Brooklyn

About a week after my 30k service, my coolant light came on about 2 minutes after starting the car. Temps were about 19 degrees and have been in that range consistently for about 3 weeks now.

I watched the temp gauge and it eventually got up to the half-way mark and remained there - as is normally the case. Took the car in to my dealership and they stated that my coolant levels were fine - just a bit low, but they topped it off - but otherwise they suspect the light came on briefly due to the temps and not to worry about it. Problem is the light keeps coming back on. After driving for a while it will go off, but once the car comes to a complete stop (for example at a stop light), the light comes on. Checked the coolant level myself this morning, and it does appear to be low - certainly below the minimum line. Since my dealership's service center is closed on the weekends, I can't get it in to them before tomorrow.

My question for you wise folks is whether I should top it off today with distilled water (as one poster suggested in a thread I pulled from a search), or just stop driving it all together and get it into the dealership tomorrow? My girlfriend detected what she thought was the smell of coolant burning (her description) before this problem started. Again, my temp gauge appears to be working fine and the needle sits right in the middle once the car has warmed up like it normally does.

I'm certainly not buying the "it's just the cold weather" story from the dealership and will definitely be bringing it in on Monday morning. Any help greatly appreciated.

Sprinty--Whitewagon

As long as the coolant doesn't fall below the minimum level, it's fine to drive, even if the reservoir isn't completely full. That's a reserve.

Mark81

Recently I went out and noticed a fair bit of coolant sitting beneath our car in the driveway. I checked the coolant level and it was down about 1" below the min line. I also checked the oil to see if there were any signs of coolant in the the oil and vice vs. I immediately called the dealer, which, unfortunately for us is a 1.5 hr drive. They simply told me to keep an eye on the coolant level and add water if it got too low, but so long as there was liquid in the reserve, I should be ok. Anyway, finally got the car to the dealer and they replaced the themostat and housing which showed signs of leaking. Problem seems to be cured. The coolant light never came on once during this incident however. I'm not sure how low it has to go b4 the light comes on.