[Rich_W]

@#$#@!!

Well, I just pulled my MCS out of my garage, and noticed a puddle on the floor. I popped the hood, and found what appears to be coolant all over the heat sheilds. Great... just great. Only 2100 miles.

The coolant tank also appears to be just about empty.

When the car was cool, I totally wiped everything down and then took it for a 2 mile ride. Now the entire area is wet with burning coolant.

It appears to be (my guess) coming from the seam on the coolant tank.

[Rich_W]

Should the car be driven low on coolant?

And considering the fact that its making a mess inside my new car's engine compartment.

The tank appears to be just about empty.

[cooper4us]

Do not drive your car low on coolant or with no refrigerant at all. You are risking doing serious damage to your engine!.

Call MINI's roadside assistance and have the car towed back to the dealership ASAP.

[xChiliRedCooperSx]

I noticed the same problem a few days ago. I refilled the tank and was going to check on the level of fluids today.

[Rich_W]

Do you have dried coolant on the heat shields?

Any idea where your leak is coming from?

[Sammy_Salmon]

My Cooper was/is leaking coolant at a VERY slow rate. It's slowed down to about a millimeter per week on the reservoir tank. It lost about 2-3 inches in the first 800 miles. My dealer tried to tell me that I've got to add coolant every 3 or 4 months because it evaporates. I think he's on crack. It's a closed system, so any coolant that vaporizes will condense within the system.

[HarryHBMCC]

Could the coolant go down during break-in? Mine doesn't seem to be losing but it is above the MIN mark but not right between MIN and MAX so I wonder if it lost a bit during break-in. I'm keeping my eye on it and the oil (since it is down below the midpoint of MIN and MAX too) and will add to both or either as required.

Has your dealer done a pressure test? If it is just losing a tiny amount then it will be difficult to look for leakage, or I imagine it would be difficult.

Harry

[IndyMini]

1) The engine should NOT use any coolant due to breaking in.

2) Your coolant is NOT evaporating.

The problem is related to the "less than great" little clamp on the bottom of the coolant fill bottle. Replace this clamp with a good screw type clamp and your leak will be gone. :-)

- Chris

[mr.bill]

Actually the "coolant" can evaporate a bit since it is composed of a mix of antifreeze and water. The coolant recovery tank is vented to the atmosphere and there can still be some vapor leakage around the radiator cap. But that said, it shouldn't go down that quickly. If you are losing coolant quickly, you either have a leak from a loose hose or clamp, or your radiator cap is defective and is allowing the coolant to boil off.