Disappearing coolant trick again

[SourKandi]

I have a '13 1.4 LT

The last time I had disappearing coolant was before my turbo was replaced.

I haven't looked under the hood since my last oil change about 2 months ago, but yesterday noticed my reservoir is under the low level marker.

It's been pouring for days so I haven't noticed if there's a leak underneath, but I have noticed a slight antifreeze smell on occasion.

Any suggestions where to focus once I get this puppy to a dry garage?

 

[Natesriv]

Look around belts for the tell tale (sp?) sheen of a coolant leak

 

[Swordsmith]

There is a known problem with the Sonic water pump, and most coolant leaks end up being that. The leak is tiny and only takes place under high pressure, and the leak tends to evaporate so you can't see it.

There is a Recall, Chevy will replace the water pump at no cost to the owner, even if the car is no longer under warranty.

I had a different leak; during one of my mods, the hose that runs across the radiator had come out of its clip, and the clip rubbed a hole into the hose over the course of several months.

 

[Natesriv]

yeah, wasn't there a letter sent out on it (I've got mine AT HOME)...I'll have to look

 

[Maddmatts]

I believe the waterpumps themselves are covered for 2x the existing powertrain warranty. For example; if you have a 5 year, 100,000 mile warranty, the pump is covered for 10 years and 200,000 miles. No idea if it covers secondary damage.

 

[SmoothSonic]

My local dealership refused to replace my water pump when I showed them the letter. Meanwhile I had a loss of fluid. They said that this is supposed to happen and topped off the fluid. Now, it's low on fluid again.

Did the dealership replace your water pump?

 

[RMinNJ]

My local dealership refused to replace my water pump when I showed them the letter. Meanwhile I had a loss of fluid. They said that this is supposed to happen and topped off the fluid. Now, it's low on fluid again.

Did the dealership replace your water pump?

Contact the manager of that dealer or GM directly. Clearly they want you to bring it back several times before they replace the water pump. Not really fair.

 

[SmoothSonic]

Contact the manager of that dealer or GM directly. Clearly they want you to bring it back several times before they replace the water pump. Not really fair.

Oh! good idea. I'll contact GM directly on this issue. I had contacted them in the past when I had my transmission problem. I recall countless days exchanging chat messages back then. It was last March I think. Back then, I did talk to the manager directly and he's the one who said that it's normal for the fluid to disappear mysteriously. I'm going in for a service appointment next week for a different problem though... so maybe it's time for them to look into this old issue as well and then maybe tell me that it's supposed to do this. :blankface:

 

[Papasonic]

Oh! good idea. I'll contact GM directly on this issue. I had contacted them in the past when I had my transmission problem. I recall countless days exchanging chat messages back then. It was last March I think. Back then, I did talk to the manager directly and he's the one who said that it's normal for the fluid to disappear mysteriously. I'm going in for a service appointment next week for a different problem though... so maybe it's time for them to look into this old issue as well and then maybe tell me that it's supposed to do this. :blankface:

Don't you just love it when the service department jerks you around? So many instances of improper diagnostics, and service advisers spewing out pure BS.

 

[SmoothSonic]

Don't you just love it when the service department jerks you around? So many instances of improper diagnostics, and service advisers spewing out pure BS.

You're right.... too many. They tried to convince me that my self-adjusting brakes needed an adjustment. :banana:

I did some additional research in a cartalk forum that discusses the differences between "closed" and "open" coolant systems. The main discussion was with Subaru's, but I figured that the technology is similar. It was explained that turbo engines usually have closed systems and therefore shouldn't have any coolant loss. The open systems are subject to 1-2 cups of coolant loss due to evaporation in 28-30k miles under normal operating conditions. That said, if a service department says it's normal for a Sonic that has a closed system to have coolant loss, then they are most likely wrong and that a disappearing coolant problem is probably a slow leak.
Coolant Loss How much is normal - Car Talk

I should have done this research a year ago.
My recent loss was 1-2 cups in a 13,000 mile period with a closed system.

 

[SmoothSonic]

Here is how my coolant reservoir looked 11 months after I bought the car. I showed this photo to the dealership service agent this morning. The guy found the special notice that GM sent out regarding the water pump. They inspected the car and within an hour the service agent said that they found a stain on the pump and went ahead with replacing it. :banana:

I was only there for 2 hours and I left feeling satisfied.

 

[Bearcat]

I have the coolant leaking problem... My dealership is shady and money grabbing scum and I never would have taken a car back there if I didn't think it would be 100% covered under warranty or the special policy. Even though I specifically said I think this coolant leak should be covered by the special policy... of course they come back and charge me $110 diagnostic fee and say nope its a hose leak and costs $427 to repair. They are huge liars and I don't trust them so I refused the repair. What should I do? I'm already out the $110, which I don't think I should have paid since I only wanted them to check for the special policy.

 

[RMinNJ]

I have the coolant leaking problem... My dealership is shady and money grabbing scum and I never would have taken a car back there if I didn't think it would be 100% covered under warranty or the special policy. Even though I specifically said I think this coolant leak should be covered by the special policy... of course they come back and charge me $110 diagnostic fee and say nope its a hose leak and costs $427 to repair. They are huge liars and I don't trust them so I refused the repair. What should I do? I'm already out the $110, which I don't think I should have paid since I only wanted them to check for the special policy.

