Disappearing Coolant

[techteacher]

Looking for some thoughts on disappearing coolant. 2020 gasser w/34k. A few months back I started hearing coolant washing through the heater core especially during ESS (start/stop). As winter rolled on I started to realize my heat wasn't getting up to speed quickly. Checked on my coolant it was about a 1/4 inch lining the bottom of the reservoir tank. Dropped it by the dealership and got back everything was working as expected. Anyways...mixed up some coolant and it took about 16 oz to get back to the minimum mark in the tank. No visible white smoke. No leaking in the cabin or on the ground. Incidentally, yesterday changed the oil for the first time myself (jeep wave ran out) and as the oil was coming out it appeared to have a purple/reddish hue that seemed peculiar. Is some coolant burn off normal in the pentastar 3.6? Or is it more likely I've got a small breach of coolant into the combustion area? TIA

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[Dougstdig]

Just found this last night…. No idea where it’s coming from.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

I too have a coolant leak. But I’ve also got some good solid history data for you. I’d first pull a sample of oil and send it off to Blackstone or Polaris (if you live in the states) and get an oil analysis. If Chrysler goes south on you like they did me, you may have to go legal to get it repaired.
I bought my JTR February/21 and did my first oil change at 1000kms. I took a sample to the lab and glycol in the oil was detected. I didn’t “knee jerk” as the lab said they normally see contaminated oil from the factory so I waited till my second change at 10k kms. AGAIN, glycol warning from the lab.

I took note that I was having to top up the coolant. (10 ounces consumption per oil change period)

My engine misfired at 16k kms and I did another change and oil analysis and again had the glycol in the oil warning. I showed the dealership who was fixing the misfire and expanded on a theory that glycol was pissing into the #2 cylinder and had caused the misfire. Dealership service manager, Forman, advisor, tech and Techline wouldn’t hear and did nothing.
I’ve done 3 more oil changes (6 in 32k kms) and every analysis warns me of internal glycol leak.

At 24k kms I went to another dealership and discussed not only those 6 reports but the new one I did on the 8 speed auto that had a whine noise and the oil analysis I just did which showed glycol contamination in the transmission FROM THE FACTORY and now it was tearing my clutch pack apart and plugging up the pump.

The transmission cooler is a “stand-a-lone” system and not contaminated from the engine leak or rad leak.

Dealership take on it??….Let it break. My take on it????….the owners manual and warranty information booklet says nothing about “just drive it into the ground, you have a good warranty.”
Truck is dead now, including the dealership giving my truck back with my entire electrical system in malfunction and THEY tell me the truck was fine when the tow truck picked it up to bring it back home on my dime.

I am now suing thanks to the mess the District Service Manager created for Chrysler.

 

[Hootbro]

In my 2020 Gladiator, coolant level dropped from MAX to MIN in maybe 2 years. Never had anything show up in oil analysis to indicate anything getting past the heads. Nor any signs of external leakage.

Some will say it is a perfectly sealed system and should not leak or dissipate over time but I am not in that camp.

 

[Commodus]

In my 2020 Gladiator, coolant level dropped from MAX to MIN in maybe 2 years. Never had anything show up in oil analysis to indicate anything getting past the heads. Nor any signs of external leakage.

Some will say it is a perfectly sealed system and should not leak or dissipate over time but I am not in that camp.

Same here and I agree there can be many reasons for small loss over a few thousand miles

 

[PsyRN]

In my 2020 Gladiator, coolant level dropped from MAX to MIN in maybe 2 years. Never had anything show up in oil analysis to indicate anything getting past the heads. Nor any signs of external leakage.

Some will say it is a perfectly sealed system and should not leak or dissipate over time but I am not in that camp.

Interesting this pops up now. Last weekend, my cousin noticed my coolant overflow was nearly empty, when I had the hood up connecting some lights to the Aux switches. I've had my truck almost 2 years to the day.

 

[DocMike]

Funny. I saw this yesterday..... Under the hood. 36,000. looks like the level in the photos.

