Went to come to work this morning and an alarm went off to tell me to check the coolant. Had a look and the bottle is virtually empty. It's got 24k miles on it so I'm a little shocked it's empty. Should I be concerned? I parked it back up and brought the wife's car instead.
No coolant left in engine
- Thread starter Migwire
- Start date
The coolant system is a sealed loop, so under all normal operating conditions the level rarely drops by any significant amount.
When did you last check the coolant level? - if say weekly, and last check was ok, then yes, there could be an issue. If it was when you purchased the car, and not since, then ld top up with the correct mix and monitor.
When did you last drive it, and was there any low coolant/high temperature alarms?
Any evidence of coolant under the car, or excessive white smoke from the exhaust?
When did you last check the coolant level? - if say weekly, and last check was ok, then yes, there could be an issue. If it was when you purchased the car, and not since, then ld top up with the correct mix and monitor.
When did you last drive it, and was there any low coolant/high temperature alarms?
Any evidence of coolant under the car, or excessive white smoke from the exhaust?
Last edited:
pat15312
Registered User
Water pump leak/failure is well documented on here and is most likely the root cause for this. Get a top up bottle of G15 coolant to get you by whilst waiting for an appointment to get Audi to replace the faulty part.
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The fact that it was checked a few weeks ago, and no issue reported, and that you still have coolant in the system, I would be inclined to just top up at this stage and monitor after every drive for a few days. Is your commute long enough to get up to temperature?
Coolant can really only go 3 places that result in a sudden drop in level:
External leak - pipe work or radiator, which dumps it on the floor, or if a sudden occurrence while driving, clouds of steam from the engine area.
Internal leak #1 - within the engine and into the oil system. Harder to detect externally, but if you take off your oil cap and look inside/at the cap, if there is mixture of oil and water you will see a build up of a an oily paste - it will be obvious when you look at it that it's not just oil.
Internal leak #2 - within the engine and into the cylinder(s) themselves. Engine power will be down, usually very noticably when you drive and try to accelerate. When the engine is hot you will get excessively white exhaust smoke every time you put your foot down.
If you have none of the above, top up and monitor.
If concerned, you could ask for the coolant system to be pressure tested.
Just my view. I'm not a mechanic, perhaps someone else may want to chip in.....
Coolant can really only go 3 places that result in a sudden drop in level:
External leak - pipe work or radiator, which dumps it on the floor, or if a sudden occurrence while driving, clouds of steam from the engine area.
Internal leak #1 - within the engine and into the oil system. Harder to detect externally, but if you take off your oil cap and look inside/at the cap, if there is mixture of oil and water you will see a build up of a an oily paste - it will be obvious when you look at it that it's not just oil.
Internal leak #2 - within the engine and into the cylinder(s) themselves. Engine power will be down, usually very noticably when you drive and try to accelerate. When the engine is hot you will get excessively white exhaust smoke every time you put your foot down.
If you have none of the above, top up and monitor.
If concerned, you could ask for the coolant system to be pressure tested.
Just my view. I'm not a mechanic, perhaps someone else may want to chip in.....
The coolant had to have gone some where fill up again start the engine look for leeks check your oil like raf mentioned to see if it's scummy you'll soon know if it is if no drop in coolant monitor it but make sure you've got a extra bottle of water in the boot if you drive any distance
pat15312
Registered User
You put an unknown substance from the underside of your car into your mouth?!?
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Antifreeze is highly poisonous, I wouldn't suggest tasting.....
Aged coolant, with antifreeze is usually a reddish pinky brown colour, and smells quite musty.
Im not sure you can diagnose a leaking water pump based on taste
Aged coolant, with antifreeze is usually a reddish pinky brown colour, and smells quite musty.
Im not sure you can diagnose a leaking water pump based on taste
It wasn't like wine tasting....... 
It looked like it had a very slight pink tinge to it. What I meant by the water pump was where it seems to be coming from is directly beneath the auxiliary belt area. I assume the water pump is beneath the alternator?
There was about 1cm of coolant left in the bottle when I looked so not totally empty. I've topped it up and will see what happens. Best phone Audi just in case. Every time I've asked Newcastle Audi for a courtesy car I've been told it's a five or six week wait.
It looked like it had a very slight pink tinge to it. What I meant by the water pump was where it seems to be coming from is directly beneath the auxiliary belt area. I assume the water pump is beneath the alternator?
There was about 1cm of coolant left in the bottle when I looked so not totally empty. I've topped it up and will see what happens. Best phone Audi just in case. Every time I've asked Newcastle Audi for a courtesy car I've been told it's a five or six week wait.
No he's not stupid, he got his wife to taste it.....................
