Where did my coolant go?

[HID04V6]

Took my ailing 04 Solara in for an oil change and 4 new tires. When I picked the car up, the service manager told me that there was no coolant in the container under the hood. They claim that they checked everything for leaks and did not see any coolant in the oil. I have a very hard time believing this- coolant can't just evaporate out of a sealed container. I have a feeling that it is somehow leaking into the engine through a bad gasket and Toyota is waiting for the car to run out of mfg warranty (64 days left) and then tell me it has a massive repair necessary. The car has 21,500 miles. I'm going to check it out myself, as much as I know about cars (which is very very little) and see if I can figure something out. Just makes no sense where that much coolant could go with no trace... Just another repair to add to the file for this car- so much for quality and reliablilty on this car- that was left at the factory.

[SC V6]

my car has almost never had coolant in the overflow container.. not sure why, but thats how my 99 is

[HID04V6]

my car has almost never had coolant in the overflow container.. not sure why, but thats how my 99 is

Mine has always had coolant in it, as does my girl's Nissan Murano and my other car. I am a bit confused and irritated with the car at this point.

[LatinDragonXJC]

my car has almost never had coolant in the overflow container.. not sure why, but thats how my 99 is

Same here, I just noticed that in my '00

[Jai_Jai_Binks]

something is wrong with the hoses or the seals. The resivor is there for a REASON. both my 5sfe and my 1mzfe have coolant resivors' which are filled with coolant. Not empty. Fill it up and take it for a spin with a friend behind you..see if your exhaust pipe is leaking it out from there..thats what happened in our ES.

[lambition]

My coolant went below low level indicator as well.

I suspect water might have evaporated from reservoir tank, since it is not completely sealed.
Same thing happend to my mother's Highlander.

I just filled up reservoir with 50/50 mix of coolant.

If water evaporates enough, and level goes below pipe that is connected to reservoir cap, it may cause air to enter cooling system while engine cools since it cannot suck coolant back.

[DevilzAdovocate]

how do you have 21,500 miles on it barely? on a 04? has the car been sitting on a lot the whole time?

[NeFaRiOuS_SLE]

Very bizarre indeed... Top it off and try tracing the origin of it... My car has 108K miles on it with a new water pump as of 102K and only needed to add about 1/2 a cup of water ever since; keep in mind I live in Southern Cali and use the A/C religiously, and the average water pump lasts about 90K miles.

[HID04V6]

how do you have 21,500 miles on it barely? on a 04? has the car been sitting on a lot the whole time?

I bought the car brand new with 250 miles in 2004. The car hardly gets driven. It has spent a good portion of its life sitting at Toyota for its problems. Each time that I drive it, something seems to go wrong and need repair. It has left me stranded many different times because it breaks down. I ordered a new car to replace it, because the car has 35 days of warranty left, then i'm 100% out of luck. Its up to 22,000 and coolant is nowhere to be seen. Toyota told me that they are "too busy" to look at the car for the next couple of weeks- (trying to screw me over because they know it only has 35 days of warranty left- so they'll look at it in 45 days, out of warranty, and then tell me it needs a new engine or some major repair.) I am honestly scared to drive the car after it runs out of warranty, because I don't want to be paying $$$$ for tons of repairs on a poorly made vehicle.

[philosophicaljt]

put some cardboard under the engine when you park your car. In the morning, check to see if there are any spots.

[Gadgetjq]

HID,

On the contrary, the overflow container is 'not' a sealed container and coolant 'can' evaporate (it's 50% water after all).

Coolant is one of the items on your maintenance checklist to be checked and adjusted (topped off if necessary) periodically. Coolant level is specifically mentioned for the 15,000 mile maintenance but it should really be checked at least every oil change along with brake fluid and other liquid condition/level.

[HID04V6]

HID,

On the contrary, the overflow container is 'not' a sealed container and coolant 'can' evaporate (it's 50% water after all).

Coolant is one of the items on your maintenance checklist to be checked and adjusted (topped off if necessary) periodically. Coolant level is specifically mentioned for the 15,000 mile maintenance but it should really be checked at least every oil change along with brake fluid and other liquid condition/level.

Thanks for the info.

I have gone aprox 700 miles and the coolant container is empty again- I should not have to add coolant to the car every 700 miles.

[Gadgetjq]

I have gone aprox 700 miles and the coolant container is empty again- I should not have to add coolant to the car every 700 miles.

Wow, that's information that throws a whole new wrinkle into the discussion.
Time for a compression check to see if that coolant is finding its way into one (or more) of the cylinders.

Cheers

[Down2TheC]

At that low mileage, if there is a problem it's probably a loose hose clamp or something simple at least. Doubtful that you'd be burning it and have an impending head gasket issue.

[HID04V6]

At that low mileage, if there is a problem it's probably a loose hose clamp or something simple at least. Doubtful that you'd be burning it and have an impending head gasket issue.

Its on the list to check out when it is towed to Toyota on Tuesday. It is currently sitting in my driveway and won't start. It went through this earlier today and once I did get it started, I got a check engine, VSC and TRAC OFF light. One thing after another.....