[Ryan Yazzie]

My New Atlas S 4motion V6 7000 miles already has a coolant leak. It's so small that there are no puddles on the ground only a sweet smell and the coolant tank is letting lower and lower. It seems to smell more on the left side of the vehicle. Is anyone else with this issue? Can I temporarily use water to get me to the dealer ( 300 miles)

 

[eaglefern]

Engine coolant "No regular water"

Hi
The owners manual says distilled water only. I wouldn't use regular tap water because when you get it fixed they might have to flush the whole system. Some tap or well water can have mineral deposits in it which could cause problems with seals and aluminum parts,
Also the coolant used in the Atlas is G13s

 

[Vespamax]

I have the same problem. I noticed the coolant low the day after I brought it home from the dealership. I called the service department and they told me it must have "evaporated during transport from the factory"!!!??? After 5000, the coolant is low again and I notice the same thing: coolant smell but no obvious leaks.

 

[WorldAtlas]

wonder if there's a way to locate the leak... Maybe try another dealership and hope that service department can figure out the coolant problem? Seems crazy to have it just "evaporate" twice in such a short amount of time.

 

[Gus]

Yes they can do a pressure test. They will hook up to your radiator cap and or coolant resivor tank and pressure the system to specs, if it’s leaking you’ll see the dripping. Done it hundred times on my Rams .. try purging the coolant system. Have a dealer do it. Then refill with coolant. Also check all hoses are tight. Mainly look at the front right tires wheel well, you see anything there ?

 

[Simeon]

I have the same problem. I noticed the coolant low the day after I brought it home from the dealership. I called the service department and they told me it must have "evaporated during transport from the factory"!!!??? After 5000, the coolant is low again and I notice the same thing: coolant smell but no obvious leaks.

There is no way coolant should be evaporating this quickly, and why would they not have topped up all the fluids prior to selling it? If its not a full on leak which would be obvious by puddles on the ground, then its probably just some hose clamps that require tightening. A dealer can also due a dye test to pinpoint the location of the problem.

 

[Symchych]

We bought a brand new SEL Premium and drove it off the lot with 4 miles on it. At 33 miles, the same day we brought our car home, the check engine light came on. Found out we had a faulty coolant pump. 7 weeks later we are STILL in a loaner. I was told today that they no longer have an ETA for the pump. What a mess. (Sigh)

 

[Jim Heising]

2018 SEL Premium here having the exact same problem. Noticed a coolant smell in the engine bay from very early on, but just chalked it up to some coolant being spilled in the engine compartment. No leaks on the ground.

Last week we got a low coolant indicator in the car, called the dealership and had a good laugh after they told me it was "normal dissipation". Brought it in for a pressure test and they say they said it held up. I can only think of two reasons for this: 1) they did it wrong or 2) coolant is leaking into the engine.

Did you ever find out what the issue was?

 

[FDJ92561]

Coolant smell . . .

Same problem as those mentioned above . . . 3.6L V6 SEL Premium 4MOTION with ALL the bells and whistles. First noticed a coolant smell after driving the car at just below 7,000 miles. Kept watch on the coolant level and at first didn't really notice a difference but finally started seeing maybe a hairline drop after a couple hundred miles or so. Keep checking it on a regular basis and a little later and it had actually suddenly dropped down well below the lower line so I bought some antifreeze and filled it back up exactly to the upper line, and noticed it slowing dropping down again over time. Have looked and can't find any indication anywhere under the hood that there's a leak and nothing under the car when parked in the garage.


Took it in for the 10,000 mile service and explained the situation. Was given the "standard" answer about doing a pressure test and not noticing any drop in pressure, but they did fill the coolant level well above the upper fill line before returning the car after the service.


Also complained about noise coming from the fans when turning off the engine. Wasn't there when we first got the car, and now it sounds like an old clunker and it's loud enough that it's noticeable to people parked next to or standing outside the car. (Makes you fell really nice about the new Volkswagen you bought!) Have even started noticing a gurgling sound for a while coming from the engine after turning it off like it's running hot but the temperature gauge stays right on the middle level and never indicates an over-heating problem. Have watched the engine oil temperature and it runs anywhere between 190° to around 220° but I'm not actually sure what is considered the "normal" range.

 

[rcworship]

I've noticed the same issue for probably a couple months now on my 3.6L SE. Took it to the dealer finally and they told the pressure held at 1.5 BAR. So, I told them that coolant is like AC refrigerant and is not consumed. If the level diminishes, there is a leak.

