Possible coolant issue

Good morning all,
I am unfortunately not mechanically minded in the slightest so hoping to get some opinions from people in the know (taking it to mechanics today)

I purchased my 2011 polo TDI in Feb 2014, freshly serviced, ran out of coolant in September and roadside assist towed it to the dealership where they pressure tested and determined that the system was all good. They topped up the coolant and I was on my way. I got a logbook service in January this year. Last night the dash lit up again and the coolant was well below minimum (almost empty). Maybe I should check under the bonnet more often, but am I correct in thinking that losing all of my coolant every 4 months is not normal? Just don't want to be palmed off by the mechanic if there is going to be an ongoing problem.

Thanks in advance,
Steve

An idea of the kms done in the time between occurrences may help ,

I check fluids every week whether the cars are used or not. If a damaged seal or other problem occurs you then find it before it costs a lot. of money.

Its called preventative maintenance.

In September, it had approx 43000kms and it is now at 52000kms with a service in between. If I was to purchase the VW coolant, would it just be a case of topping it up and monitoring it? Or would I need to flush the radiator? Only VW service team have filled it so no mixing of brands.

Yes you can do that. The coolant is supposed to be mixed with water, so you should do that in the correct proportions before topping up.

Could be the cap has a damaged seal which is allowing the coolant out?

Gavin

Yeah cheers guys...they want me to fork out another $150 for another diagnostic test which will probably come up with nothing again. So I'm going to race down to the parts department and get some coolant and top it up, write down my kms and the date, and just monitor exactly how it goes. If it starts chewing through it quickly I'll definitely book it in ASAP.

Why not find a decent independent VW specialist & get them to look at it.

They'll put a pressure tester on the system to see if there's a leak - probably for $0. Constantly topping up is just a bandaid

Yeah brad I agree with you but the terms of my extended warranty don't allow me to take it to other mechanics from what I gather, so doing this is not so much a bandaid but I want to closely monitor and be 100% certain there is a reason to spend $150 to get it sorted...the whole thing in my opinion is a bit of a rip off, but this was my first car purchase and I have learnt many lessons from it.

Take it to a radiator repairer and get him to pressure test it. At a guess the waterpump may be leaking

Extended warranties that are tied to a dealership aren't worth the paper they are written on. I assume they also want you to get the car serviced every 10,000km/6m rather than 15k/12m?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hillbilly

Take it to a radiator repairer and get him to pressure test it. At a guess the waterpump may be leaking

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I agree with the above.

I used own a Mazda and had problems with the coolant getting too low.

Took it to my mechanic, they did a pressure test and all it needed was a new radiator cap. It was a cheap and simple fix.