Coolant is low all of the sudden

[gabriel2012]

Hey guys!, I changed my oil recently and I was checking the dipstick today and everything was fine. I checked everything while I had the hood open and noticed my coolant level was really low.

Is there a way to identify a leak before pouring in more coolant?

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/gabriel134/a48fe5b0.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/gabriel134/50ce8ef9.jpg

[kou]

You need a new waterpump.

[UTVitz]

I had my yaris for over a year and the coolant level never budged then all of a sudden the same thing you experienced. I talked to the dealer and no leaks or problems found-it was just a pocket that filled in. Topped it up and it never happened again. So first thing is to top it up with the proper 50/50 toyota pink coolant-dealer might do it for you for free since it won't be much. Then wipe the underside of the hood-that looks like water splash up from the road hitting your belt/pullys and flinging up under the hood. If it were coolant it would have a distinct line and be very pink. Give it a shot, the cooling system on this car has pockets-I've noticed new ones on the lot are always over full of coolant to compensate for this.

[Hershey]

Looks empty at this end . Not good . Sorry but water pumps shouldn't be failing this early . Never had a water pump fail in any of our cars in the past . Being a '86 Chevy Nova ( Corolla ) that died at 274,000+ miles or Dodge Colts / Plymouth Champs ( Mitsu ) with well over 100,000 miles . Very severe driving conditions for them as well . Delivery . Ain't what they used to be .

[Hershey]

I've been watching the coolant level dropping in the '08 sedan . Here are some pictures taken of the coolant level little over the past 6 months . The last picture of the level near the low mark , the pattern on the hood , and mileage were done this evening ( 2/27/12 ) . The black marks are where the coolant level was and all pictures were done when the coolant was cold . Thought we heard a swoosh / swish noise from the front of the car during a drive this past Sunday . Could this be the same issue ? Hope not :frown: .

[gabriel2012]

I'm shocked about the waterpump thing, my car only has 50k on the odometer (my 94' pontiac firefly has 200k and hasn't failed me yet).

I'm going to the dealer today to get the car serviced for a safety recall related to the seat belts and ask about the coolant.

On a side note, if its the waterpump, whats the cost of the repair?


Thanks for the help guys! :thumbsup:

[gabriel2012]

I went to the dealer and it appears that the safety recall was a mistake and I asked about the coolant.

They wanted $30 + tax for a single gallon, my friend gave me a new unoppened gallon of Prime 50/50 because he bought it and never used it.
http://www.prestone.com/products/print/422?popup=1

Do I just add it to the existing toyota coolant? or should I consider doing a full flush?

Still haven't found a leak anywhere :/

[BLH]

If the spray is from the front to the back of the bottom of the hood and the inside of the water pump pulley is all full of pink gunk. Your water pump is failing.
Mine failed at less then 15,00 miles in my 2007.

$30.00 for the 50/50 Toyota mixed coolant sounds about right. That is what my dealer charged me.

[gabriel2012]

I will take a few pictures since I really don't know where the water pump is :(

Guess its time to drive the firefly to work while I get this sorted out haha

[gabriel2012]

Here azre a few pics I took, I cant see any of the pink stuff around the engine like in another thread I saw.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/gabriel134/905b8339.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/gabriel134/24a92852.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/gabriel134/7739f52e.jpg

[Hershey]

Someone we know has a 2010 3 door with over 90,000 miles and no water pump issue . Must be it's the older Yarii .

[marcus]

99.9% water pump issue... check the inside of the pulley under the alternator pulley you should see pink stuff or some sort of fluid sprayed in the inner part of the pulley..mine changed at 80k km

[gabriel2012]

Okay so I flushed the coolant from the radiator drain plug and added some more via the radiator cap (not the resevoir tank) and filled it up until it got to the top where the cap is.

I drove it 3 times and the car lost a little coolant each time I drove and checked the cap when it was cold. so I had to add maybe a cup of coolant the three times I checked it. I'm concerned because in my moms corolla and my sisters yaris sedan the coolant stays at the cap level when cold.

Is the coolant evaporating or something? I can't find any leaks under the hood and I even placed some cardboard under the car to try and catch a leak but no dice.

[Hershey]

Cleaned the underside of the hood and will keep eye on it . Before / after pics .

[12 yaris]

Check hoses,Rad. cap,Check bolts for water pump,or buy or borrow a pressure tester.

[UTVitz]

Toyota had a batch of lousy Aisin water pumps that sometimes don't last all that long. My '08 RAV4 started leaking at 24K miles. My '08 yaris started showing signs of leakage at 66K miles-but has since stopped leaking-fingers crossed as I'm out of warranty and it will be a couple hundred dollars from a local shop. Dealer wants $319 to replace.

Anyway, I've done some research on this pump and have found that the shaft is sealed by a mechanical type seal and that "a small amount of coolant leakage is normal" Sounds strange, but the research indicates the pump can get debris in the shaft/seal ring area and leak a little bit and then clear itself. There is actually a pocket built into the pump to hold normal leakage. Only excessive weep hole leakage indicates the pump may be failing. Your pictures do not indicate any pink leakage on the pulleys. A Toyota mechanic told me it is normal for the vehicle to use some coolant from time to time-and I have read supporting evidence of this on Alldata as well.

