Coolant leak

[Alex31]

Hi all not sure if we have covered this topic but my golf 7 TDI brought up the low coolant warning. It's only 6 months old with 10000km on the clock... Checked level and it was well below the min level line. I have not noticed any leaks. Has anyone else had this problem? If so what it a simple fix. It's going into the dealer but I am worried they will just top it up and say there is nothing wrong....

Any thoughts/advice would be great :-)

[wai]

You may have to take it to a cooling system specialist. They can pressure test it and see if the system is holding pressure (hence, not leaking).

Have you checked the oil for any discolouration? Leaks do not have to be external. You can get a leak between the water jacket and an oil gallery, or even the combustion chamber. The thing is that for the combustion chamber, this would also pressurise the system, so you would see it overflowing from the reservoir.

[irossiter]

Take it back to VW. If there are any problems it is their responsibility under warranty. A cooling specialist will (quite reasonably) have to charge you to test it.

[sports racer]

Some coolant loss over 10000 km would be expected, especially in a new car. It's very rare to have all the rubber water pipes sealed 100% as the car ages. Get the dealer to check and tighten all the clamps and keep a check on the water level at least monthly.

Or you could grab a screwdriver and do it yourself.

Cheers

Paul

[Brendan_A]

A week after delivery of our GTI I noticed the coolant was on the minimum mark. Booked it in and they pressure tested the system and topped it up.

System tested fine. They told me it probably was an air lock from factory which is why the level dropped. I've been checking the header tank every week and it hasn't gone done in 5 months 7k Kms.

[Umai Naa!!]

Take it back to VW. If there are any problems it is their responsibility under warranty. A cooling specialist will (quite reasonably) have to charge you to test it.

Agreed.

Don't buggerise around with independent shops over a potential warranty concern. You won't be reimbursed.

It's VW's warranty, only they can honor it. The dealership will have a coolant pressure tester.

[The One]

Let's not scare the poor fella. Just book it into VW, some levels e.g: oil and coolant dropping while in run in period (for any make, model etc) is completely normal.

[AJD]

My TDI has done the same thing. Einstein at the dealership has pressure tested the system and says it's fine, he went on to say it's a common problem with the TDI's - I'm not entirely convinced, this is my 3rd TDI and it's the first one to use coolant.
It's now all over the service records and it will be going back to the dealer in a couple of months if the coolant level drops again.

[Polo GTEye N9]

Ditto go back to VW now......
Take it back to VW. If there are any problems it is their responsibility under warranty. A cooling specialist will (quite reasonably) have to charge you to test it.

[Umai Naa!!]

Some of the TSIs used to burp a bit of air out, causing the level to drop once they were delivered and being driven on the road.

[wai]

My TDI has done the same thing. Einstein at the dealership has pressure tested the system and says it's fine, he went on to say it's a common problem with the TDI's - I'm not entirely convinced, this is my 3rd TDI and it's the first one to use coolant.

That's the standard "standard for this type of vehicle" rubbish that you get from the dealers these days. In other words, the customer has to prove that there is a problem because they are not going to do a thing about it.

[AJD]

That's the standard "standard for this type of vehicle" rubbish that you get from the dealers these days. In other words, the customer has to prove that there is a problem because they are not going to do a thing about it.

It's the usual dealership cop out response. Generally translates to "yeah we see what you're talking about but it's too hard to do anything about it so we will wait and see what happens. If it gets worse it should be easier to find the problem".

I'll be monitoring the coolant (and all other fluid levels) very closely and the dealer will be seeing a lot of my car until I am happy with it.

[Alex31]

Went to the dealership and got the we will monitor it as we could not find the problem... Useless

[Umai Naa!!]

I've found in situations like that, you need to have the system pressurised above cap pressure, and left overnight, and keep re-applying pressure until you spot the leak.

[oystercard]

Hi all.

I got a Coolant Warning in my 'bought-new-in-Feb-Mk7 GTI' last week along with leakage (resembling fuel) on my garage floor same day. I promptly booked it in for a going over and the diagnosis was it needed a new fuel pump. I Googled as you do and see this is a known issue with older Golfs.

I have no mechanical know-how and I am basically hoping for a Dummies type run down of the issue and what it means for me and so I know what to say to the dealer tomorrow when I hopefully collect the car (it's been there since Thursday). A friend suggested the dealer will need to flush out my fuel system as it may have been contaminated. This sounds alarming.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Transporter]

I have no mechanical know-how and I am basically hoping for a Dummies type run down of the issue and what it means for me and so I know what to say to the dealer tomorrow when I hopefully collect the car (it's been there since Thursday).