 

[TheRealGinjaNinja]

6500 miles and a little over a year old and just noticed my coolant level is lower than the OPs pic…no obvious coolant leaks anywhere either. :-/

I’ll take a closer look and try and check the oil too. Weird.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

With my 2022, I put a tiny black dot on the tank for the coolant and PS fluid after driving it for a couple of days.
That way I don't have to try to remember where it was when new and can track it more easily.

With my 2020, after 2 years I had to add about 8 ounces of coolant. That ain't bad considering all of the driving I did - mountains, plains, high speed, in town, towing, whatever. 8 ounces can be explained by evaporation. 8 ounces in 2 years and frankly, that's +/- an ounce or two because I kept it at the seam line and that's slanted a bit and can vary with ambient temperature so could have been a bit under 8 ounces.
These are sealed, but face it, if they didn't vent even a little when the engine got hot something would blow. They are more sealed than anything of the last century, but still, I can't believe a system with a liquid and air in it can be 100% sealed.

 

[BornCDN]

I too have a coolant leak. But I’ve also got some good solid history data for you. I’d first pull a sample of oil and send it off to Blackstone or Polaris (if you live in the states) and get an oil analysis. If Chrysler goes south on you like they did me, you may have to go legal to get it repaired.
I bought my JTR February/21 and did my first oil change at 1000kms. I took a sample to the lab and glycol in the oil was detected. I didn’t “knee jerk” as the lab said they normally see contaminated oil from the factory so I waited till my second change at 10k kms. AGAIN, glycol warning from the lab.

I took note that I was having to top up the coolant. (10 ounces consumption per oil change period)

My engine misfired at 16k kms and I did another change and oil analysis and again had the glycol in the oil warning. I showed the dealership who was fixing the misfire and expanded on a theory that glycol was pissing into the #2 cylinder and had caused the misfire. Dealership service manager, Forman, advisor, tech and Techline wouldn’t hear and did nothing.
I’ve done 3 more oil changes (6 in 32k kms) and every analysis warns me of internal glycol leak.

At 24k kms I went to another dealership and discussed not only those 6 reports but the new one I did on the 8 speed auto that had a whine noise and the oil analysis I just did which showed glycol contamination in the transmission FROM THE FACTORY and now it was tearing my clutch pack apart and plugging up the pump.

The transmission cooler is a “stand-a-lone” system and not contaminated from the engine leak or rad leak.

Dealership take on it??….Let it break. My take on it????….the owners manual and warranty information booklet says nothing about “just drive it into the ground, you have a good warranty.”
Truck is dead now, including the dealership giving my truck back with my entire electrical system in malfunction and THEY tell me the truck was fine when the tow truck picked it up to bring it back home on my dime.

I am now suing thanks to the mess the District Service Manager created for Chrysler.

I am having the same problems with my Jeep gladiatior 2020. My Lifters, camshafts and head gaskets were all replaced at 60,000Km. Then at 113,000 I lost all coolant. No smoke, no dripping nothing. The mopar dealership ran tests and said it was the cap on my coolant. I drove it for two more days (after they said good to drive) and it was loosing coolant again. I had the engine taken a part. Turns out all the lifters, camshafts and headgaskets had to be repaired. FCA would not cover anything under warrenty. Anyone who has these issue, please reach out to me. I am retaining a lawyer to have this dealt with.
I am retaining a lawyer as well. FCA canada didn't honor the warrenty.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The mopar dealership ran tests and said it was the cap on my coolant.

LOSING coolant through a cap???
Nope. That would not happen. It would take SOOOO long for it to leave the system that way if they mean the cap at the tank at the firewall because that's never full enough to have liquid leave - it would only "evaporate" at a rate that would take years to be low.
Any liquid loss would be seen as drips or wet spots, or stains the color of the coolant.
In a small external leak taking months - the coolant seeps out slowly and leaves stains as the water and other parts that can evaporate away, do evaporate away.
If it's a fast leak- it's on the garage floor and engine parts are wet.
If it's a slow leak - it will leave stains - pinkish/orange-ish stains.
If it's internal, it will show up in the oil (like a grossly over-priced Starbucks drink),
or,
It will be "burned away" in combustion chambers. It could be slow enough to not be noticed but usually results in a bad smell out the exhaust. These normally have no real smell to them if the cats are working and there's no exhaust leak. A sharp offensive smell is often seen with internal coolant leaks.

