Coolant Overflow

Hello everyone,

Just bought a brand new 2020 Tacoma SR 2WD a month ago.

I noticed about 2 weeks back that it'd occasionally blow fog out the AC vents for 5-10 seconds after starting the AC.

Then on Saturday I smelled maple syrup, so I popped the hood and sure enough, coolant had overflowed out of the reservoir and dripped down the inside of the engine bay.

The truck has 1600 or so miles on it and I keep a close eye on the temp gauge which never went beyond the middle.

Air temp was around 90-95 degrees.

I took it to the dealership who did a pressure test and found no leaks, and claimed that the white splatter I saw under the truck was related to windshield wiper fluid.

So I'm not sure where to go from here and was wondering if anyone has any opinions or suggestions as to what would cause this.

Thanks in advance!

 

Might have a hi/ lo pressure leak caused by a hairline crack or microleak somewhere.
Sometimes a system will hold pretty good pressure...until the right conditions happen.

Or it might be "Normal"

 

Brand New!!! Dealer!!!

G.

 

Agreed! They had it all day today and "could not duplicate."

Their advice was to continue driving it until it happens again and then bring it back, which to me translates as being given the run-around lol

Just curious as to whether anyone else has experienced this and what the resolution was?

I'm not sure if I have one big issue or 2 unrelated issues (fog from AC vents and coolant overflowing).

 

For the coolant issue, the technician who did the pre-purchase probably over serviced the reservoir. It should be "low" when engine is cold.

 

Explain the "fog"? Are u in a humid area? My truck idles for a minimum of 45 minutes in the hottest part of the day, every day and never had an issue. Back on a previous job, the truck would idle close to 8 hours a day in the middle of summer with no Ill affects. This is in AZ where we just hit record highs.

 

My 18 sr eventually blows what you see as fog when the outside temp is already low and I have the ac on max cold. I figured it was because since it was cold outside already it doesn’t take a long time to get cold. My sr also smells like coolant after a decent length drive and some does come out of the overflow but had not overheated yet.

 

It is low(er) when it's cold. I let it sit for an entire day and checked and the fluid was about half an inch below the full line. It never did this until around 1600 miles, which is strange because I've definitely driven it in hotter conditions with no problems.

I'm also in Arizona, in the Phoenix area. The fog is identical to that of a freezer blowing out foggy air when you first open it. It's only happened when I've been on the freeway and the AC has been off, then turned on.

 

Just indication that more problem will arise from a 1600 miles brand new truck.. Traded in and get a new one and you may lose few dollars from it.

Just my opinion..

 

Makes sense. Could be condensation.

 

Hahaha and that's what I'm most afraid of to be honest. I was told by an independent mechanic to take it to another dealer (in his words, it's not normal and a normal pressure test isn't good enough to conclude there's nothing wrong), so I'll be giving that a shot.

 

Sounds like a bad prep. Take it to dealer.

 

Definitely feel silly for asking, but what is a bad prep?

And the good news is, I have an appointment with a different dealer tomorrow. Hopefully they find the issue and get it fixed properly.

 

When dealers prep your vehicle for sale.

 

Figured as much lol, thanks!

I had my appointment with the second dealer and same answer. They pressure tested it and looked over it and couldn't find any sort of leak.

So I guess that's that. I'm wondering at this point if they did overfill it originally, and I just so happened to see the residue after smelling it and just assumed it was new when it actually happened a month ago.

I still get a whiff of coolant when I walk in front of the vehicle behind the grill on the driver's side, but I don't see any spillage. I've been told by the techs at both dealerships that the overflow does vent vapor when it's really hot so it can smell, does that sound right?

Thanks again for all the help! This is my first experience with a Toyota so I have no idea what's normal and what's not.