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coolant leak

18K views 35 replies 15 participants last post by  Jwg223 
#1 ·
Hey guys/gals,

My family and I stayed the weekend up at Martha's Vineyard over the Memorial Day Weekend and I noticed during my pre-road trip check of all fluids etc that I had some residual coolant on the upper right hand corner of my radiator. We made the trip with no issues whatsoever but have already scheduled an appointment to have it replaced. Has anyone else seen this yet? I currently have 18k miles on the odometer. See photo of leak and car at the Vineyard..:smile
 

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#3 ·
Isn't that the upper left corner. from the front??
 
#5 ·
Hello NYCSTELVIO,

Keep us updated on your dealer visit. If you need any assistance while in service, please let us know. We're available via direct message and would be happy to help.

Jasmine
Alfa Romeo Social Care Specialist
 
#6 · (Edited)
So it is the left side of vehicle. Its like folks looking in the mirror..... did you check the fasteners ? Should not be a major unless shrapnel has perfed something! Does reservoir still have fluid? If it is not empty, loss is less than a qt in all most likely.
 
#9 ·
I checked the fasteners and indeed they are all tight..The leak seems to be coming from where the plastic end tank meets the metal portion of the radiator.

There are seemingly 2 reservoirs on this vehicle and the one on the passenger side near the cowl was nearly empty when I checked and I subsequently filled it before my trip.
 
#7 ·
Dried and really small amount of fluid it looks like.


Fasteners is good guess...I would think something very slightly loose that only shoots out a spurt of liquid in some situations. Like a hard turn with a bump that shakes the engine...probably not a big deal, might have even fixed itself by snapping into place at some point. Still good to notice and get checked out, glad you had a nice trip!


That last picture makes me think a speed boat shaped like an Alfa would be awesome...
 
#8 ·
Hey guys/gals,

My family and I stayed the weekend up at Martha's Vineyard over the Memorial Day Weekend and I noticed during my pre-road trip check of all fluids etc that I had some residual coolant on the upper right hand corner of my radiator. We made the trip with no issues whatsoever but have already scheduled an appointment to have it replaced. Has anyone else seen this yet? I currently have 18k miles on the odometer. See photo of leak and car at the Vineyard..
Hello NYCSTELVIO,

Keep us updated on your dealer visit. If you need any assistance while in service, please let us know. We're available via direct message and would be happy to help.

Jasmine
Alfa Romeo Social Care Specialist
Thank you Jasmine.

I will keep everyone posted.

I have an appointment scheduled for the 18th of June to bring it in with a replacement vehicle.
 
#11 ·
Thank you Jasmine.

I will keep everyone posted.

I have an appointment scheduled for the 18th of June to bring it in with a replacement vehicle.
Perfect, NYCSTELVIO. I'll keep my eyes peeled for your future updates.

Jasmine
Alfa Romeo Social Care Specialist
 
#13 ·
When I took delivery of my 2018 Ti sport, I got it home and then noticed that the reservoir by the windshield left side, or passenger side, was near empty. I took it in and yes, that is the secondary for engine while the closer to front driver side is for turbocharger. Dealer locally, not where I bought it, gave me some fluid and so far, not seeing it drain. It is normally low and it is pressurized so don’t work on it when car is still hot. It does hold fluid when cold, but expect it to look low. Mine was really low. Good luck
 
#14 ·
You may have solved the mystery. If you notice the passenger cowl area overflow tank, the full mark is VERY low on it. If you overfilled the system, it may indeed have overflowed during your trip.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Any drips on floor? If not, can't be much and I would suspect an overflow hose.
Just did my Evora. front radiator adds a whole new level of fun to coolant change. After 6+++ burps, refills etc, I finally got it filled. Took it out for a high rpm flog last week, came home, found coolant on floor next day. It was kicking out the overfill. No biggie. If you got it real hot in heavy traffic, could be the same.
 
#18 ·
Yes. I had two leaks that ended up causing transmission and braking issues and my car has been in service for almost two weeks and they just told me they ordered the wrong part. Have me a freaking mini van. I’m so not happy right now. But anywho, this could cause major issues for you as well. It got so bad that acceleration and braking caused whiplash and if I lived in a busier area I would’ve been rear ended as I couldn’t count on performance. Only 1300 miles.
 
