Roswell Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Guys forgive me as I'm useless with cars. The fiancee left for work this morning and returned after 2 minutes to say the coolant warning came on in the DIS. On checking the coolant resevoir I have discovered that it is sitting below the minimum level. After doing a quick google and looking at the manual I have surmised that the coolant shouldn't really go down unless there is a problem. The car is only 14 months old and hasn't been serviced yet due to the AVS. What should I do??.....top up with G12? coolant (can I get this anywhere?) or not top up and get the car towed to the nearest dealer? Thanks in advance, Roswell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Under warranty, call audi assist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahaydock Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Under warranty, call audi assist. [/ QUOTE ]Yep, agree with this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupramax Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Top it up, if the fault light goes off problem solved, if not call Audi assist. If your fuel warning light came on would you call out Audi assist? It could just be that the coolant has contracted enough to take it below the correct level due to the cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitas3 Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Top it up, if the fault light goes off problem solved, if not call Audi assist. If your fuel warning light came on would you call out Audi assist? It could just be that the coolant has contracted enough to take it below the correct level due to the cold. [/ QUOTE ] totally agree. top it up first just slightly above max level and see where it settles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roswell Posted December 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Ok thanks guys........where can i get the G12 stuff......can I get it at the local carr accessory shop or do i have to get it from Audi? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupramax Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Just water will do for a small top up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdb2 Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 My A3 is less than 2yrs old and the coolant level is almost on the min when cold and marginally above the min when hot - i.e. half way up the first X above the min line. It has been like this for a while. I contacted Audi Cust Services who said that it would have been on the Max when it left the factory. Sounds like it has leaked at some point or has a slow leak. The car is due a service soon so I'll raise it then but in the meantime carry some spare antifreeze and some distilled water. Halfords didn't have the exact VW spec mentioned in the handbook, they had something similar but it wasn't exactly the same and I didn't want to take a risk. I therefore went to the local Audi parts counter and got a bottle, think it is 'G12 plus'. Was cheap enough. How far under the min line was your level for the light to come on? Does it come on the minute it is slightly under the min or does it have to go a fair bit under the min line? If I take the lid off I can see what must be a prob inside. Let us know how you get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo1 Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 Firstly, if it's only a little under the min you can top it up with water alone. Secondly, is it a 2.0TDI? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdb2 Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 Mine is a petrol, don't know about Roswell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roswell Posted December 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Hi guys, Thanks for the replies. This morning I topped it up with about a 1/4 of a litre of water. I had left the car lying for a couple of days to see if anything was leaking onto the drive...and there wasn't. Everything seems OK since I topped it up this morning, but I will be keeping a close eye on it. By the way it is a 2.0 TDi....why do you ask? Cheers again, Roswell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vertigo1 Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 I asked because there's a well known problem with coolant leaks on the 2.0TDIs but I thought it only affected the very early ones (not sure on this). I had it on my 53-plater, basically the coolant warning came on and it was about a cm below the min so I topped it up. Next day it was back below the min again. The dealer had a look at it and said the cylinder head was cracked and needed replacing!! Was all done under warranty of course. The guy at the dealer said this wasn't an uncommon problem with the early 2.0TDIs and they believed there was manufacturing defect in some of the early cylinder heads which could lead to cracking after a while. He did say that he thought it was only the very early ones though. I'd get your dealer to have a look at it pronto if I were you. Might be nothing but best to get it checked and even if they say it's all fine and not to worry, at least you've done the right thing by getting them to check it so if by some chance the engine goes pop soon after they can't claim you ignored the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roswell Posted December 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Thanks for that Vertigo1.......will keep a close eye on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roswell Posted December 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2006 Just a wee update on the situation......the coolant level has dropped down again...........called Stirling Audi, who advised me to call Audi Assistance. I am now waiting for the RAC guy to arrive at my house. Will let you know what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roswell Posted December 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2006 Ok, the guy came out from Audi Assistance....didn't realise they had Audi specific guys who actually work for Audi UK! Had a look, took the car out for a spin, pressure tested the coolant system, topped it up with G12 plus and some water.......and couldn't see anything wrong. Told me to keep an eye on it and if it dropped significantly again to book it in to my nearest dealer. So I'm not really any further forward to finding WHY it dropped, but I'll be keeping an eye on it. The guy (Fraser....who told me there's a programme about him on the Audi Channel) was actually alright and he even switched off the airbag warning light that's been on for about the last year due to me removing my glovebox to fit my Phatnoise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopsta Posted December 28, 2006 Report Share Posted December 28, 2006 The Audi dedicated Techs are employed by the RAC but solely work on Audi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted December 28, 2006 Report Share Posted December 28, 2006 and Lambo's / Bentleys according to the last ADT visit. They definitly have to be present if they need to put on the decoupling/ detachable flatbed trucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roswell Posted December 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2006 The guy told me he's employed by Audi UK, not the RAC. They definitely do the work on Bentleys, as he was showing me the laptop when he was sorting my airbag light and it had all the Bentley info on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markpaq Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 Check out this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roswell Posted December 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 Interesting read that Markpaq. As I said I will be keeping an eye on the level and if it drops down again, it'll be going to the dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harddrive Posted December 31, 2006 Report Share Posted December 31, 2006 I had this problem with mine and so did one of the guys that I work with. I had to have the coolant topped up at 12,000 miles. I had the car tested for leaks and none were found so I can only guess that the bottle needs to be bigger to cope with the 2.0T and the 3.2 V6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdb2 Posted January 1, 2007 Report Share Posted January 1, 2007 harddrive - where did they say the coolant was going then? Can't be right it is disappearing. I have the same issue, will be getting it looked at when it goes in for service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebird Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Coolant problem here too. Warning light on today - checked level and indeed low. Topped up with about 500mls water. Will see what happens next... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harddrive Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 They never said but then on my kit car it use to evaporate.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdb2 Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 There appears to be a number of us on here with the same problem and I've seen a few with the same problem on audi-sport.net, at least one maybe 2 of these had their problem diagnosed as head gasket. It can't be 'normal' or a 'characteristic' as the vast majority of people seem ok. I've never had to fill up with coolant in any previous cars except one that had a fractured hose and the manual seems to suggest it is a sealed system. I don't want to be told "it is normal, keep and eye on it" and then 1 month after the warranty runs out the head goes and it is my problem. The coolant shouldn't go from Max to Min in 7000 miles on a modern car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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