Just say; "thanks for fixing my car" :cool:

[mfl]

Water pumps failing were a known issue on the mk6 GTI - mine is on its 3rd waterpump in 60k - the problem was supposed to have been fixed using an updated waterpump - but there are always parts that are one-off failures.

[Umai Naa!!]

What Transporter said.

They're honoring the warranty that's built into the purchase price of the car. Not much more they really need to do.

[AdamD]

Hang on, is it a water pump (as per the subject line), or a fuel pump (as per the body of your post)? These are two very different things and are in no way related.

The water pump is used to pump water/coolant around the engine block, whereas the fuel pump is used to deliver fuel from the tank to the injection system.

I suspect it's the former, in which case you will need new coolant (which will of course be done as part of the replacement work), but your fuel will be completely unaffected.

[oystercard]

thanks for the replies.

collected the car yesterday. unfortunately it is back in tomorrow. see below.

just to clarify, I was advised it was water pump / coolant pump (I assume it is the same thing, not sure why can't they agree on the vernacular, spoke to two different people on drop off and collection).

Unfortunately, i was provided with no paperwork upon collection. this may have been an innocent oversight however i will say
the guy i dealt with at South Yarra VW was a complete a$$. rude and dismissive. told me it was "no drama" that my car had been with them for 5 days. this sort of thing never happens to VWs apparently. was expecting a call back from the service manager today which never came. i will follow with him tomorrow and also re the paperwork.

in any case, the car is back tomorrow as upon collection the left pass window and door is now a creaky mess and in addition the glovebox falls open at the slightest bump (no less than 8 times going home from the dealer, 6 times day on the commute to work).
this afternoon my front parking sensors were going on and off at whim.

feeling a little less love for the GTI today it must be said

[brad]

Water pump is pretty common on the TSI engine unfortunately. Mine went at about 100,000km

[NCGR1]

A week after delivery of our GTI I noticed the coolant was on the minimum mark. ....

That would be the correct level if you are checking the system cold. Any more and it will just kick it out thru the pressure cap when hot.

[Brendan_A]

That would be the correct level if you are checking the system cold. Any more and it will just kick it out thru the pressure cap when hot.

No that was warm. And the level doesn't move that much between the two marks..

[jase1972]

No that was warm. And the level doesn't move that much between the two marks..
Just had coolant warning sign come up on Golf R MK7. 12000km on clock, 15000 service due sept 19th. Checked level just sitting on min level. I call ervice department to see if i need to bring it in earlier.

That would be the correct level if you are checking the system cold. Any more and it will just kick it out thru the pressure cap when hot.

[turtle]

Hi,
Wondering if anyone has experienced their Golf leaking coolant?
My GTI started leaking a small amount a few months ago (enough to bring on the check coolant light). Took it into the dealership and they replaced the water pump which they said was the cause.
Now it has since started leaking again (approx 3-4 drops on the garage floor).
Given my recent problems with car dealerships, I'd like to see if anyone else has experience this problem.
Last time the recommend I not drive it until they looked at it. Today they said they couldn't look at it for a week, which is pi$$ poor in my opinion. This will be the 3rd time my car has been in for a warranty issue.

[agentthumb]

The 110TDI had check coolant light come on about 2 months into ownership. Took it to dealer, they topped op the coolant stating its just the air bubbles working its way out. That was over a year ago, no dramas since.

Have had the MY15 103TSI for 3 months now, no dramas with coolant level yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[turtle]

Hi all,
I've got an MY14 GTI PP and its leaking coolant. This is the THIRD time this has happened. On the first two occasions, the dealer replaced the water pump under warranty. They said the first one they replaced was defective and would be sent back to VW for examination (so they said). The first one was replaced in June, the second in September.
Today, 2 months after they replace the pump for the second time, its leaking again. Previously it was leaking onto the garage floor previously, now its just sitting on the under-tray but enough to trigger a low coolant caution.

I don't have much confidence in taking it back to the same dealer so I'm hoping there is someone on here who has maybe had a similar experience, or is a VW expert that can give me some no BS advice before I take it back.

This is my first time buying a VW, and with this track record, probably my last unless they can convince me otherwise.