Write to Chevy.. who will tell you to find another dealer. Have them show you the hose that is leaking.

My coolant goes down like this. My dealer has already said its normal. I'm chasing a trans/oil leak so I'm not too worried about this yet. But , yeah my dealer for the reservoir going down would say "oh if its not leaking on the ground its normal".

How could replacing a hose cost $427 ?? It sounds shady even not seeing it.

 

[Bearcat]

There's like a pool of coolant on top of my engine. I've had to fill it several times... I'm worried this dealer may have made it worse, there's suddenly coolant splashed on my battery and places I never noticed it before.

And yeah... This is the same dealer that wanted $3000 for really silly stuff when I took my 08 equinox in before... I just changed my pads/rotors myself and none of the other stuff and it's been fine... I remember they wanted $200 for a new battery when the old one was fine... this was a few years ago and the old battery has never been replaced and still works great.

 

[harryhendo]

Dealer replaced coolant expansion tank on third visit

My 2013 Sonic LTZ sedan with the 1.4T had this same problem since March, 2014. I mentioned it at a service visit at ~20K miles, then again at ~35K miles, and both times the mechanic did a pressure test on the system that showed no leaks. They topped up the coolant and said "let us know if it happens again".

At ~60K miles, I had a service visit, and again told them the coolant was low. The mechanic, who was more thorough, did a pressure test of the coolant expansion tank this time, and he found a hairline fracture in it. The dealership wanted to charge me $200 for the tank and and add on an hour of labor, but I pulled my receipts showing I had reported this problem two years ago, under warranty, and they put the new tank in at no charge.

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

There's like a pool of coolant on top of my engine. I've had to fill it several times... I'm worried this dealer may have made it worse, there's suddenly coolant splashed on my battery and places I never noticed it before.

And yeah... This is the same dealer that wanted $3000 for really silly stuff when I took my 08 equinox in before... I just changed my pads/rotors myself and none of the other stuff and it's been fine... I remember they wanted $200 for a new battery when the old one was fine... this was a few years ago and the old battery has never been replaced and still works great.

Hi Bearcat,

I regret to hear about your dealership experience and apologize for the frustrations this has caused you. We would be happy to look into this for you. Please feel free to send us a private message if you'd like to discuss things further.

Best,

Cristina
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[SonicIan]

yeah, wasn't there a letter sent out on it (I've got mine AT HOME)...I'll have to look

Does anyone have a copy of the letter? I never got one on my 2014 Sonic purchased new and now I have a coolant leak. Would be great to have some hard evidence to go into a dealer with.

 

[Maddmatts]

The waterpump problem was fixed sometime in the 2013 model year if I'm remembering right. There are several other common locations for leaks to check for:
-Coolant tank cracks. Usually on the bottom of the tank near the large hose nipple.
-Water outlet cracks. Tends to be sudden leak and spray coolant everywhere.
-Heater core hose. Can rub against back of intake manifold and wear through. Will spray coolant on back of engine bay.
-Temp sensor O-rings gone bad. There are two sensors with the same design. One near the bottom-passenger side of the radiator and another on the water outlet on engine. These tend to be a slow leak.

 

[Cmaj44]

Anyone know if recall warranty repairs can be done twice?
I went through the headache of paying for a water pump/thermostat/coolant leak a little more than a year ago on my 2013 LT 1.4L Turbo Sonic, and then getting a refund when I found out there was a recall on it. The water pump and thermostat was replaced.
I ended up having another overheating/coolant leak where I paid for new thermostat again just a month ago and now am again getting overheating/coolant leaking issues.
I don't know of I'm at my wits end with my car which for the most part love, or if I am able to get this repaired under that recall warranty until the issue is actually fixed.
To be fair, most of my driving is small city miles and the times I ran into issues are the few times I drove to another city.
Any help is greatly appreciated!!

 

[jabberwocky]

My car began smelling of coolant recently (actually, on the tail end of about 600mi driving for work w/family business tacked on due to proximity) and has begun to leave a trail of coolant from the passenger side after the car has been run. Wipe it off garage floor and after the car has cooled off, appears no more has leaked...until next i run the car.
Soon to embark on replacing the water pump/thermostat/et al., and research² revealed this service bulletin.

Here's a link to the "most recent" (27Jan15) version i could find.

I called a dealership that was decent with me way back when i last had my car in (i've actually had pretty good luck w/this RS) several years ago for some other service bulletin.
ANYWAY, the short of it is, he called up info by way of my on-file VIN, referenced this special coverage adjustment of the service bulletin, and went on to restate what the SB indicates: that the adjustment is to cover this for 10yrs/150k mi, whichever occurs first.
While my car is still within the 10yr date, i just confirmed that current mileage put me out of the running for covered support: 153,212.
Service manager told me while there once was a time when they could "fudge dates and numbers," that time has passed, as GM requires use of some widget, or soft/firm-ware interaction, that reads and logs the vehicle's actual miles.
Seems likely, even as IDWork for any dealership or in automotive at all.

Point is -- if you're nearing this TSB's finish line, and have any indications of relative leaks, get on it.