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Low coolant

18K views 25 replies 19 participants last post by  Past master 
#1 ·
Parked up today on about a 15degree list to port - left wheels in the ditch. Started and ran the engine a couple of times just for two or three minutes, no more, to de-mist.

Third time I did this - bong! Low coolant.

Popped teh top and indeed the header tank was a bit low.

When I was able to drive the car back up on to the flat, I did so, then shut it down after a minute or so, but the header still a bit low so maybe not JUST because it was parked at an angle> Put a measured amount of water in (about 300ml, I can check the exact vol tomorrow). No further alerts, drove 100 miles home, so far, good as gold. Will check further tomorrow.
 
#2 ·
This certainly sounds strange for an "off road" vehicle. 15 degrees isn't exactly a lot and too up about 300ml also sounds a lot for a sealed system. It'll be interesting to hear what you have to say later.
 
#3 ·
I had low coolant ping up a few days ago, whilst parked on our drive which has a slight incline so the car was slightly nose up. It didn't ping on any restarts for the rest of the day and has subsequently not pinged since on the drive either!
 
#4 ·
I've also had the "Low Coolant" message a few times. I had the LRA Tech top it up whilst he was fixing something else on the car. :roll:

He put it down to "settlement" of the coolant. Car had done 17,000 miles at this point. Make your own mind up. I will only be satisfied with that explanation when I've had the ATF tested for glycol (which would indicate a leak of coolant into the transmission fluid via the ATF cooling circuit).

Steve
 
#5 ·
Happened to mine (my drive is a slight slope and I park nose down). Was settlement. Topped up by dealer and hasn't been a problem since.
 
#6 ·
This a Ford engine at abotu 43k miles.

It wasn't just driven on a slope, it was parked there for several hours, and the engine run a couple of times with it sat there.

An eye will be kept on it...
 
#7 ·
Experienced a cooling liquid miracle myself too:

So my car is usually parked on even ground but entrance to garage (where it sometimes is parked too for a couple of hours) is considerably inclined. on 21st of september car gave me "low cooling liquid" alarm, I checked the tank visually and it was slightly below MIN; so I refilled with tap water (about 0,25 to 0,5 liters) and after 24hs tank was visibly at MIN again. I refilled again, this time with distilled water and ever since there was no more alarms and the tank appears to remain at MAX or even a bit higher than that. on 26th of September I brought the car in and dealer checked it but did not find any traces of leakage. On 29th of September I noticed liquid on my garage's floor, apparently below the place where the car's cooling liquid tank would be placed when parked and a couple of drips which must have been caused by the front tires passing the edge of garage entrance . had the car checked through for half a day at dealer's on 18th of october, they checked the liquid circle with pressure and everything else they could but they still could not find any leakage or other cause for the liquid loss. So I went home without explanation but every since no alarms and visually tank is fine.... still keeps being a mystery to me....
 
#8 ·
both water and glycol will evaporate over time, also the sensor will be a switch near the top of the expansion tank, short of mounting the tank on a self stabilising gymbol there not much can be done about it.
happens a lot on farm machines due to the more extreme angles encountered, easy solution is to overfill slightly, the worse that can happen is on expansion it will over flow slightly.

if it does overflow in a puddle clean it up, it kills cats
 
#9 ·
In the past I've found that if the coolant overflows it can syphon more coolant out of the reservoir. Don't know if that would happen on a DS though. Mine has had the low level light show once, and not on a slope. I bought the correct antifreeze on e-bay and topped up with 50/50 antifreeze and water. No problem since.
 
#10 ·
Checked this am. Not exactly sure where the "fill to here" line is supposed to be, but, I think it should have a LITTLE more in. But it hasn't dropped alarmingly.

I shall continue to monitor.

Having measured how much water I added, I can add the same in OAT to keep it balanced. I wonder if I have some...
 
#13 ·
Afternoon,

Over the weekend the red "Low Coolant" warning started appearing on the dash. Called LR Assist, engineer discovered an issue with a hose near the intercooler (no idea where that is) which had been damaged by a nearby clip.

Car is now with the dealer for investigation.

Anyone else seen anything like this?
 
#16 ·
I've just had this warning - have done 18k miles. Topped up, and fine for now but will ask fir pipework to checked at next service. Thanks.
 
#17 ·
I had this a couple of months ago. I topped it up and the level has remained at Max ever since. If it dropped again I might take to LR, then again sold in 3 months....
 
#20 ·
I've been getting this warning on & off so assumed it was borderline low. Today it's been quite insistent (but engine temp as low as normal/expected) so came here to find out what kind of coolant I need then found this topic so will likely get it looked at when it's in soon for the oil service that's apparently now imminently due.
 
#22 ·
LR Assist were brilliant with this issue. Engineer came out to my house. Examined the car, found the issue and arranged for it to be booked in to local dealer who couldn't provide a courtesy car themselves so arranged one from another, nearby, dealer. I would say a better response than "fill it up with water" why don't you give LR assist a call?
 
#23 ·
Today the "Low Coolant Level" warning appeared and upon checking the level was just below the minimum mark. The car has done 14,000 miles and is just two years old. It is booked in for its first service next week although it had had an interim oil and filter change nine months ago. I owned a FL2 for nine years and it never lost coolant, indeed apart from annual servicing it never needed anything. I will top up the coolant in my DS with 50/50 water and anti freeze and ask the dealer to check the pipework for leaks.
 
#24 ·
I can't remember as it was some time ago , but there is on this forum a reference to a coolant leak inside the transmission , there is a coolant pipe running inside it.
So if your losing water and can't see where it's going it's worth investigation.
 
#26 ·
Don't rely too heavily on the temp gauge. If it's like the FL2 the centre mark covers the whole "normal" operating range, so it could be running hotter than normal, but not hot enough to move the gauge.
 
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