Coolant smell

[andr3w]

Anyone else notice a coolant smell after 'longer' drives? I had the dealer take a look, they found a couple drops of coolant, they pressure tested, but no leaks. They figured the drops they found could have been spilled during the port work and I am smelling this spillage burning off slowly. They cleaned up what they could get see.... A few hundred miles later and I still notice a smell so I am going back to the dealer early next week.

Anyone else notice anything like this? Obviously it is most noticeable towards the radiator, I wonder if those plastic/rubber hoses are sufficient.

Do I buy the dealers theory? Will a pressure test find everything??

cheers
Andrew

(Sorry this is a repeat from a paragraph in Does My MSP Clunk but figured it was not noticed in that thread)

 

[Mark94]

I noticed a coolant smell last night and so did my fiance. I opened the hood and I saw a few drops right behind the radiator on the splash shield at the bottom of the engine.

I'm bringing mine to the dealer on Monday for other things but I'm going to mention this to them also.

Mark

 

[Limited Edition]

What does coolant smell like? haha

I just get a burning smell after 'longer' drives...but i think it's new metal wear and tear like Mark94 said in another thread.

There are times, when i think i smell something burning with the heater on at high levels.....do you guy's get that? but it goes away in a short time.

 

[andr3w]

Mark

That is where the dealer found my drops of coolant. Certainly the port add-on work could have spilled some coolant. Perhaps it is not as bad as it was last week but then the sense of smell can be so subjective.... I feel I am pretty good organoleptically since I am quite the single-malt aficianado. I notice it more after a run, whilst I am letting the turbo cool down. I do have the heater on, and the cooling fan is directing air to the cockpit. So maybe I am being over cautious.

I have not noticed any burning smells and at 0 F to 20 F I am running the heater on high.

Anyway, I will let you know what the dealer says or finds on Monday. Wanted to get in and see the service manager about his techs doing future mod work to ensure the warrenty is safe.

cheers
Andr3w

 

[Dexter]

man wtf.....engine clanking, coolant smell, rear clunking....


someone tell me why was i waiting for this car so long?

 

[Mark94]

Limited, it is a distinct smell, I'm sure you'd know it if you had it.

Andr3w, I don't smell it inside the car, I was walking by the front of the car after a drive, and I smelled it immediately and opened the hood. My fiance opened the door to the garage and said "what's that smell."

I'm taking it in on Monday, so I should know something by the end of next week.

Mark

 

[slug420]

man wtf.....engine clanking, coolant smell, rear clunking....


someone tell me why was i waiting for this car so long?

im gettin scared too...
maybe ill have my dealer, to thank me for waiting so long for this car, put a clause in the sale that says whenever its in for service i dont just get any car, i get a 6s

 

[ZG77_OzZ]

I had a smell too

They replaced my over flow tank on my MP5

 

[saided18]

i just wanted to let every one know this.

i was at my dealer and talkin to one of the tech. guys is cool has a crazy fast miata. any way we were talkin and we passed a blue P5 and he pointed to it and said tommorow i'm driving off in this.

I thought for a moment and ask him why didn't he buy the MSP that is sitting on the dealer lot. He said i heard horror stories about them. i ask him if it was about the coolant leak and he yes.


He said a one MSP they got a while ago came of the truck with a coolant leak. so i would deff bug the s*** out of your dealer to find the problem and fix it!!!

 

[andr3w]

It is very hard to tell if my MSP is leaking, there was very minimal residue found on the splash shield and this could have been spilled anytime. Still no leak found, they sprayed the engine down and brought the coolant level down a little (it was way over the full mark).

They have kept the ticket open and promised to call Mazda. I recommend everyone smell their radiator and piping immediately after a decent run (highway speeds, 30 mile plus) and see if they notice it. I only noticed it becuase during turbo cool down idling I had the fan and heater blasting once.

 

[Grimace]

Still no leak found, they sprayed the engine down and brought the coolant level down a little (it was way over the full mark).

That's surprisingly common. Overfilled coolant, oil, etc. Check all your fluids when you take delivery of your MSP.

If the coolant was overfilled, it would eventually go out the overfill spout on the reservoir. If it contacted some hot metal (or even if it didn't and you have a sensitive nose) you'd smell it for sure.

Edit - wanted to clarify that overfilled/underfilled fluids was common for any new car from the factory, not just the MSP.

 

[Mark94]

I haven't smelled the coolant since my first instance, and I haven't noticed any more drops on the splash shield.

I guess it was just residual coolant like andr3w mentioned.

Mark

 

[SpicyMSP]

I know this is a old thread, but i just recently started smelling coolant from my MSP too. I will be bringing it in to the dealership this Saturday and we will see what happens.

 

[andr3w]

Still smell mine from time to time. Dealer has looked twice, cleaned off coolant first time (figured it was spilled at port). There is no leak, I am not losing coolant....

 

[turboge]

From what I could see there was no dry coolant anywhere on the car, I noticed a trail leading back to the car when I parked it this morning but I'm not certain it was directly from the MSP. I'll be keeping an eye on it just incase the hose has a pinhole in it. But the side it was supposedly leaking on doesn't have a hose on the lower portion of the radiator.

I think it may just be spilled coolant, I know I've spilled plenty on my other protege from time to time and it takes a while to clear the smell.

 

[Mark94]

Definitely keep an eye on it. My car did end up having a leak and it was caused by a bad hose clamp on the lower radiator hose where it enters the block. I lost a significant amount of fluid from my reservoir tank but it has stopped since the dealer replaced the clamp.

Mark

 

[turboge]

Thanks for the info, I'll check it out this evening!

 

[ZG77_OzZ]

I will tell you this

That is not right..

 

[slug420]

what does coolant smell like?

 

[MP5Raycer]

well I will tell you that I have never ever added or removed any coolant from my P5 and my resevoir has been over flowing and spilling out for about 5 months now and the dealer says it was normal so i asked him if it is Normal for Mazda to design produce and sell hunk of s**** for cars and he was like no no i tell you its normal .. i told him he needs to go back to school for a machanic all over agin since he was a complete retard .. i mean it happends worse when i romp on it .. but that is to be expected .. so what do you all think