3.3T - low coolant

[smooth_operator]

Have been smelling coolant after parking my car in the garage, though not every single time. No sign of leaks or puddles. Check coolant reservoir and it looked low. Since my annual service was due, I mentioned it and was told that the coolant is almost full and that the level depends on the temperature. I don’t buy it since the manual clearly says to check when cold and to me it’s low. Guess I’ll have to keep an eye on it.

Since the tech charges $180/hr (I’m in Canada), you’d think that they know how to check coolant level in a reservoir. At least they tightened my intake charge pipes at the turbo inlet - I noticed the clamps were totally loose when looking for the coolant leak.

 

[19 G70 3.3T]

That is certainly a little bit low and since coolant is not a consumable, it is going somewhere. That much is evident from the smell... I would take it to a competent local mechanic and have the coolant system pressure tested. What year and how many miles are on the car?

 

[smooth_operator]

That is certainly a little bit low and since coolant is not a consumable, it is going somewhere. That much is evident from the smell... I would take it to a competent local mechanic and have the coolant system pressure tested. What year and how many miles are on the car?

2023 with only 5,000 km (~3,000 miles).

Really strange how they just dismiss it, guess warranty jobs pay too low.

 

[joegr]

...guess warranty jobs pay too low.

They do indeed.

 

[blnewto]

I'd check all the hose clamped areas including the reservoir tubing to see if there's any crust buildup, usually the best place to start.

 

[Volfy]

I would go buy a gallon of anti-freeze and fill the expansion tank. Then monitor the level over time to see if you need to refill it constantly to keep it at the same mark.

 

[Husky]

Have been smelling coolant after parking my car in the garage, though not every single time. No sign of leaks or puddles. Check coolant reservoir and it looked low. Since my annual service was due, I mentioned it and was told that the coolant is almost full and that the level depends on the temperature. I don’t buy it since the manual clearly says to check when cold and to me it’s low. Guess I’ll have to keep an eye on it.

Since the tech charges $180/hr (I’m in Canada), you’d think that they know how to check coolant level in a reservoir. At least they tightened my intake charge pipes at the turbo inlet - I noticed the clamps were totally loose when looking for the coolant leak.

Welcome to the club. I've been getting that smell from outside my 3.3 G70 for five years (since it was new), as others have. I have been unable to find any leaks, and the (admittedly incompetent) dealer hasn't found any either.
It's obviously going somewhere, but I only lose like a quarter of a cup a year, so I gave up looking for it.
I've read that some Stinger owners have had the same complaint.
If you find a definitive source of the leak, let us know.

 

[joegr]

Welcome to the club. I've been getting that smell from outside my 3.3 G70 for five years (since it was new), as others have. I have been unable to find any leaks, and the (admittedly incompetent) dealer hasn't found any either.
It's obviously going somewhere, but I only lose like a quarter of a cup a year, so I gave up looking for it.
I've read that some Stinger owners have had the same complaint.
If you find a definitive source of the leak, let us know.

This (below) was the source of my coolant smell and similar loss rate.

 

[Husky]

Interesting, thanks. After having my recalls done, I now have a stronger than ever coolant smell, so that's nice.
I went to visit my grandkids, and the five year old comes out to meet me, and says "what's that sweet smell?" Haha. I wish it was funny.

 

[Husky]

This (below) was the source of my coolant smell and similar loss rate.
View attachment 60320

Whereabouts did you find that?

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[joegr]

Whereabouts did you find that?

It's the thermostat. It's on the back of the engine on the passenger side. The only way I could see it while it was installed was with a borescope after removing a fair amount of stuff. The leak damaged the electrical coil inside the assembly (after going for a very long time), and that turned the check engine light on.

 

[Husky]

Holy sh*t. That's just what I need at this point. (See my saga of the most horrible dealer ever).
I have a boroscope, I'll have to check that out.
I didn't imagine they consider this part of the drivetrain, even though it's bolted to the engine. Not that I would trust my dealer's service dept to fix it, all they do is make things worse (I just had the two recalls done though - fingers crossed).

Do you need to take things off to see it, even with the boroscope?

 

[joegr]

No, it does not count as powertrain as far as that warranty goes...

 

[Husky]

This (below) was the source of my coolant smell and similar loss rate.
View attachment 60320

I meant to ask, was it just a bad O-ring on the sensor? Did you fix it? It seems it would be easy to fix, once you can get to it, haha.

 

[joegr]

I meant to ask, was it just a bad O-ring on the sensor? Did you fix it? It seems it would be easy to fix, once you can get to it, haha.

I haven't disassembled it to find the actual failure. Fixing the leak in that thermostat now wouldn't help much since the heat coil has already been damaged by corrosion. (It's not a sensor, it's a coil that the ECM uses to heat up the thermostat to make it open sooner. This way the ECM has fair control of the engine temperature, but even when things fail, the thermostat still opens before the engine overheats.) It doesn't look like the thermostat can be disassembled and then re=assembled. It took me a full day to replace it, so I wouldn't take any chances on not using the new, improved part.

 

[Husky]

Sounds like a blast
I spent about twenty minutes searching with a very good, small flashlight and the boroscope and couldn't find a single drop of coolant anywhere. I'll probably put it on the lift tomorrow and do some more searching. I also want to see what kind of havoc the clowns at the dealer may have caused when they did the recall on the turbo oil line. I'm afraid to look, based on my experience with them.

 

[Volfy]

It's the thermostat. It's on the back of the engine on the passenger side. The only way I could see it while it was installed was with a borescope after removing a fair amount of stuff. The leak damaged the electrical coil inside the assembly (after going for a very long time), and that turned the check engine light on.

Which engine is this on?

 

[joegr]

Which engine is this on?

3.8. It's in the same place on the 3.3, but it is even harder to get to because of the turbos.

 

[Husky]

So yesterday I put the car on the lift to really make an effort to find the source of this small coolant leak, causing a smell outside the car (I also wanted to make sure I didn't see any signs of the Hyundai techs buggering something up after doing the turbo oil line and starter motor recalls. I have 0 confidence.)
After removing the splash shield under the front of the car, I thought I had found it. The ONLY places I could find a drop of coolant was on two lower hoses, at their lowest point (see pics). At first I thought they were radiator hoses, and I thought Ah Ha! Then I realized they were the two large intercooler inlet/outlet hoses, which of course wouldn't have coolant in them. So the coolant must be running down the hose from somewhere. You'd think that would make it easy to find, but I couldn't see any other sign of moisture or a leak. See the pics. I could see that the area on the inside of the splash shield under those hoses has been wet.
I was able to lay eyes on the casting on the back/passenger side of the engine where the thermostat is. That area looked fine, with no sign of leaking or corrosion (unlike @joegr's situation). So it's still a mystery. Very annoying as well, since I've never owned a car that has leaked coolant since the day it was new. The dealer couldn't find it either.
As an aside, has anyone seen these weird fittings on some of the hose clamps before? There is no head for a screwdriver or a nut driver. They are just round domes with a small flat spot, so I presume they require a special tool to tighten or loosen them (see pic). Ugh. I tried using Google lens to identify them, and came up with nothing.

 

[19 G70 3.3T]

That is what I would call a fairly substantial leak since it's enough to accumulate on both intercooler hoses and stain the engine cover. Seems to me that anyone with a pressure tester should be able to identify the leak pretty quickly. I'd find a good local mechanic to take it to and have them do just that (forget your local Hyundai dealer for this one).
As for the funny fittings on the hose clamps, those are just covers to try and prevent people from messing with the clamps. A pair of pliers pulls them straight off.