Thank in advance.

EDIT: I should add that after the dealer replaced the pump for the second time, they forgot to install the engine under tray. When I called them to report it, they couldn't locate the tray and had to order a new one. Another trip back to the dealer to install the new under tray, and another reason why I don't have much confidence in VW mechanics.

[cardje]

Heya Just got my GTI 2013 model. Have driven it during the day no problems. Went to get dinner had the car in sports mode, coolant engine light comes on. I checked couldn't see any coolant my partner opened the cap and coolant appeared going up to the minimum line. Turned car back on was fine then 20 minutes later in sports mode happens again. Got home left it. 1 hour later engine bay still very warm coolant bellow minimum amount haven't taken cap off to see if it rises.

Any ideas :/

[agentthumb]

Heya Just got my GTI 2013 model. Have driven it during the day no problems. Went to get dinner had the car in sports mode, coolant engine light comes on. I checked couldn't see any coolant my partner opened the cap and coolant appeared going up to the minimum line. Turned car back on was fine then 20 minutes later in sports mode happens again. Got home left it. 1 hour later engine bay still very warm coolant bellow minimum amount haven't taken cap off to see if it rises.

Any ideas :/

Check the floor for puddles, if nothing, top it up with distilled water :)

Have a TDI and TSI, both needed a coolant top up recently due to the warning. No harm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cardje]

Check the floor for puddles, if nothing, top it up with distilled water :)

Have a TDI and TSI, both needed a coolant top up recently due to the warning. No harm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
2736927370

See above is this an issue, moist in one area few drops no "puddle" also defined distilled water for me please.

[agentthumb]

2736927370

See above is this an issue, moist in one area few drops no "puddle" also defined distilled water for me please.

Can't really see from the photos. Soak it up with paper towel. Does it have a pink tinge? If not, it's probably just the A/C.

You can pick up distilled water from Kmart, supercheap auto etc. it's pure water without minerals and other crap in them (tap water with minerals in them can form hard deposit in the radiator). It's safe to dilute your existing coolant with distilled water.

Don't add more coolant in, mixing coolant is not a good idea.

Top it up with distilled water, if the warning doesn't come back, you are good. If it returns relatively quickly, you have a leak.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cardje]

Can't really see from the photos. Soak it up with paper towel. Does it have a pink tinge? If not, it's probably just the A/C.

You can pick up distilled water from Kmart, supercheap auto etc. it's pure water without minerals and other crap in them (tap water with minerals in them can form hard deposit in the radiator). It's safe to dilute your existing coolant with distilled water.

Don't add more coolant in, mixing coolant is not a good idea.

Top it up with distilled water, if the warning doesn't come back, you are good. If it returns relatively quickly, you have a leak.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

100% pink the liquid... so coolant leak?

[agentthumb]

100% pink the liquid... so coolant leak?

Most likely then. If it's not oily. Also check your coolant cap is done up properly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Umai Naa!!]

Water pump is a common leak on these, and is right above that area.

Keep topping up the coolant, until you can get it fixed.

[cardje]

I literally got the car today... I'm going to be calling the dealer tomorrow furious

[agentthumb]

I literally got the car today... I'm going to be calling the dealer tomorrow furious

Good luck. Hopefully you get it sorted painlessly :)

Ps. Congrats on your purchase. I'm sure you'll really enjoy it once the leak is sorted :D


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dudgemo]

I just had my water pump and thermostat replaced under warranty due to a leak, Mines a 2014 GTI. Looks like exactly the same issue.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[jase1972]

My Golf R 2014 had a small leak, it would alarm about a month before service. The first year they said maybe there was an air pocket, but the second year it happened they noticed a small leak around the pump seals. They ended up replacing pump and so far so good.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[prn31]

My MY15 Golf GTI Performance has had a history of coolant loss.

Only a few months into ownership my wife had the coolant warning light come on whilst driving in the country. Long story short - the nearest dealer (who sold us the Golf coincidently) had the car for several days - thank goodness for VW Assist! - and could find no fault with the car, siting a possible air lock in the system.

A month ago prior to the 30,000 service the light came on again. The level was on minimum so I topped it up and I did this again a couple of weeks later. There were no visible signs of a leak - coolant on garage floor.

I mentioned this to the service advisor at the dealer when in for its service and I got a phone call during the day to authorise the replacement of the water pump. Hopefully the issue is now sorted.

