Fun101

Hi there,

On my journey home tonight on the highway my RED engine light came on with a warning to "Turn Off Engine!" and "Check Coolant". My ODO is at 61,000kms and I just did my 55,000kms service in August. Part of that service is suppose to be checking the engine coolant. When I lifted the hood, sure enough it's under the minimum level mark.

I bought a jug of coolant tonight but it only came in a big 4 litre jug. I will likely only need about 1 cup worth as it gets diluted with water so it seems like a waste. I've read the owners manual and there's all kinds of warnings about adding coolant correctly. My conundrum is this: should I just top it off myself or should I bring it to the dealer tomorrow to do it since I'm not sure they actually did it during my service. However, the dealership is a good 40kms away. And is this the right stuff??

Should I just DIY or should I DDI? (dealer do it!)

Huey52

If you only need to top it up ("about a cup") then don't bother diluting it. Besides, you really should only dilute with distilled water which most don't have handy (reason I keep a jug of Prestone 50/50 premixed).

I'm not familiar with that brand but since it specifically lists VAG it should be fine. The OM cautions are mostly against using cheap antifreezes that don't have the proper anti-corrosives (yours cites "corrosion protection").

DIY for now but monitor closely for any unusual drop going forward. Dealer service thereafter if you do suspect a leak.

Alas we need to be our own advocates at dealerships these days. Mine didn't change my brake fluid at the 2-year mark so I made sure they did so at this past 3-year.

Fun101

Thank you VERY much for your helpful reply Huey52! We do keep distilled water in the house so I will top it. I just looked at a photo from May when I had my engine bay cleaned and the coolant level was well at the max line. Quite a drop since then. I will definitely monitor it moving forward. (And it appears an engine bay clean is in order again )

Cheers

morris39

@Fun101
The key thing to do in your situation is to quickly determine if the low level is a potential fast/risky leak or some slow process, ie do you need to take immediate action.To do that you can just add the small amount (you said 1 cup) to just above the min line an monitor. Water alone is fine, even tap water in a pinch.Capacity of the cooling system is ~ 8 liters, so 200cc (1 cup) is only about 2.5%. Your coolant is 50% glycol is good down to -40C. A small dilution will still keep you above -35C. See here https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...9QEwAHoECAkQBg
You can later have the dealer top up a small amount.

macaddict111

Hey Fun101! I had a slow but steady coolant leak since getting my TTS with 2700 miles. Both times I took it in for other service and mentioned the leak. The first time (after topping it off three times myself), they pressure tested it and couldn't find anything, and filled it to above the seam in the bottle (far above max). I had to top it off 3 more times after hitting the min line, so mentioned it again when bringing it in for something else. They pressure tested it, but again couldn't find anything. However, the service advisor was very kind and had them replace the thermostat housing anyway. He actually mentioned "there's a LOT of reports of this thermostat housing leaking on the forums". It was replaced with a newer revision of the part, and I haven't lost any since. So I strongly urge you to mention the thermostat housing if you bring it in for warranty. Just telling them that might help them find a leak, or they'll replace it anyway.

Regarding the coolant, I fill with genuine VAG G13 and 50% distilled water, but you should be OK with the type in the photo (read the label to make sure it's listed as compatible with G13). The main difference between that and other coolants is that VAG uses a lot of aluminum in the cooling systems, and the G13 is designed not to corrode it where others might.

Fun101

Thanks everyone for their input. I did get the car serviced last week and they replaced the Thermostat Housing as suggested in Macaddict's post. Hopefully that did the trick. We're experiencing extreme cold right now in Ontario so it may be a while until I'll get the engine hot enough to notice any problems. LOL!

Cheers

USe-car

Hey Huey52 - Are these cars THAT critical on coolant level? According to the picture, the level was just below the minimum mark. On other makes, the coolant level needs to be a whole lot lower than that to trigger a warning. Is is THAT critical on an Audi TT?

Huey52

Fun101

Actually it was quite low when the alarm sounded. If you go back and look, it's almost an inch below the minimum and that's in the shallow curved part of the bowl. The correct range is in a wider part of the bowl. A "cup" of actual coolant is actually 2 cups after you add equal parts of distilled water (16 ounces/500ml) and that only brought it to minimum. I topped it a couple more times over the following several days. Best to keep an eye as coolant is not something everyone keeps in our garages and you can't use just any ol' brand. Hubby has a Porsche Macan so maybe he can use some one day. LOL

Huey52

Did you ultimately get this loss determined/resolved or still watching for a pattern?

Given arctic dry cold of late of course not unusual to lose more.

Everyone doesn't keep coolant/antifreeze in their garage?