No heat

[tprjimmi]

I sat in a drive through line for a time and noticed that the heat was gone. The engine heat gauge was at the high end but started to drop after I got back onto the road. Thermostat?? I hope. My wife's Honda had these symptoms and it turned out to be a blown head gasket . Any thoughts?

 

[jlindh]

Check your coolant level ASAP.

 

[tprjimmi]

Found that it was LOW. I put in more and the heat is back(sort of); it fluctuates in temp and the gauge wavers a very small amount within the normal area. going back out for another test drive in a while. Where did the coolant get to?

 

[Man of Mystery]

--- Where did the coolant get to?

If you've got a blown head gasket it's possibly in the oil pan.

Check your oil dipstick. Does the oil on it look milky?

 

[tprjimmi]

I'll check "on the morrow" after praying a lot. I added some coolant and all is "normal" for now. We''ll see.

 

[Bill K]

Hopefully, you're still under warranty. It should be covered unless you got a rock into your radiator.

PS. You don't want to overheat that baby.

 

[tprjimmi]

OUT of warranty. Appointment tomorrow for a diagnostic. Fingers crossed.

 

[tprjimmi]

UPDATE: dealer ran diagnostics,pressure tests,etc.. NO problem found! I'll be checking the overflow level; perhaps it won't re-occur. Fingers crossed.

 

[Man of Mystery]

UPDATE: dealer ran diagnostics,pressure tests,etc.. NO problem found! --- .

That's good news.

 

[tprjimmi]

Update update: drove about 120 miles today. Fluid level dropped measurably and I had a nice coolant odor in the interior a few times. I checked under the hood and found a strong coolant smell toward the rear driver side of the engine but NO sign of leakage. What to do, what to do??

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[jlindh]

Sounds like you might have a problem somewhere in the portion of the cooling system that heats your interior. Bad hose, bad valve, etc. Hopefully, there's no coolant odor inside the car???

 

[tprjimmi]

Coolant odor on occasion but i should be awash in coolant by now! Put recirc on and it went away. I can smell it as I leave the car (occasionally). Should I really be considering a "new" 2014? I love the car but...

 

[Man of Mystery]

I'd guess that you have a pinhole leak somewhere in the heater core (if there is one) or somewhere in the heating system. Other possibilities are a loose hose or tube clamp.

It's probably a small enough leak that only steam (vapor) is escaping and it doesn't show up because it isn't coming into contact with any cool surfaces that would condense it back to liquid. It may also all be blowing out underneath the car.

A lower radiator hose with a bad clamp or pinhole leak could be another possibility.

Whatever it is, the leak is small enough that it didn't show up on the cooling system pressure check (assuming it was done correctly).

Good luck getting it sorted out.

 

[tprjimmi]

Thanks for your assistance! Really have to appreciate sites (and people) like this. Thanks!

 

[tprjimmi]

Found it (sort of)!! I found the area at the driver rear of the engine to have a strong odor of coolant. The grey wire from the o2 sensor was wet as well as the lower portion of the brake booster. Nothing when it's parked so now I have to try to convince my wife to ride under the hood at speed. Fingers crossed

 

[tprjimmi]

Mystery solved: faulty thermostat gasket! Who'd a thunk it? $50.00 repair.

 

[Man of Mystery]

Good deal.

I'm surprised that didn't show up when they did the cooling system pressure test.

I'm glad you finally got it tracked down and taken care of.

 

[Bill K]

It would be funny if you found it and the dealer couldn't.

 

[tprjimmi]

Pretty much what happened. It started with no heat,etc. and then after the pressure test I noticed the coolant odor and eventually traced it to the themostat area. Kind of did their work but at least it's done and so nice to be back in "my" car. The new Elantra loaner was a pleasant surprise but no match for the Genesis.

 

[OughtNotSoToBe]

I know this is an ancient thread, but I’m dealing with this same issue. When I visually inspect with a flashlight I can see an alarming amount of green antifreeze all over the place, but never a leak in progress or a source. First I saw it on the driver side. Now I can see it on both sides, rear of engine.

What scares me the most is that I can also find a little green on top near the front. Did this geyser up when I had the radiator cap off and I wasn’t looking? Could it splash around and get everywhere when it is actually leaking under pressure? Do I have a blown head gasket? I don’t know. But, there is no change in engine behavior or performance, even at idle, no white exhaust, and the oil looks normal.

I still don’t know where the thermostat is. Or how to reach it. I’m afraid I’ll have ten hours of labor tearing out the hoses, wires, intake manifold, etc before I can even see what to do...