Slow coolant loss - any others out there?

[Shamish]

Hi, so I was changing my oil yesterday when I noticed that the liquid level in my coolant reservoir was below the "L" line with the engine hot. This seemed weird. I went and bought a bottle of coolant at the dealer and the parts guy said "all the engines use coolant". This is the first time I have noticed one of my vehcicles using coolant, but it has been over 3 years and 45k miles since I bought it . I'll fill the bottle today and keep an eye on things.

I occasionally smell what feels like a whif of burning coolant, but I did buy the 120k mile warranty on the vehicle so I have plenty of time to see what happens.

Just curious as to what others may have heard about regular coolant usage...

Happy wheeling!

 

[Jake2014]

Yeah, I notice this on both my 4Runner (12) and FJ (08). They both seem to slowly, consistently drop over time (months). I'm not sure if this is normal or not.

I only started to notice it once I started doing my own maintenance. Maybe the dealer would top it up when they did the oil changes?

 

[1engineer]

Normal. All engines. Some more than others. Called evaporation.

 

[Shamish]

Thanks all. I guess evap would be one explanation, but the radiator was about 3/4 inch low. I just not worry about it for now...i will say that the coolant sure is purty...all neon and all...

 

[toppyjai]

nothing to worry about, its normal.