If they replaced heads (why?) the first time - it's quite possible things got messed up - by them.

Then at 113,000 I lost all coolant.

Naw, it finally got down low enough to be a problem - you just didn't notice it. You don't suddenly lose "all coolant" in an hour, or even a day, and leave no sign. Just doesn't happen.

I open the hood now and then and check fluid levels. I have things like the PS reservoir and brake master cylinder reservoir and the coolant reservoir marked with a black dot as far as where the levels were when I first took delivery. I watch for changes from that dot (with the understanding that if it's hot or cold, it will normally deviate from those marks due to expansion and contraction of the fluids)
If I found my truck lacking coolant and getting hot - there would be signs either external or internal to the engine if things looked normal even 1 month ago. You don't lose that much fluid in a month without a sign.

You believed a cap would do it - even with no drips on the ground where you parked it?
Loose cap would mean liquid loss.
On the other hand, on these it would not because no fluid touches that cap (unless you do some hardcore off-roading with severe pitch and roll, sloshing it around in there)
Since coolant is normally only at the seam of the tank, which is roughly the half-way point, how could liquid escape? Jump up and out past the cap?

I'm afraid I'd have never left their property with that stupid explanation.

So - since they didn't cover it under warranty -you have an invoice - how much coolant did they put in the first time they said it was the cap???
I'd want to know exactly how much fluid they put in.
If it was less than say a quart or two - it wasn't low enough to get hot.
If there was loss of pressure, then it boiled because of lack of pressure on the system.

So maybe - it did not LOSE coolant, but lost PRESSURE. That's all a cap could do.
If it lost pressure and not coolant, then it got hot because the coolant boiled without pressure. (sorry, I'd have seen that elevated temperature as I watch gauges)

So - how much coolant did they add?
If none, then you didn't "lose coolant".
and
It means the system didn't hold pressure - but coolant wasn't lost, and it got hot due to a loss of pressure.
And getting too hot (and you never say how hot - that matters bigly) it could damage heads.

 

[BornCDN]

You make good points.
I put more coolant into it after it sat for a bit to cool down.
When it sat there with the engine running, there was no drip underneath (used cardboard to see if there was anything). Open hood, nothing inside but the smell.

But when I drove it in 10 min or so there was no coolant. Even when it sat to cool off. the coolant levels did not go back up. When it was towed to the dealership, they tested the pressure which read as OK. Someone recommended that the mechanics should have done an oil test. nothing on the reports show that it was done. The paper does not show they added coolant.

repair paper (before the major repair) reads:
scanned and no dtcs found. checked operation of rad fan and fan working corectly all various speeds. chceked cooling system and no leaks and coolant system at correct level. checekd for old code in modules and none. checked for servcie bulletin and none. had running in shop for 20mins and then 20min road test temp never went over 96C op temp the whole time around 89-90C found that front end has been extensively worked on. checked all cooling hoses for proper routing. no faults found. recommend valvetrain rebuild for ticking
road tested previously and ran for 1hr and coolant level was where it should be.
fully inspected cooling system for leaks again and pressure tested system for
additional time. road tested again and total of 2hrs. NO LEAKS AT ALL IN
SYSTEM AND NEVER OVERHEATING ONCE.
NO OVERHEATING ISSUES OR COOLING SYSTEM ISSUES.

 

[Lunentucker]

I too have a coolant leak. But I’ve also got some good solid history data for you. I’d first pull a sample of oil and send it off to Blackstone or Polaris (if you live in the states) and get an oil analysis. If Chrysler goes south on you like they did me, you may have to go legal to get it repaired.
I bought my JTR February/21 and did my first oil change at 1000kms. I took a sample to the lab and glycol in the oil was detected. I didn’t “knee jerk” as the lab said they normally see contaminated oil from the factory so I waited till my second change at 10k kms. AGAIN, glycol warning from the lab.

