Audi serviced last week - low coolant this evening

Comhrá

Had my 161A4 serviced at Audi dealer last week. Started the car tonight and got a red warning light "Stop engine and check coolant level"

The coolant level is way down (1/4 full) so something must have been overlooked at the service.
Question: is it ok to top up with tap water to get me to the garage in the morning? About 6kms drive.

denismc

I wouldn't risk it, if you are missing coolant, there is a potential for the engine to overheat and totally wreck the engine.
Have a look under the bonnet and on the ground under the car to see if you can spot a leak.
Hopefully its just a case of your garage not topping up the coolant after working on ther car.
So I would ring the garage in the a.m, let them come and check it out.

Toyotafanboi

I'd be concerned that there may be damage somewhere. The coolant system is sealed so the level shouldn't ever drop unless there is a problem.

That said, needing a small top up after the first cold snap of the year isn't too unusual.

Topping it up with tap water is fine given the small quantities involved. Bring a bottle of water with you encase the level drops along the way. That said, if the level drops again while you are driving I'd probably just stop and call breakdown assist as there is clearly something wrong.

coylemj

This happened me a few years ago, air got trapped in the radiator when they changed the coolant during a big service so the warning light came on the next day when the air rose to the top and the level in the header tank dropped below the sensor.

When you say it's 1/4 full, do you mean the header tank is 1/4 full? If there's any liquid visible at all and it's not dropping then you're in no danger, you can drive it back to the garage and ask them for a top-up but keep an eye on the temperature gauge

Comhrá

coylemj wrote: »

This happened me a few years ago, air got trapped in the radiator when they changed the coolant during a big service so the warning light came on the next day when the air rose to the top and the level in the header tank dropped below the sensor.

When you say it's 1/4 full, do you mean the header tank is 1/4 full? If there's any liquid visible at all and it's not dropping then you're in no danger, you can drive it back to the garage and ask them for a top-up but keep an eye on the temperature gauge

Here it is:

rex-x

You have a significant leak somewhere

sunnysoutheast

It's under warranty so get it in for a pressure test ASAP would be my advice.

My money's on water pump leaking.

Comhrá

Mileage is 19632 kms and 518 kms done since the service so looks fairly significant. I'll ring them in the morning and have it sorted. Is it possible it was drained & not topped up? No signs of leaks in the engine bay or the driveway.

I notice the checklist has the coolant check ticked. It's the car's first service by the way.

Toyotafanboi

They wouldn't be next nor near the coolant at its first service, bar checking the level through the bottle.

denismc

I could be wrong but first service involves usually just oil+filter and topping up things like windscreen washer.
They usually just give the car a once over, I would be surprised if they did anything to you radiator, coolant pump etc.
So your problem may not be connected to the service at all.

coylemj

Comhra wrote: »

Mileage is 19632 kms and 518 kms done since the service so looks fairly significant. I'll ring them in the morning and have it sorted. Is it possible it was drained & not topped up? No signs of leaks in the engine bay or the driveway.

I notice the checklist has the coolant check ticked. It's the car's first service by the way.

It's not possible that it was drained and not topped up, if they did that you've have a seized engine by now and the low coolant warning light would have been on when you drove it out of the garage after the service. The coolant is drained in the same way as they drain the engine oil, they let it flow from the lowest point in the system so that all of the liquid drains out.

But it would be unusual to change the coolant on the first service, is it mentioned as something to be done in the service book?

If there's no visible sign of a leak then my money is still on air trapped in the system that took a while to work it's way to the header tank. Drive the car to the garage while keeping an eye on the temperature gauge. As long as there's coolant visible in the header tank, you're good to drive that short distance to the garage.

Comhrá

coylemj wrote: »

It's not possible that it was drained and not topped up, if they did that you've have a seized engine by now and the low coolant warning light would have been on when you drove it out of the garage after the service. The coolant is drained in the same way as they drain the engine oil, they let it flow from the lowest point in the system so that all of the liquid drains out.

But it would be unusual to change the coolant on the first service, is it mentioned as something to be done in the service book?

If there's no visible sign of a leak then my money is still on air trapped in the system that took a while to work it's way to the header tank. Drive the car to the garage while keeping an eye on the temperature gauge. As long as there's coolant visible in the header tank, you're good to drive that short distance to the garage.

Even with the red warning light on and the audible warning sounding? Would it be safe for about 7km drive across town?

delly

Comhra wrote: »

[/B]

Even with the red warning light on and the audible warning sounding? Would it be safe for about 7km drive across town?

If it was my car, I would say fire away, but my car is 16 years old and the cost of a tow would be nearly worth more than car itself despite it's still shiny BMW badge. In your case, it isn't really worth the risk for a 161 reg. It's that same need to just get to where you need to go when a warning light appears that people end up with a seized engine.

CiniO

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

That said, needing a small top up after the first cold snap of the year isn't too unusual.

What would be a reason for that?
I never heard or experienced anything like that (needing to top up coolant after first cold snap).

