Driving my '07 Cayenne Turbo (957) on the freeway when suddenly (while accelerating), I see a huge cloud or spray coming out the back and blowing up against the rear windshield because of the turbulence. Almost immediately the red warning for 'check coolant level' comes on and I pull over (by chance near a gas station).
The smell is sweet/liquorish, so I'm sure it's the coolant. Check the coolant level and it is totally empty. Having read about these things on here, I'm guessing either the coolant hoses or the expansion tank. The coolant hoses have been recently replaced, which points to the expansion tank.
Had the car towed to my home where it will be picked up by a local Indy mechanic.
1. Does my analysis seem correct?
2. What should I be looking at in terms of repair cost (parts and labor), roughly?
3. Any other things I want him to look at while he's in there?

Thank you for any input or feedback.

 

I think you may find a little more technical information related to the following issues if you search the forum. First off, what is your mileage? How hot did the motor get?
I can only tell you from my experience that if you replaced the coolant hoses recently, then you should look there first. If a newly replaced part failed on you, then costs should be the price of a tow. You would be lucky to have a hose break or an expansion tank failure. You can look to see if the belt broke or if the water pump/thermostat failed around 100k miles. If you haven't replaced the cooling pipes and water distributer, then that could also be a cause. The factory upgraded cooling system of the 957 only uses thicker/better plastic cooling pipes from the 955, which leads to failure in the water distributer at the back of the engine. These are the things you should expect with the 957 cooling system...up to $4,000.00 with distributer, pump, belt repair. Once you have it checked out, let us know what part failed on you. Each repair is different and costs could vary greatly. BTW, it could be a hose...

 

Thanks, I actually did an initial search on coolant etc.

The hoses were replaced recently (less than 3000 miles ago). I bought the car 4 weeks ago with 65000 miles on it and a full service history.

So my thinking is:
1. either one of the new hoses blew off of its connector

2. or the expansion tank gave way as that part had not yet been replaced.

I should know more next week after the mechanic picks the car up from my house on Saturday. I was just trying to gauge possible cost (anywhere from 1000 to 4000 based on your reply).

 

Turns out it was option one. One of the tubes blow off of its connector. No real damage, just the labor of reattaching (8 hrs) and refilling the coolant.

Could have been a lot worse...