I took note that I was having to top up the coolant. (10 ounces consumption per oil change period)

My engine misfired at 16k kms and I did another change and oil analysis and again had the glycol in the oil warning. I showed the dealership who was fixing the misfire and expanded on a theory that glycol was pissing into the #2 cylinder and had caused the misfire. Dealership service manager, Forman, advisor, tech and Techline wouldn’t hear and did nothing.
I’ve done 3 more oil changes (6 in 32k kms) and every analysis warns me of internal glycol leak.

At 24k kms I went to another dealership and discussed not only those 6 reports but the new one I did on the 8 speed auto that had a whine noise and the oil analysis I just did which showed glycol contamination in the transmission FROM THE FACTORY and now it was tearing my clutch pack apart and plugging up the pump.

The transmission cooler is a “stand-a-lone” system and not contaminated from the engine leak or rad leak.

Dealership take on it??….Let it break. My take on it????….the owners manual and warranty information booklet says nothing about “just drive it into the ground, you have a good warranty.”
Truck is dead now, including the dealership giving my truck back with my entire electrical system in malfunction and THEY tell me the truck was fine when the tow truck picked it up to bring it back home on my dime.

I am now suing thanks to the mess the District Service Manager created for Chrysler.

I've been seeing you post about the leaks for the year that I've been here, and you're the one who inspired me to get the oil analysis done with every change. Screw Jeep Wave and their free oil changes. This is way more important than saving a few dollars while half trained monkeys who wash used cars in their free time do mechanical work.

I hate it for you, but hopefully your documentation will hold up in the long run and you will be made whole.

A common theme on these forums is that "Jeep Cares" is just marketing lip service, and that if you're not prepared to turn wrenches you should probably consider another brand.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

I've been seeing you post about the leaks for the year that I've been here, and you're the one who inspired me to get the oil analysis done with every change. Screw Jeep Wave and their free oil changes. This is way more important than saving a few dollars while half trained monkeys who wash used cars in their free time do mechanical work.

I hate it for you, but hopefully your documentation will hold up in the long run and you will be made whole.

A common theme on these forums is that "Jeep Cares" is just marketing lip service, and that if you're not prepared to turn wrenches you should probably consider another brand.

At the end of the day, my vehicle insurance covered the replacement of the coolant consuming engine and transmission. I’m back on the road again and hope to never deal with that again.

 

[OverlandJT1]

I am having the same problems with my Jeep gladiatior 2020. My Lifters, camshafts and head gaskets were all replaced at 60,000Km. Then at 113,000 I lost all coolant. No smoke, no dripping nothing. The mopar dealership ran tests and said it was the cap on my coolant. I drove it for two more days (after they said good to drive) and it was loosing coolant again. I had the engine taken a part. Turns out all the lifters, camshafts and headgaskets had to be repaired. FCA would not cover anything under warrenty. Anyone who has these issue, please reach out to me. I am retaining a lawyer to have this dealt with.
I am retaining a lawyer as well. FCA canada didn't honor the warrenty.

Same thing here… I’ve been noticing a sweet/burnt coffee kind of burning smell when I accelerate onto a highway or even at 65 in cruise control. This has been happening for about 6 months and my Overland Glady is only 14 months old with only 12k miles and it was happening at 8 months with only 6k miles…. I went to 3 Jeep Dealers and it was the worst service ever… writing it off nothing… nothing… Oh and one Jeep dealer said it was related to the Z60 Recall… bullshit. I’m in on Tuesday (2/28) to Kelly Jeep in Lynnfield, MA USA for a final chance for Jeep to keep me as a customer… this is my 3rd Jeep (1995 Wranger, 2005 Grand Cherokee, now 2021 Gladiator) my most reliable was the 1995 Wrangler! Isn’t that something!! I need help, if Kelly Jeep does not make this right I’m OUT.

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