Loosing coolant 2015 Encore

[kd123]

My Encore is slowly loosing coolant. The tank goes down about half around every 5000 mi. The dealer did a pressure test of the cooling system and said they could not find any leak. Is there any special point of leaks that I should tell the dealer to look for? Thanks.

 

[VibeMike87]

Check to see if your turbocharger is leaking coolant. I had this problem. It took 4 visits to different service department to find this. Finally one department put it up on the lift and took the time to inspect the area around the turbocharger very closely. You would see areas where the coolant dripped and then dried on a hot area under the hood. Hard to find but a service department that goes the extra mile should find it.

 

[kd123]

Well, I brought the car to the dealer for the weak battery and also to suggest them to check around the turbo area. After I get the new battery, they still said they check around the turbo area and found nothing. I am still loosing coolant slowly.

 

[EncoreOne]

I believe most dealerships don't have the techs to do any real work on these newer cars.

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[oregon_rider]

Have them use "dye test" instead of leak down test. If the coolant evaporates off - they won't see anything on a simple inspection and a slow weep won't show up on a leak down test as sometimes the leak only happens when the engine is operating. They put a dye in the coolant that will glow under a black light. The dye kit comes with a little flashlight and a pair of polarized glasses so it is very easy to see where the coolant is leaking. They should look at all junctions for radiator hoses and water pump seal & water pump weep hole.

Also, I would replace the radiator cap - use ac delco they are cheap and oem. The AC-DELCO part number is 13502353. It is $8 on amazon... let engine cool completely before swapping it out...

jeff

 

[crakkus]

I had the same issue, noticed pink fluid on my garage floor. Had to take it in 3 times. It was the turbo. I dont have my maintenance papers on me, but if i remember when i get home, ill tell you what exactly they did.

 

[prohidium]

Are you smelling coolant burning off by any chance? I just had the coolant lines replaced on my turbocharger. Same deal, coolant going down but nothing on the ground. The mechanic took a while to find it. The coolant line was leaking at a crimped joint and dripping down onto the catalytic converter right below it so it was boiling off as fast as it leaked. I just started noticing a coolant smell recently and the mechanic found traces of coolant. The area is behind the turbo charger and is very difficult to see/inspect. I think it is a common issue on these engines as the coolant lines run very close to the engine just above the exhaust manifold and get a lot of heat.

FYI, mine was out of bumper to bumper - $100 for the hoses and $600 labor to replace them as they cannot be replaced without removing the turbo. I was 60 days out of warranty. Dealer is trying to get gm to understand that the coolant was going down during warranty so it had been a problem for a while. I am not holding my breath! FYI, the turbo is right at the front of the engine and has a big rubber hose attached to the top and then the turbo is under a cast heat shield and connects to the manifold. Below and to the right of that is the "first" catalytic converter. The coolant hoses run behind the turbo and heat shield.

 

[stoopid]

FYI, mine was out of bumper to bumper - $100 for the hoses and $600 labor to replace them as they cannot be replaced without removing the turbo. I was 60 days out of warranty. Dealer is trying to get gm to understand that the coolant was going down during warranty so it had been a problem for a while. I am not holding my breath! FYI, the turbo is right at the front of the engine and has a big rubber hose attached to the top and then the turbo is under a cast heat shield and connects to the manifold. Below and to the right of that is the "first" catalytic converter. The coolant hoses run behind the turbo and heat shield.

This is why I always document things at a dealer when I notice a problem, so if this were to happen I have documentation preceding the warranty expiration. If GM doesn't play ball, small claims court. All you have to prove is the issue existed prior to the warranty expiring. If you have such documentation already, reach out to the GM customer service rep here. They like saving face as these threads show up on google and tarnish their image, especially in obvious cases where they try to screw the customer and it's public for all to see.

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[Bob M.]

I own a 2013 Buick Encore with 61,000 miles on vehicle and am also losing coolant due to turbo lines. Took to dealer where I purchased the car - Quebedeaux (Tucson, AZ) and was told this is not covered by power train warranty. Power train warranty states coolant hoses are excluded. The repair order as written from dealer calls the parts "lines", the parts needed for repair are called pipes - not hoses. Repair estimate is $780.00. What good is a warranty if manufacturer and dealer do not take responsibility for an item that reading threads on 1.4L turbo engines is a major, costly repair for owners of vehicle?

 

[g_567798]

Are you smelling coolant burning off by any chance? I just had the coolant lines replaced on my turbocharger. Same deal, coolant going down but nothing on the ground. The mechanic took a while to find it. The coolant line was leaking at a crimped joint and dripping down onto the catalytic converter right below it so it was boiling off as fast as it leaked. I just started noticing a coolant smell recently and the mechanic found traces of coolant. The area is behind the turbo charger and is very difficult to see/inspect. I think it is a common issue on these engines as the coolant lines run very close to the engine just above the exhaust manifold and get a lot of heat.

FYI, mine was out of bumper to bumper - $100 for the hoses and $600 labor to replace them as they cannot be replaced without removing the turbo. I was 60 days out of warranty. Dealer is trying to get gm to understand that the coolant was going down during warranty so it had been a problem for a while. I am not holding my breath! FYI, the turbo is right at the front of the engine and has a big rubber hose attached to the top and then the turbo is under a cast heat shield and connects to the manifold. Below and to the right of that is the "first" catalytic converter. The coolant hoses run behind the turbo and heat shield.

I just had the same problem. Buick couldn’t find it, so took it to my mechanic. He found it in 30 minutes . Out of 50,000 mike warranty. Cost $864.00 to repair. I’m writing headquarters as this should be covered. No way at 54,000 miles should both coolant lines be leaking.

 

[Bob M.]

I just had the same problem. Buick couldn’t find it, so took it to my mechanic. He found it in 30 minutes . Out of 50,000 mike warranty. Cost $864.00 to repair. I’m writing headquarters as this should be covered. No way at 54,000 miles should both coolant lines be leaking.

I just had the same problem. Buick couldn’t find it, so took it to my mechanic. He found it in 30 minutes . Out of 50,000 mike warranty. Cost $864.00 to repair. I’m writing headquarters as this should be covered. No way at 54,000 miles should both coolant lines be leaking.

I will write headquarters as well. When I purchased my Encore from Buick dealer with 48,000 miles on it there was an oil leak at the turbo which the dealer fixed. As the car is my daughter's, I now realize that it probably had a slight coolant leak as well as there was a slight smell (which I did not recognize as coolant) but never any fluid on the ground as the coolant would have hit the catalytic converter and burned off. It was only when the leak grew to the point that I saw it on the garage floor that I realize the issue should have been fixed when I purchased the car. Expensive lesson as the customer is not aware there is a problem when no fluid is on the ground.

 

[oregon_rider]

It would be interesting to see what the point of failure is. Is it the hose itself that is breaking down due to being in close proximity to the hot turbo? Or is the problem with clamping of the hose to the hard line?

Does anyone have the part number for the specific hose from their service record?

I do wonder whether gm has upgraded this hose in more recent model years....

Jeff

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