Heater Core leak

Brought the Taco into the dealer this morning with what looked to be a leak on the driver's side footwell nearest the transmission tunnel. Just got the call. Heater core is leaking coolant inside the cab. For reference, I'm at 12,800 miles on the 2017 (purchase date of 28 Feb). And they don't have any in stock and have to special order.

Should have brought it in a few weeks ago I guess. Saw a dark spot on the floor mat but it's right where my heel is when I drive. I thought I was just rubbing the carpet weird while driving. Yesterday I noticed the darker spot actually starts higher up on the tunnel. Tech said the overflow reservoir is still within norms so it's not leaking a lot.

Warranty is covering the work and they "say" they're going to shampoo the floor mat and carpets to get the coolant out. We'll see. Hope I get a Tundra or 4Runner as a loaner as I have a roadtrip coming up for the holidays.

 

GL sub for updates.

 

Enjoy your camry!

 

Le sigh, I know you're right.

 

OP - did the interior smell like coolant?

Then again maybe this newer type of coolant doesn't have a smell like the green stuff.

 

Hard to tell as I keep an air freshener in there. And my wife has really sensitive smelling and she hasn't said a word about it.

 

Fixed

 

Fixed

 

Camry Wins!!

 

That is a good question. I need to sniff the coolant. Sometimes, I get a smell that reminds me of hot electronics or wire insulation. It has a somewhat sweet tinge to it.

 

Let me know how the hard plastic interior looks after they take your dash out and put it back in. I need to have my evap core cleaned but afraid they will gouge/scratch the hard plastic all up.

 

Will do. When I grabbed some stuff from the truck before I left they had the knee bolster off from that side and the door threshold trim out and it looked okay.

 

This is kind of silly as then they'll just replace it. Just take some pics of your dash before it goes in.

 

I'm intrigued. I've had several vehicles with a leak from the heater core. And numerous others where I've seen this trend. They all leaked on the passenger side footwell, or showed up as steam (smelling like ethylene glycol) and fog on the inside of the windshield. The heater core/AC evaporator box has always been on the passenger's side, under the dash, since the steering shaft takes up the equivalent space on the driver's side. So how is a coolant leak from the heater core showing up in the driver's side footwell on this/these vehicles?

Of course, I'd just go outside and look up under my '16, but it's at the dealership getting repairs. Still.

 

all my dealership ever gave out were corollas. Thought i had it

 

When that ethylene glycol leaks it seems to create it's own gag worthy atmosphere

It starts out as a subtle sweet-ish odor and gets worse. I went through this with my Ranger. The ethylene glycol turns to acid over time and eats away seals and anything rubbery it comes into contact with. This was the green stuff though.

Heater core issues can show up at over 100,000 mile mark in Fords at least. I'm surprised to hear about this issue in a new car though. I'm not a mechanic so my observations are based solely on my crazy experiences.

 

Tech showed me on the tunnel where it was. There's a part of the heater core directly behind the Qi Charger section and a pipe that turns into it and it was leaking there.

 

I had 1 go bad in a car many years ago, never noticed any puddle on the floor but damn did my windows fog up to where it was hard to see.

 

My '03 Dakota I would look out at it in the parking lot and it was the only car/truck that the inside of the windshield would steam up. Next day it would be frost and I would have to scrape frost off the inside instead of the outside. Service tech told me the antifreeze ran down the duct work for the heater and dripped on my driver side floor mat. After they replaced the evap and heater cores, (They would not just do one) the next day another little puddle was on my floor mat. Took the truck back and they said the tech never got all the antifreeze sopped up out of the duct work. Everything was fine after that. And you are right.. I could smell antifreeze about a week before it started dripping on my floor mat. Keep in mind I don't drive everyday.

 

If I had some way to take pictures I would.