2poor2mod

osing coolant is not that normal, i have had my car for 36,000 miles of its 66,000 life and the coolant level is still right at the same level as when i bought it

HondaS

it probably wasn't maintained very well the level was probably never checked ... ambiant temps matter if a car is sitting in the hot sun what do you think the coolant sitting in a plastic bottle is going to do.. I work on cars and I get cars with 12k on them with the level well below the min.

Tee-Dub

It shouldn't loose any sitting in the sun. Isn't the system sealed up to a given psi?

JCoxRocks

Ok well see the car came from SC, I'm in NC... the hottest days we ever see are *maybe* 100. And the reservior wasnt low... it was EMPTY... as in... not a drop. I didn't notice this until after driving it a little while (I took it home for the night and half the next day to test drive), but I did pay attention to the temp gauge b/c it was cold outside and wanted to know when the heat would be working. The temp never rose above the usual 25-40% mark that I'm used to in my Integra, but when showing the motor to a friend, I noticed the reservior was completely empty (or at least low enough to register nothing on Max or Min. I'm the second owner, Carfax showed nothing (which might also mean nothing) but other than that the car looked great. At 25k is it possible the head gasket is already blown or the head is cracked and if so, wouldnt that fall under the 3yr/36K warranty? Car has original tires with a good amount of wear, and was traded in on a Toyota, so I have a hard time believing some punk ass kid blew it up racing, then drove it up to trade in on a badass Camry (since Toyota doesnt really have a sports car)... but still this makes me worry a bit. I'm used to replacing coolant in my Integra often (on its 4th radiator for leaks), but a bit worried there is a leak of some sort with my new S2K.

J

HondaS

it is possible that the resivor is cracked and leaks the fluid out. but seriously just fill the radiator and fill the resivor then just keep an eye on it. i wouldnt wory about it.

makopolo

This is probably it....if you say that the car did not overheat, it means that the rest of the system should be fine. Usually when you have problems with a head big enough to drain the coolant, you would see some other catastrophic effects.

Fill it up and watch it drip, maybe when you get it take out the reservoir.

jelliotlevy

The reservoir is not pressurized, and is thus not perfectly sealed. I personally have found a loss of a few ounces (about 6 - 8 oz.) over a period of several months operation in a Southern climate. I bought a gallon of Honda's premixed coolant and on a couple of occasions have topped it up when the reservoir level got very low. I am convinced this is not abnormal.

mrkjsn

I'm not sure about this advice. I would certainly look into it. Have them drain the oil and check for coolant in there. Assuming that it's going to be okay is not the smartest thing to do. It's possible that the car was traded in because it has a bad head gasket. It could be as little as a leaky reservoir, but before taking posession of the vehicle, I suggest doing everything that you can to find out what's wrong with it. Last thing you want is to have to deal with someone else's problem. There's no reason a car with that low of a mileage have an empty reservoir.

JCoxRocks

Well obviously the dealer performs their own inspection before they put the car on the lot. Oil was drained, no problems. I talked to our tech who checks them all out before I bought and he told me no problems. The alignment tech said all the angles were way out, and you can see some toe-wear on the fronts, but I am not too worried about that.

So far so good. Topped her off the day I got her and no problems since. Will keep you posted. Still under the 3/36K warranty too, so not worried at the moment.

J

2poor2mod

just keep an eye on it