today I was checking my air filters and noticed my coolant level was very low like 1/2" lower then Minimum mark, is this something to be concerned? what would be the best thing to do, just have the dealer to fill up tank, or should I just get a coolant from an auto parts store..

 

I just stopped by the dealer and bought a jug of their concentrate for about $30 or so.

 

I noticed the same thing a few weeks ago. I just added some coolant I bought at the dealer + distilled water and everything is peachy so far.

 

Even if you're not seeing any coolant on the ground, you may still have a slow leak somewhere...

Take a look underneath the left rear of the car with a flashlight. If you find pink crust anywhere, there's a leak.

Coolant level shouldn't go down any appreciable amount, so I'd rule out a leak before just topping it off and forgetting about it.

 

Are you checking with the car cold? Cars invariably read low on coolant when cold. Check again after the car is up to temp and see if it's still low.

 

Also, sometimes leaks don't even make it to the ground - they get caught up in the plastic undercarriage covers.

 

Thanks all, I'll check as soon as I get home, I was checking with the car cold as I mentioned before I noticed it because I was checking my air filters but the fluid looks very low..

 

mine also recently. but in 4+ years, i have tracked quite a few times and in hot temps (some evap may occur) and noticed crystalized residue around cap/on top of reservoir (denoting leakage) so i bought a new cap too. will monitor and if i keep losing fluid, will take it in for diagnosis.

and dont let the "only 1/2 inch down" fool you - mine was the same yet still took close to 1/2 GALLON to bring up to acceptable level...the tank configuration is misleading! :P

 

Last I looked, Porsche is on v4 of the cap so maybe it's time to get a new one.

 

During the first year of ownership I started having a slight "pink crust" around the base of the cap. The dealer topped off the coolant & replaced the cap with a new one & no problems after 3+ years.

 

Also, don't forget that you only want to remove the cap when the car is cold, or VERY SLOWLY and CAREFULLY with a thick rag when it's hot.

Scalding hot and under pressure=disaster if you're not paying attention.

 

Coolant does not expand or contract very much as temperature changes, especially in the sealed and pressurized system of a cars cooling system. If the level is low when cold, then its low.

This situation is normal if you had the system recently worked on as there may be some air in the system that doesn't work its way to the expansion tank until some more lengthy post-service driving.

However, there are a several known locations of very small leakage that would not produce a puddle, but over time will reduce the level of the coolant in the system.

1) The expansion tank cap - its been reported that the cap itself, which has a pressure seal in it to prevent system explosion in overpressure situations (I believe) can leak slightly. That's not normal or designed behavior and results in dried and crystallized discoloration from coolant around the expansion tank.

2) Seals between the cooling system flanges and the engine can have thier o-rings be damaged. My 2009 had this issue of a damaged o-ring that resulted in a slow loss of coolant over months. I detected it when I found coolant collecting in a drop stuck to the bottom of the engine while I was doing an oil-change. The leaking coolant came out of a connection low on the engine and would not be visible from above, only the fact that it slowly ran down to a low point and began to collect as drops there confirmed a leak.

 

mine is an 09, I will stop by the dealer this saturday to get some coolant and ask if they can take a quick look.. I did not noticed anything on the cap, but its hard to tell from the bottom..

I do think 1/2" its not normal, but hopefully everything will be ok