I teach high school auto shop after over 15 years in the heavy truck fleet maintenance and am double ASE master certified (auto and med/heavy truck). Let me just tell everyone here that coolant does not dissipate or evaporate. If you look in any owner's manual in the last decade or two, you'll likely find in the maintenance schedule a coolant replacement interval of somewhere in the 100,000 mile range. If your dealer tells you some nonsense because they don't know what's going on with these super slow Atlas leaks, just point out that the owner's manual does not even have a replacement mileage (and our manual maintenance schedule goes up to 150,000 miles).

If anyone gets this figured out, let us know! My super slow leak took a couple months to trigger the low coolant warning.

 

[iheritage]

Same issue here. The dealership thought it was due to the cold weather and said they see some fluctuations during the cold but its dropped from max to nearly min in a couple of weeks with minimal driving. I live in MN so the temp did start dropping off suddenly. I haven't noticed any smell or leaks. Taking it to the dealership to get it looked over tomorrow so will update this thread if they find anything. Car is at 17,500 miles. Given the behavior I'm guessing it only really started occurring recently or its got significantly worse that it is now noticeable.

 

[offroadhamster]

Did anyone get any traction on this issue? I have the same problem, car stranded my wife after showing low coolant and starting to heat up. Inconvenient when you have two kids in car seats. The leak seemed to coincide with abnormal noise from the HVAC. I am wondering if it is an issue with the heater core, although I cant figure how that would cause any abnormal noises.

Our Atlas is a 3.6 4motion SEL R-line with just under 10,000 miles on the clock. Still waiting on what the dealership has to say about the issue. Its also having 3 recalls performed and the front struts fixed while it is in.

 

[Dmpablo]

I’ve had an antifreeze smell from the engine compartment ever since new. Never found a leak. 12,000 miles later, the low coolant warning came on. Read book and filled with distilled water, about 6 ounces. Tried to find antifreeze but no one had the vw recommended fluid. Went to dealer and got some from them. Have to set up warranty appt. to find the leak.

 

[LD4453]

My HVAC makes noise when I am stopped at a light or stop sign (start stop button off). The issue is intermittent and I can never get it to repeat at the dealership of course.
It sounds like a rattle is coming through and as soon as I turn the air off and back on it stops. My husband also had to place coolant in my car. I’ve owned an SEL since January and got the engine coolant light around 13k miles.
I also wonder if this rattle is something to do with a coolant leak the dealership claims they can’t find.

 

[Marcus Sandelowsky]

Have a coolant issue in my SEL Premium as well. Noted the smell for a while but only started getting warnings recently. Took it in last week and they didn't find anything either, just refilled it. Have about 20k miles on mine.

 

[NathG]

4200 miles overheat light coolent empty

 

[NathG]

Pic above is after 4 hours of sitting to cool down. This amount of coolant loss is more than hose expansion, low fill at factory, bubbles in hoses. Service techs said vw engineers wanted head gasket torque bolts checked. Once the bolts are messed with new head gasket required. Brought back in after oil burn test and I was pushed up to service manager who said come get my car expanding hoses. Look at picture!

 

[KarstGeo]

Sounds like a head gasket issue to me.

 

[Shahrozh23]

So thought I’d share my experience here as this does seem to be a common occurrence. My Atlas (V6 AWD with 22,000kms) alerted us to a low coolant warning about 2 months ago, and when I looked under the hood, the coolant was only slightly below the minimum level. I called the dealership and they were able to get me in after ~45 days.

We kept driving the Atlas as we normally would and I noticed the coolant kept decreasing very gradually. Given the cold weather and the fact that I couldn’t see any leaks or puddles, I wasn’t too concerned. We also eventually noticed our heater had stopped working and after about 15 mins of driving, we would hear a constant thudding sound coming from behind the center console. That’s when I decided to park the car and wait till it was appointment time.

The dealer was able to identify a problem with the secondary coolant pump and placed the item on order. The thudding sound and the heater not working were attributed to the low coolant levels. The thudding sound was likely the pump motor. It took the dealer 10 days to receive the pump and has finally promised me the Atlas back tomorrow…. Hopefully that’s it for dealer visits for the next few months!

 

[EIMAN]

My top line Atlas heated up after three weeks to the point of smoke coming from right side of engine compartment. Dealership had to replace a pump, which was very difficult to find anywhere in US. Finally had to get one from manufacturer's line at factory. Works great since.