesn't look or feel big. Super light, blends in, has a huge ground clearance and is easy to live with even for daily rides. Huge on power, torque and all imaginable rider aids to cover my inexperienced rear end. Made me grin like a baby every single time I twisted the throttle!

The ownership experience over the past 2 years was ok, with a few niggles here and there. Over the last 2-3 months, things turned terrible.

The whole saga started about 2 months ago.

The first symptom was an overheating caution. Rode to safety and stopped, asked the dealer for help. They asked me to bring it in. Observed that the fan was not working. Got the fan replaced under warranty. (I have replaced like 3 fans on my first batch first-gen 2013 Duke 390 so far in its 9-year lifetime, so no biggie).

Everything was fine for about 1k kms and then again, got an overheating caution. This time fan was working fine. On inspection, the coolant expansion tank was empty and the radiator was short by about 400ml. Manual says up to 500ml loss is ok, but I still reported to the dealer, who, surprised, asked me to come in again. Needless to say no obvious signs of an external coolant leak, no pooling in the parking lot, no stink of burning coolant dripping onto the header, etc.

At the dealer, dropped oil, checked the filter. Oil qty was about 2.4-2.5L (manual says 2.8L capacity) and no obvious signs of coolant in oil, very minimal stress lines seen on oil filter. But this was after 4k+ kms after the last oil and filter change and was inconclusive. So, we put in new oil and filter and decided to observe for 1k km.

Then after a day's & 700 kms ride, came back and saw that again compensating tank was empty and the radiator was short by 600ml! Decided to drain the coolant and switch to the good old regular green coolant just to ensure that we aren't missing some external leak as engine ice is a little harder to spot. Filled, bumped up the system. Updated the dealer, instruction was to come in after 1k kms as mentioned before.

Again, another day, another 2-300 km ride and another 200+ml lost in a day! Took it back to the dealer.

Once again, dropped oil. qty was fine (2.6+L), no obvious sign of coolant mixing especially given the qty of coolant lost (~1Litre). Then examined the oil filter and there was a lot more twisting of lines. A clear sign of trouble.

Started opening the engine, alternator cover. Nothing obvious. Opened the clutch cover and found a LOT of mixed oil + coolant residue.

Kind of gave up on it, left the bike with the dealer and headed home.

Sometime later, they tried to change the coolant pump gasket, checked the impeller shaft seal and replaced the heat exchanger gasket. And then tried a run on the test bench with fresh oil + filter. Once again, found strained lines in the filter. So that was not it.

Brought the engine down at the dealer. Opened the valve cover, found mixed oil + coolant on the valve cover. Then found scuff marks on the exhaust camshaft, although the claim was that it wasn't bad enough to be replaced. Removed the head and found that all FOUR intake valves were leaking!

Inspecting the head gasket showed some sort of deformation, but wasn't super clear to me personally.

Continue reading rvrmvaishnavi's experience for BHPian comments, insights and more information.