[peekay34]

I have the same issue booked in next week. I told the dealer 4 times it was leaking and they ignored the issue and did not check.
This time they can't escape it as it is so obvious. I have also complained about the suspension it makes a rattle sound on some bumps that they claim they can't find a fault with that either.

[prn31]

So almost a year and 15,000km on and after numerous top ups of coolant I’ve just had the water pump replaced again under warranty…

Apparently the water pump that failed was a “revised”version. The service advisor at the VW dealership showed me the old pump and it was leaking from the same area that most of them do. Car is out of warranty in December but I have two years warranty on the water pump. I asked how much it would cost to do this as a paid job and was told around $1,400. Apparently they do a water pump replacement on the Mk7 every day!

They did throw in a complimentary bottle of the factory coolant concentrate… :rolleyes:

[flat6]

My 16R has been low on coolant lately, advised them of this at the last service, turns out the thermostat housing has to be replaced under warranty, known fault with MY16 models

[prn31]

My 16R has been low on coolant lately, advised them of this at the last service, turns out the thermostat housing has to be replaced under warranty, known fault with MY16 models

My understanding is that the water pump assembly includes the thermostat housing and is replaced as one complete unit. The service advisor who showed me my pump says it can leak from three different areas but the most common was the thermostat housing where ours was leaking from.

This water pump is used in the 110 TSI as well as the GTI and R, but most failures are in the GTI and R engines.

It’s a worry that the revised water pump design doesn’t appear to have solved the problem….

[brad]

My understanding is that the water pump assembly includes the thermostat housing and is replaced as one complete unit. The service advisor who showed me my pump says it can leak from three different areas but the most common was the thermostat housing where ours was leaking from.

This water pump is used in the 110 TSI as well as the GTI and R, but most failures are in the GTI and R engines.

It’s a worry that the revised water pump design doesn’t appear to have solved the problem….

You can buy the water pump as a separate unit but it's good practice to replace the housing (which includes a thermostat and a sensor) as well.
I did mine (water pump O-ring leak) way back in 2012 and it was ~$1400 back then (~$800 in parts) at an independent. It went again in Jan 2017 due to a cracked housing (you must use a torque wrench on them as they are fragile. The bolt torque is about 10Nm) and it cost me $125 for the full assembly. It took 2 hours to remove and 3 hours to assemble. I removed all the carbon from the intakes at the same time which was another days work.
It's not that hard a job in terms of difficulty - just fiddly.

[vwMK7coolantLEAK]

My 2013 VW Golf begun leaking coolant in April 2019. Coolant light came on, so I bought some G13 coolant and topped it up but within a short time the coolant light had come back on and I took it to the car repairers for a fix. At first, the water pump was found to be the culprit and I got the water pump, thermostat and thermostat housing replaced with genuine VW parts. I had to wait for a few weeks until all the parts arrived because they were sourced from VW and the toothed belt housing (which seems to be the issue causing all these coolant leaks) was replaced also. From what I understand, VW is still replacing the defective housing with the original, plastic designs. I strongly urge you to ensure that this housing is not repaired by VW.

It only took a month and the light was back on. On second inspection, the repairers were unable to find a cause of the coolant leak and were aware that there were other VW customers who were confused about their own heat exchangers leaking internally. Since my coolant was leaking at such a rapid pace, it would only hold a full tank for about 12 hours. Consequently, the engine light came on and it repeatedly overheated. Throughout this whole repair process, I was unable to find any comprehensive explanation online to gain a better understanding of what I should do about my problem. I have written this post in goodwill to assist with any future concerns that VW mk7 vehicle owners might have regarding their coolant leaking.

I took the car to the manufacturer later in the year and paid $250 for a diagnosis which read “low compression/defective water pump” as the cause. As mentioned above, I had this replaced earlier in the year. I came in to collect the vehicle and I asked to see the mechanics. When I came into the workshop, I was immediately handed a piece of plastic and told “this is your problem” by one of the guys. Consequentially, the internal damage due to overheating of the engine would make further repairs somewhat futile for me if engine failure was an inevitable likelihood.

That melted plastic (pictured) was left out of the diagnosis report but handed to me as the first finding by the mechanic. I kindly asked the VW service centre to include this as a finding on the report provided to me. I waited over two weeks whilst they told me they were amending the diagnosis report – but in the end I was told that they were unable to include the finding. Screenshots of their emails admitting about it are linked below. The discrepancy between my diagnosis report and email correspondence suggests that VW is not being honest about this design flaw and seems to be purposely misleading their mk7 owners about the melting plastic casing.

