# Coolant smell inside and outside of vehicle



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

PI0935B eliminated the glycol based HVAC lubricant, so that eliminates one of the two possible sources in the passenger cabin. The other source is the cabin heater core but since you also smell coolant in the engine bay and outside the car I highly doubt this is the source of the problem. The water pump was replaced, so that is most likely not the issue either. Since you have coolant dye in your system take a look at the top of the surge tank. There is a channel that the hose from PI0740A is supposed to connect into. Unfortunately as I stated in the master thread on this that PI0740A really doesn't fix anything. Clean this area and then in a week check for dye residue on the top of the tank. If you have dye residue there the hose isn't properly secured. This hose, by the way is nothing more than a stop gap.

What is the level of the coolant in the tank. If it's above the top rib you will definitely have the odor because the pressure cap won't be able to hold back the vapor pressure. Also, have you checked the surge tank itself to ensure the rim of the tank opening is 100% smooth. Many of these have mold welds that aren't smooth. If yours isn't smooth, very carefully sand it down so that it is smooth. You don't want to get grit into the cooling system, so be very careful. If it's a huge discontinuity in the tank lip get it replaced.

Also, check around all the hoses you can see for dye residue looking very closely at spots where hoses connect to other components. If there is a leak at one of these spots you'll see dye flakes.

It sounds to me like your first dealership wasn't really doing anything. Your new dealership does appear to be trying but is stymied.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Interesting chain of events......I can understand the frustration.
So, lets go backwards a bit.....the hvac box, a known issue, has been replaced so we can remove that from the thought process.
As well, a water pump has been replaced for a known leaking pump.....I will assume the replacement is showing no signs of leaving any trails on the right side of the engine (water pump side) so, we can remove that.
The radiator cap has been replaced.......uh, did it have a problem or was that a shot in the dark?

If this were in front of me, I would replace the surge tank (and ditch the useless PI with the hose business).

Here's why.....You are picking up the scent outside the car.....a clear indicator that the cap to tank interface is compromised.
The PI only redirects vapor, which is not supposed to be venting to begin with, unless it is overheated, exceeding 20 psi pressure.....it will only vent if the cap or tank to cap interface has a problem.
Once the vapors are kept in the surge tank as designed, the odds are the odor INSIDE the car will disappear.
If the cap/tank vents at all, the vapors are also pulled into the car through the fresh air inlet, directly to the rear of the cap.

Once the venting is resolved, some of us, myself included, intentionally run the surge tank one line above the lower tank hose.
Harms nothing and gives the coolant a bit more room for expansion.

Try to get the dealer to exchange the tank.

Rob


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

I agree with Robby...replace the surge tank. If they won't do it, throw a couple bucks yourself at it. 

I changed my cap, and if it is still filled to the "fill line", I can smell something around the cap, which means (to me) that the tank itself is slightly out of shape and allowing vapors past the cap still.


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## ChuzCruze (Feb 9, 2012)

I appreciate the input. The whole point of buying a new car was so that I wouldn't have to work on it. The weather is not conducive to working on a car in the driveway either, not when it is 10 below zero with the wind chill. I purposely bought a vehicle that had a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty to avoid this type if stuff. GM should be fixing this issue, not me. If I end up keeping the car, which I doubt, then I will take your advice and look into these things once the weather warms up.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

ChuzCruze said:


> I appreciate the input. The whole point of buying a new car was so that I wouldn't have to work on it. The weather is not conducive to working on a car in the driveway either, not when it is 10 below zero with the wind chill. I purposely bought a vehicle that had a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty to avoid this type if stuff. GM should be fixing this issue, not me. If I end up keeping the car, which I doubt, then I will take your advice and look into these things once the weather warms up.


I agree completely with your assessment of why to buy a new car. I did look up the class action suit against GM and one of the things listed is to get a court to order GM to find and fix all the coolant and leak related issues and force a full fleet recall to apply any and all fixes needed.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

ChuzCruze said:


> I appreciate the input. The whole point of buying a new car was so that I wouldn't have to work on it. The weather is not conducive to working on a car in the driveway either, not when it is 10 below zero with the wind chill. I purposely bought a vehicle that had a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty to avoid this type if stuff. GM should be fixing this issue, not me. If I end up keeping the car, which I doubt, then I will take your advice and look into these things once the weather warms up.


I agree - I am personally just tired of dealing with dealers and "well, we don't know". If they wouldn't replace the coolant tank and are just sending you around in circles with frustration...I'd do it myself and (hopefully) be done with it.


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## ChuzCruze (Feb 9, 2012)

I used to work for GM as a Service Writer and as a Warranty Administrator. I know how all of this works in the background. It would cost a dealer a lot of money (keeping a tech on the job and losing revenue due to that tech being tied up) looking into the issue. GM is only going to pay so much for a warranty repair. They will not reimburse a dealership for a ton of hours looking into an issue such as this. This is where the GM TAC line comes into play. They have engineers that are supposed to work on a fix so that dealerships don't lose a ton of money, lets face it, dealerships are in business to make money. I don't blame them. I am a small business owner, so I know how it goes. It all boils down to the "bean counters" at GM. I think they are just hoping the problem goes away on its own (people run out of their warranty or they trade off the vehicle due to frustration).


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

ChuzCruze said:


> I used to work for GM as a Service Writer and as a Warranty Administrator. I know how all of this works in the background. It would cost a dealer a lot of money (keeping a tech on the job and losing revenue due to that tech being tied up) looking into the issue. GM is only going to pay so much for a warranty repair. They will not reimburse a dealership for a ton of hours looking into an issue such as this. This is where the GM TAC line comes into play. They have engineers that are supposed to work on a fix so that dealerships don't lose a ton of money, lets face it, dealerships are in business to make money. I don't blame them. I am a small business owner, so I know how it goes. It all boils down to the "bean counters" at GM. I think they are just hoping the problem goes away on its own (people run out of their warranty or they trade off the vehicle due to frustration).


It was that short sighted bean counting that ultimately led to the demise of Pontiac. GM needs to fix this - it will impact repeat business and everytime a local media outlet runs a story on this issue the local Chevy dealerships see a drop in sales.


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## ChuzCruze (Feb 9, 2012)

So GM is sending out an engineer to look at my Cruze (at my insistence) due to the coolant smell issue. I also asked for an extended GMPP warranty but GM declined to provide that in good faith, which is disappointing. Their reasoning was that my Cruze has a current issue, the coolant smell, so they will not give me an extended warranty due to the existing condition. Wow, ok GM.


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