[gdawrx]

08 with 30k miles.

I park outside; temps doesn't get ridiculously cold, 20s-30s. The other day I noticed that the snow under my car was green. uh-oh. Pop the hood, check the overflow tank, and it's slightly below low. Opened the rad cap, and everything looks full.

What would cause the car to puke its coolant? The coolant should be the original that the car came with so I'd assume the mixture is fine, and it has not given me any problems in the 8k miles of ownership I've had.

 

[flstffxe]

Possibly a air bubble in the system. The air expands pushes coolant into the overflow bottle over flowing it the as the system cools down it draws back in the fluid in the over flow bottle leaving it on the low side.

Best thing to do is to try and work the air bubble out(if one exists) via adding coolant with the cap off and burping/squeezing the upper radiator hose.

 

[ferret]

Could also be a weeping hose. When it gets colder, the heater/radiator hoses may tend to weep a small amount until warm.

Try to snug up the hose clamps.

 

[TC2000]

@30,000 mi you'd think all the air would be burped out of the system. Keep an eye on it, could be the start of something like the head gaskets.

 

[TexasForester]

Defective radiator cap is also possible. Examine gasket carefully for splits or gouges.

good luck

 

[MoxoM]

Take it in to the dealership to have the problem documented and fixed. Your warranty is about to expire and it would be a good idea to create a paper trail in the event things get worse.

 

[gdawrx]

I was thinking that, but at the same time the drivetrain warranty is 5/60 right?

 

[Blue Fox]

^^ The radiator has nothing to do with the drivetrain warranty. That'll fall under the 3/36 warranty. Don't start at the big stuff like head gaskets, always start small as 90% of the time it's something as small as a tube not properly clamped down. I would run it around for an hour or so, park it and give it a thorough inspection. Some cracks in the radiator only appear/leak when the coolant is hot. See if you can try to duplicate it leaking. If not, or if you can't locate a problem, take it to the dealer to start a paper trail ASAP.

 

[SubTech]

Check where the lower radiator hose meets the thermostat housing. Sometimes the hose will leak around the housing and/or the housing is leaking.