Topping it up with tap water is fine given the small quantities involved.

I was always taught not to fill up radiator with tap water as this could cause limescale, but use distilled water instead.
Saying that, where I live in Ireland tap water is very soft and doesn't really cause any limescale, but I'm not sure if that's country wide - doubt that actually.

Comhrá

It's that same need to just get to where you need to go when a warning light appears that people end up with a seized engine.

Well, that's so well put, lol! Makes up my mind for me.

I'll just give them a ring and leave the car in the driveway and see what they say.

Thanks to all for the helpful advice. This place is a great source of knowledge & help from some sound people.

bazz26

Comhra wrote: »

[/B]

Even with the red warning light on and the audible warning sounding? Would it be safe for about 7km drive across town?

If your warranty includes breakdown assist then I would not risk driving the car even 7km. Ring Audi Breakdown assist and have them arrange for it to brought to the dealer. This is what your warranty and breakdown assistance is for especially when a red warning light on the dashboard is telling to stop the engine.

coylemj

Comhra wrote: »

[/B]

Even with the red warning light on and the audible warning sounding? Would it be safe for about 7km drive across town?

Having established that there is some coolant visible in the header tank and no evidence of a leak, I would say yes.

That warning light is based on a sensor in the header tank which is now exposed because the coolant fluid has dropped below it. If the fluid level is the same in the morning as in your photo, I would have no problem driving the short distance to your garage. What matters most of all is the temperature gauge on the dashboard, if stays in the middle zone then the engine is not overheating. If it does go into the red, then you need to immediately stop.

But I'd respect what other posters are saying - if you drive it and the engine seizes up, you will be legally screwed after driving the car while ignoring a red warning light telling you to stop. Probably better to phone the garage, describe the symptoms and see what they say.

Comhrá

I phoned Audi (Limk) this morning and they're having the car brought in within an hour and giving me a car while they check what happened re the coolant.

Can't complain with that. Will update in due course.

Comhrá

The AA man was out this morning and he confirmed a moderate coolant leak but couldn't spot exactly where it was leaking from. He topped it up, pressurised the system and I drove it to the dealer who sorted me with a car for the next few days.

coylemj

Comhra wrote: »

The AA man was out this morning and he confirmed a moderate coolant leak but couldn't spot exactly where it was leaking from.

He couldn't find a leak but was able to 'confirm' that you had one

Kenny Logins

coylemj wrote: »

He couldn't find a leak but was able to 'confirm' that you had one

Could be a hose starting to wear through from vibrations against another part of the engine. I had this recently and I would lose a litre in about 100 miles or so. Tricky to spot, but with coolant all over the pan I knew it was there somewhere.

Toyotafanboi

coylemj wrote: »

He couldn't find a leak but was able to 'confirm' that you had one

When the AA respond to those jobs it's mostly just to make a judgement call as whether to recover the car or drive allow the owner to drive on.

All he has to do is spot coolant on the undertray/ bottom of the block etc, that'll confirm a leak, he doesn't have to strip the timing cover to diagnose a faulty water pump or do a pressure test etc, that's not his job as there nothing he can do about that at the side of the road.

coylemj

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Could be a hose starting to wear through from vibrations against another part of the engine. I had this recently and I would lose a litre in about 100 miles or so. Tricky to spot, but with coolant all over the pan I knew it was there somewhere.

Accept that but OP got his 161 car serviced, the garage ticked off a box referring to the coolant and suddenly the level in the header tank drops. Bit of a coincidence if it's a worn hose.

And the OP took a photo of the header tank (post #5), I'm guessing he would have noticed if coolant had leaked.

Kenny Logins

coylemj wrote: »

Accept that but OP got his 161 car serviced, the garage ticked off a box referring to the coolant and suddenly the level in the header tank drops. Bit of a coincidence if it's a worn hose.

And the OP took a photo of the header tank (post #5), I'm guessing he would have noticed if coolant had leaked.

Not sure what your point is - it's not the AA's job to investigate the source of the leak. Finding the source could involve removing parts to gain access.

rex-x

coylemj wrote: »

Accept that but OP got his 161 car serviced, the garage ticked off a box referring to the coolant and suddenly the level in the header tank drops. Bit of a coincidence if it's a worn hose.

And the OP took a photo of the header tank (post #5), I'm guessing he would have noticed if coolant had leaked.

What happened here is most likely they never checked the coolant level (Get her in get her out) and the car has a leak from an o-ring which is very common on the newer vag engines, they use what is IMO a very poor design, I have changed quite a few. But g12 coolant leaved a nice red stain so its easy to see if its leaking, even if you cant see from exactly where

Comhrá

coylemj wrote: »

He couldn't find a leak but was able to 'confirm' that you had one

When he shone a torch downward, he was able to show me a small pool of coolant in a tray in the bottom of the engine bay but he couldn't pinpoint exactly where the fluid was leaking from.

He told me that if the leak was very slight you'd only see a dry residual stain from the coolant but when there's a wet patch, it shows the leak is a bit worse.