I searched but cannot find anything on this. I picked up a new 19 TRD ORP last Saturday. I have noticed it has a faint coolent smell inside the cabin once it reaches operating temperature. Trying to decide if this is normal because with my 16 SR5 I did not experience this.

I have visually checked the obvious, hoses, clamps, coolent reservoir etc. Nothing on the carpet to indicate moisture either. One thing I did notice is that the reservoir is slightly over the full mark once the car reaches operating temperature. Can it be coming from the engine bay? Oh, and I seem to notice it more when I make a turn. Any help would be appreciated before I call the service dept. I have 400 miles already so if it was residue from factory, it should have evaporated by now. Right?Thanks.

You should not be smelling any coolant..there could be a small leak somewhere that's dripping on the exhaust when it gets warmed up..

The service department should be able to run a pressure test on the system and pretty quickly find where it's coming from.

2019 ORP owner here and just have 1,200 miles on my truck, no coolant smell in the cabin. I would say take it in and have it looked it, it's not normal.

I bought my 2019 TRD in February and it did have a faint coolant in the cabin for a while. After about 4,000 in went away. Definitely not a new car smell.

I had the same when I bought my 2017 brand new, I noticed some staining with what looked like coolant around the overflow tank area. I mentioned it to the dealer at my 5K or 10K service and they "inspected" it and found nothing wrong. Now with 15K I don't smell it any more but I still keep an eye out for it. Not sure what would have caused it though

imo A LEAK . HAVE THE DEALERSHIP DO A PRESSURE TEST..

you say the coolant when at temp is above the full mark that indicates no pressure..when at normal operating temp remove the pressure cap slowly if no pressure release then a leak.

I had the same smell on my 19 Pro when i bought it in Feb. Has a little over 3k miles now and smell is gone. If you stood outside on the exhaust side at the rear wheel thats where you could smell it the most.

If the dealer claims "it's nothing" take the vehicle to a legit independent shop and have them check it out. If they find a problem, open an issue with Toyota Corp.

Put UV dye in the coolant- let it run for 15 minutes then look over the hoses, water pump, radiator etc, with black light. Cheap kits can be had at most auto parts store.

I have a Pro with about 300 miles and it has a similar odor, but I only notice it inside the garage. I'm pretty confident it will resolve itself.

Had the same smell with my 16 trail p when new. Went away after a long road trip and never came back. All fluid levels are good.


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@catrains , I am confused by your comment. Aren't we talking about the overflow tank being slightly above max at temperature. The overflow tank is at atmospheric pressure by design and is just there to hold the volumetric expansion/contraction of the fluid at temperature. What am I missing?

if you have not the pressure in the coolant system then the over flow level will rise.. coolant will expand more with a leak.

Bought 2018 ORP last September. Had same smell and left after a month. Probably ok, but cheap insurance is to take it to the dealer for a checkup.

Thanks for all the input, really. So I tried this procedure. I slowly removed the cap after overnight parking. I noticed some pressure release and a little bit of coolent came out, may be half a tea spoon. Does this mean the cooling system is normal ie. pressurized? I thought there would be no pressure because the engine was cold. One other thing, I noticed the smell when the heater is set to max heat. Not sure if that means anything becuse I am thinking may be the fresh air vents are closed when set to max heat. It sounds like I am not the only one who has noticed this coolent smell in brand new 4runners.

Oh and shouldn't the coolent level drop to between high and low marks when the truck is cold after overnight parking? May be someone can confirm on a there's. Thanks.