Coolant Leak Question

[otbiker57]

17 GTI. Found a small puddle of coolant on the garage floor. Opened the hood and found coolant nearly covering the inside of the splash right behind/below the radiator. With a flashlight, looked around the engine and everything looks dry, but there's a lot of place I can't see.

Is this the water pump/t-stat housing leak that is so common, or something else?

Recently purchased from a VW dealer, 20k miles, and CPO warranty.

TIA

 

[Tacomonster]

Sounds like you were the lucky winner as well. I would bring it to your local dealership and get it checked out. They will do a pressure test to determine the source. If it is a water pump/ thermostat, ask for the latest revision on the thermostat. I believe it’s currently rev “m”. Then file a complaint to ntsb Per the sticky thread.

 

[StorableComa]

Sounds like you were the lucky winner as well. I would bring it to your local dealership and get it checked out. They will do a pressure test to determine the source. If it is a water pump/ thermostat, ask for the latest revision on the thermostat. I believe it’s currently rev “m”. Then file a complaint to ntsb Per the sticky thread.

Also, just note it's been reported that a small leak in the pump/thermostat can be present and have the system pass a pressure test over the 3 hour period. Granted it looks like with that much fresh coolant you won't have that problem.

 

[cb1111]

Sounds like you were the lucky winner as well. I would bring it to your local dealership and get it checked out. They will do a pressure test to determine the source. If it is a water pump/ thermostat, ask for the latest revision on the thermostat. I believe it’s currently rev “m”. Then file a complaint to ntsb Per the sticky thread.

You'll want to file a complaint with NHTSA, not the NTSB. The NTSB is "Charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety, and assisting victims of transportation accidents and their families." - i.e. mass casualty transportation accidents.

 

[Tacomonster]

I stand corrected, I worked with ntsb so that carried through my habit. My mistake.

You'll want to file a complaint with NHTSA, not the NTSB. The NTSB is "Charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety, and assisting victims of transportation accidents and their families." - i.e. mass casualty transportation accidents.

 

[otbiker57]

Thanks for the responses. Watched a how-to YouTube video for replacement. Yikes! Glad I'm under warranty. Doesn't look like a fun job...

 

[cb1111]

I stand corrected, I worked with ntsb so that carried through my habit. My mistake.

No worries. I worked with NHTSA and, in that capacity, with the NTSB as well. There is some crossover as NTSB sometimes gets involved in high profile (bit non mass casualty) car accidents as well - think about the Tesla that went under the tanker a couple of years ago.

But vehicle recalls and the like are all done by NHTSA. For an interesting mini fact, the NTSB is the world's premier accident investigation organization and is THE training center for family assistance programs for mass casualty events and have trained organizations in virtually every country - friendly or not.

 

[otbiker57]

FOLLOW UP... drives me nuts when folks post questions, then never give a follow up. So...
Dropped off the GTI to the dealer for a look see. The splash pan was pretty much covered with coolant so I didn't they would argue much. They did an overnight pressure test, condemned the water pump, and I picked up the car late afternoon. If though it's covered under CPO warranty, they processed it as Powertrain warranty, so no $50 deductible.
I was impressed the engine bay was clean and no signs of a previous coolant leak, besides the coolant smell that simply has to burn off.
People bitch about dealership experiences, but this was positive and they did job without question.

 

[Tacomonster]

FOLLOW UP... drives me nuts when folks post questions, then never give a follow up. So...
Dropped off the GTI to the dealer for a look see. The splash pan was pretty much covered with coolant so I didn't they would argue much. They did an overnight pressure test, condemned the water pump, and I picked up the car late afternoon. If though it's covered under CPO warranty, they processed it as Powertrain warranty, so no $50 deductible.
I was impressed the engine bay was clean and no signs of a previous coolant leak, besides the coolant smell that simply has to burn off.
People bitch about dealership experiences, but this was positive and they did job without question.

Thank you for that Update. Do you know what’s the latest pump/thermostat pn?

 

[otbiker57]

Don't know if its' the latest, but they installed 06K-121-011-C...