[Hershey]

We have a Platinum warraty from Toyota of 8 years / 125,000 miles so the pump will be covered . Will likely take it to service center and have them top off the resorvoir and then mark the new level ( when cold ) as above and the date it was marked . Then do same as it lowers to see how long it takes to reach near the LOW mark as posted above . Thanks for all the input . Hopefully it won't give out before then .

[yaris4062007]

My waterpump failed at 59k miles , lucky my warranty covered it with new serpentine belt. ;)

[Hershey]

Will also keep track of the mileage of the car at the time level is marked . The belt would be good bonus .

[Hershey]

Remarked coolant level when cold ( 37 degrees ) at 41,696 miles on 3/2/12 . Pics :

[bankrobber]

I got my Yaris with 20K miles and and I think origional pump. I noticed some spray under hood probably 2 years ago but never gave it any thought. I now have 140K miles on same water pump. The plastic resevor tank is empty but radiator is topped off. Would adding fluid in tank create more pressure possibly causing the old pump to leak

[Happy Little Pony]

I got my Yaris with 20K miles and and I think origional pump. I noticed some spray under hood probably 2 years ago but never gave it any thought. I now have 140K miles on same water pump. The plastic resevor tank is empty but radiator is topped off. Would adding fluid in tank create more pressure possibly causing the old pump to leak


One of the jobs of the radiator cap is to open up if the pressure in the cooling system gets too high. If you add too much coolant the worst that will happen is that it will overflow the reservoir and make a mess.

[bankrobber]

What about using the coolant at WalMart that says it works in all newer vehicles?
Prestone brand?

[UTVitz]

What about using the coolant at WalMart that says it works in all newer vehicles?
Prestone brand?

Don't do it. Really, coolants are not designed to be mixed like motor oils. Cross contamination could result in a plugged up cooling system. If you wanted to change off toyota pink stuff you'd need to do a complete flush of the system and them refill with whatever you choose.

[nookandcrannycar]

I read this thread a few days ago and was a bit concerned re my car. The exterior of of my overflow reservoir is even cloudier (much cloudier) than on gabriel2012's car AND after popping off the cap of the reservoir I couldn't see ANY of the pink 50-50 coolant/water mixture. I asked a service writer at my local Toyota dealer about this earlier today and he came out to my car and we both poked our heads around and he couldn't really tell the current level of coolant either (although our guess -- which turned out to be wrong -- was the same). I bought a container of the 50-50 mixture from the parts department and bit by bit added it to the overflow reservoir. The angle I was pouring from to minimize spilling meant that I had to pour a bit and then move to a different location to check the level. I ended up overfilling past the full line. A service writer borrowed what could best be described as 'a car version of a huge eye dropper' from a mechanic and got some of the excess out for me. He said to leave the cap off the top of the overflow reservoir, keep checking it, and when the level returned back to the fill line to put the cap back on. Later in the day (between my 2 previous posts) I pulled into a very well lit Valero station to check the coolant level. I noticed something that may have been mentioned on another thread re this subject, but not in any of the posts I read on other threads and the service writer at the Toyota dealership wasn't clued in on this either -- namely, that the overflow reservoir has it's own built in overflow mechanism/channel. Every previous overflow reservoir in a car that I remember seeing that has an overflow 'mechanism' to accommodate it has/had a HOSE as the overflow mechanism. The 2007 Yaris has a hollow CHANNEL that is part of the formed 'plastic' of the reservoir itself. The top of this channel is under the cap of the overflow reservoir and the bottom of the channel is open, allowing any overflow out to the street/ground. So, slightly overfilling the overflow reservoir past the fill line won't be an issue as any excess that pressure pushes up to the cap will be released through this overflow channel and I therefore could confidently put the cap back on the overflow reservoir.

[swidd]

So I'm having the similar symptom, just getting up to 100,000 miles on the 2007 HB. Also a slight creaky sound when driving, only audible if I'm driving alone on the road.

The reservoir has always held the same level, usually near the high mark. Until two weeks ago: it was on the low mark all of a sudden, so I did a flush, put in $36 of brand new Toyota long life. The very next day it was down to low again. I figured air pockets in the hoses after the re-fill, so I filled it up to the high line again. Next day it was half way down, and the day after it was down to the low line again, driving about 15 miles each day.

I haven't found any source of leak, and did perform a 19psi pressure test on the coolant system, and it is holding pressure. No visible pink anywhere, except dirty under the hood (could be salt spray from winter).

Bought the Advance Auto Part pump, BMG, with the paper gasket. Went to three different stores trying to buy a different gasket. None available. So I'll be using the flimsy paper gasket when doing the water pump replacement myself tomorrow.

Problem? Should/could I use the old gasket, or use both the new and old together (double gasket)?

Also, I'll be using Prestone 50/50 long life coolant instead of the Toyota brand. Ill advised, but problem?

[12 yaris]

I would forget the gasket,and use BLACK RTV.

[swidd]

I can't get the one pulley bolt out. Head is almost stripped, wd40 didn't work. Got the other two out just fine, but this bolt is impossible.

Ideas for getting it out in a space that doesn't allow for much tools?

Edit: Didn't found any evidence of leak by looking at the outside of the pump though. No signs of coolant anywhere. I can't seem to locate any leak.

[dfhnpdx]

2009 Hatch.. 140,000 mi. Water pump just went..Napa brand Pump new $56.. Lifetime Warranty.. Easy change..4hrs..