Question,
I was on the way to work this morning and 10 minutes into my trip the engine coolant light came on, I pulled over, lifted the hooded and noticed that the coolant level was waayyyyy low. I looked under the car and saw no signs of a leak, I got back in turned on the car the light went off. I took it back to the dealer to have it refilled. I had no time to have it checked out so I made an appointment for tomorrow. What can it be? I rarely use the a/c and the car only has 18,000 miles it. I bought in brand new in May. Any ideas?

 

WHEN YOU SAY IT WAS WAY LOW. Do you mean in the resavor ?

 

Yes

 

This is pretty comon. I got the same thing a about that many miles. You can check your water level of the engine BUT not til it has got cold. Dont even do warm! Add water to the tank up to the 1/2 to 3/4 mark and it will mostlikly never need it again.

 

Believe it or not, coolant CAN evaporate.

Top it off and you'll be fine.

If it gets low again in a short time spam, there may be a possible leak.

 

Thanks guys!

 

No prob...I remember my first rotary in '71....

 

Coolant will evaporate and should be checked regularly just like oil. I check my level about once every month under normal cruising conditions and much more frequently if the car is driven under severe conditions. If you track your car, it should be part of a laundry list of checks before every track day.

 

Holy sh*t! I know it goes through oil and fuel like i go through water, but coolant.

 

ok maybe not water

 

it may be an internal leak, have you notice anything diffrent coming out of your exhaust?

 

what engine coolant should i use to fill mine up with? and where should i top it off? i was looking and i cant find the mark that idicates if its low or where it should be...

 

distilled water. as you will not be adding much..

beers

 

OK, this is the closest thread I can find to my problem so you guys are getting it... My coolant light comes on when I start my car.. Not everytime, if it has been driven and is warmed up then the light does not come on... If I get up in the AM and start myt car, the coolant light stays on for a few seconds. When I start to drive off it goes away. I took it to a shop today and at first the guy acted like I was stupid. He said, all the lights shine when you start the car, well DUH, its that one light staying on and it dosent happen all the time. He told me not to take it to the dealership or worry about it unless it stays on or if it comes on while Im driving. I checked my coolant level and it is normal.... OK, Im done rambling now, Any suggestions??

 

When your car is cold the water is just low enough to turn on the sensor. After the engine warms up the expanded coolent moves into the reservoir and turns the sensor off. All it takes is a few onces of coolent. Add some and I bet it will go off. Let us know. The same thing will happen if you let the oil get too low.

 

Ahhh, Thank you.. I will try that

 

Anybody have any recommendations for coolant brand/type? I'm searching the site as I type this, and I've found good things about Engine Ice...but at $32/gal it's a little pricey.

 

yea i checked my coolant the other day and it was low in the resovoir...when its warm this weekend i'll get to addin gsome water.

 

distilled i hope.

beers

 

Yeah my engine ran through all the coolant after a full flush from removing the plug from the radiator rather quickly. One day it was full, the next day it was gone. I supplemented coolant / water mix to make sure it was topped off for a couple days and it has been running with high levels for 3-4 months now. I can't wait for the Texas summers.

 

Ideally, coolant should be 50/50 distilled water and anti-freeze (even in summer), so I like this. (With no garage to keep stuff, it's way easier for me to use this than to mix the two myself—though that would save me a little money.)

 

tap water is so much better...we have so many good additives here in NY

 

question,
i have 2004, RX-8 European model, for the last 2 years, no problem.
lately when driving on high RMP's (7k-9k) for 3-5 min the red cooling light is on,
only when reducing the RMP it turn off, there is no link of water, and level of water is normal.
any suggestions?
Jossef

 

ok.. what is the distilled water? is it different than raguler water? where I could get that kind of water?

 

You can pick up distilled water at almost any grocery store in gal. jugs. Its what people use in electric laundry irons.