As you may not already know, the new mk7.5 range has now used steel casing rather than plastic to avoid this issue. If I had known about the melting plastic sooner than I would have been able to identify the problem and have it replaced with a suitable material (i.e. steel casing rather than plastic). I hope I can show the online community concerned about coolant leaks that there is most likely an issue with melting plastic around the coolant tank, specifically encasing the “toothed belt”.

Diagnosis report: Pasteboard - Uploaded Image (https://pasteboard.co/IFZp5jk.jpg)
Email correspondence: Pasteboard - Uploaded Image (https://pasteboard.co/IFZsEtI.png)
Melted plastic casing top-side: Pasteboard - Uploaded Image (https://pasteboard.co/IG6hvbG.jpg)
Melted plastic casing bottom-side: Pasteboard - Uploaded Image (https://pasteboard.co/IG6hQnj.jpg)

[vwMK7coolantLEAK]

My 2013 VW Golf begun leaking coolant in April 2019. Coolant light came on, so I bought some G13 coolant and topped it up but within a short time the coolant light had come back on and I took it to the car repairers for a fix. At first, the water pump was found to be the culprit and I got the water pump, thermostat and thermostat housing replaced with genuine VW parts. I had to wait for a few weeks until all the parts arrived because they were sourced from VW and the toothed belt housing (which seems to be the issue causing all these coolant leaks) was replaced also. From what I understand, VW is still replacing the defective housing with the original, plastic designs. I strongly urge you to ensure that this housing is not repaired by VW.

It only took a month and the light was back on. On second inspection, the repairers were unable to find a cause of the coolant leak and were aware that there were other VW customers who were confused about their own heat exchangers leaking internally. Since my coolant was leaking at such a rapid pace, it would only hold a full tank for about 12 hours. Consequently, the engine light came on and it repeatedly overheated. Throughout this whole repair process, I was unable to find any comprehensive explanation online to gain a better understanding of what I should do about my problem. I have written this post in goodwill to assist with any future concerns that VW mk7 vehicle owners might have regarding their coolant leaking.

I took the car to the manufacturer later in the year and paid $250 for a diagnosis which read “low compression/defective water pump” as the cause. As mentioned above, I had this replaced earlier in the year. I came in to collect the vehicle and I asked to see the mechanics. When I came into the workshop, I was immediately handed a piece of plastic and told “this is your problem” by one of the guys. Consequentially, the internal damage due to overheating of the engine would make further repairs somewhat futile for me if engine failure was an inevitable likelihood.

That melted plastic (pictured) was left out of the diagnosis report but handed to me as the first finding by the mechanic. I kindly asked the VW service centre to include this as a finding on the report provided to me. I waited over two weeks whilst they told me they were amending the diagnosis report – but in the end I was told that they were unable to include the finding. Screenshots of their emails admitting about it are linked below. The discrepancy between my diagnosis report and email correspondence suggests that VW is not being honest about this design flaw and seems to be purposely misleading their mk7 owners about the melting plastic casing.

As you may not already know, the new mk7.5 range has now used steel casing rather than plastic to avoid this issue. If I had known about the melting plastic sooner than I would have been able to identify the problem and have it replaced with a suitable material (i.e. steel casing rather than plastic). I hope I can show the online community concerned about coolant leaks that there is most likely an issue with melting plastic around the coolant tank, specifically encasing the “toothed belt”.

Diagnosis report:
https://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2019/11/imagephpdiMKD8-1.jpg

Email correspondence:
https://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2019/11/imagephpdi1NLD-1.jpg

Melted plastic casing top-side:
https://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2019/11/imagephpdiO53D-1.jpg

Melted plastic casing bottom-side:
https://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2019/11/imagephpdiCEXZ-1.jpg

[clio]

The water pumps are poor components. I'm just gearing up to replace mine (Mk7 GTI).

[brad]

The water pumps are poor components. I'm just gearing up to replace mine (Mk7 GTI).

1.4tsi water pump is in a totally different spot to a GTI.

BTW: I'm told the EA888 water pump can be done without removing the manifold if you know what you are doing.
I've done it by removing the manifold. It's not a hard job.