#21 ·
Radiator/cooling issues

Hey everyone,

New here, signed up after seeing this post. My radiator is leaking. My mechanic spotted it at my 30K service, referred me to the warranty, and the dealer. When I called the dealer, the service manager was unwilling to look at the pictures. After some emailing - with whom I assume is the dealer manager - he scheduled my car for service.

Once they got under the hood, they noticed that oil has leaked into the radiators reservoir. Of course they first blamed me and my mechanic, then clarified later they weren't pointing fingers (it's been a cluster). I am waiting on their response still. I will keep you updated.

First 3 pictures are from my mechanic. Last 2 of reservoir are from dealer.
 

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#23 ·
Hey everyone,

New here, signed up after seeing this post. My radiator is leaking. My mechanic spotted it at my 30K service, referred me to the warranty, and the dealer. When I called the dealer, the service manager was unwilling to look at the pictures. After some emailing - with whom I assume is the dealer manager - he scheduled my car for service.

Once they got under the hood, they noticed that oil has leaked into the radiators reservoir. Of course they first blamed me and my mechanic, then clarified later they weren't pointing fingers (it's been a cluster). I am waiting on their response still. I will keep you updated.

First 3 pictures are from my mechanic. Last 2 of reservoir are from dealer.
Wow..This is surely alarming...

Not to be insulting but are you sure someone did not accidentally add oil into that reservior (ie:gas station attendant etc)?
 
#22 ·
Oil in coolant????Head gasket??? or major fail to a block in a coolant pathway????? Definitely a major event here!!!
 
#24 ·
Look at what happened.

Coolant expanded, and blew seals on the exterior, could it have blown out interior seals like the head gasket?

Yeah.

What caused it to expand?

Was the coolant topped off recently?

I'de worry about having the wrong type of coolant in...combining the 2 types can do something like what happened theoretically. Combining coolant types can do alot of bad stuff....

Something happened though. That much coolant expansion. It really seems like the engine got crazy hot.

Guessing you never saw the engine temp go way up though?

Strange...very strange. Would like to hear the diagnosis.
 
#25 ·
*Update to my situation*

I dropped my Stelvio off this afternoon and they are going to replace the entire radiator for me.

On a side note I was given a brand new base model Stelvio with no paddles, 19" wheels and I can definitely feel the difference my EC V2 Intake and ECM Pro makes now. The loaner almost feels like a Camry lol..
 
#26 ·
Oh dear, looks like mine has started to go in the same place as NYCSTELVIO... Been trying to keep the engine bay clean and noticed this when I opened the bonnet.. I've cleaned most of it off so I can see if it re-appears but have left the markings on the inside of the bonnet, as you can see it looks like it's let some fluid go very finely and briefly somehow? I've been out for a run (about 40 mile round trip) and it hasn't reappeared yet... didn't notice any increase in temperature from the gauge and the fluid level hasn't dropped to nay degree and I haven't topped it off recently either.. looks like I'll add this to the list for the dealer..
 

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#31 ·
Will watch this carefully!
 
#32 ·
Do a Google search on radiators.

Every brand has this problem to some degree, and has since radiators became glued together plastic shells. Nothing new here, although it has gotten worse as suppliers consistently source cheaper plastics and glues.

Doesn't take much in terms of a manufacturing defect to have them start leaking, considering hot liquids generally break down glues, and heat alone hardens plastics making them brittle. (I dont think Alfa uses thier expensive glass reinforced plastics for the radiator, please correct me if I'm wrong)

Heat and liquid being the only thing a radiator handles. Not to mention the inability of the plastic to flex causing it to break from being tweeaked slightly and constantly, as the car navigates hundreds of bumps and twists daily, while the heat wears the plastic and makes it brittle...

Stupid idea everyone uses to save weight primarily. Not that aluminum radiators were prefect. Truth is the cooling system has always been a problem spot in cars...and traditionally is one of the major reasons why new cars must come with a warrenty.

Not needing the same type of cooling is maybe the second largest benefit of electric cars in terms of maintenance and long term reliabilty. (After not having the compexity of an ICE in general) Don't worry still not an EV supporter, but you have to give credit where it's due.
 
#33 ·
"Every brand has this problem to some degree, and has since radiators became glued together plastic shells "
aside from other cooling issues - or maybe because of them, the radiator on our 1995 bmw seemed to be a 30,000 mile maintenance/replace item.
the 2008 doesn't have the radiator problem - it has the pricey to regularily replace electric water pump etc.
I think bmw (probably others too) do stuff like this to ensure dealer cash flow.
 
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