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?

[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 .

[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!

[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.

[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. ;)