Radiator fluid burning

I have a 11 Impreza that is burning radiator fluid. Unfortunately there is no engine temp gauge in this car but the engine overheat light hasn't come on. When I stop the car I can smell radiator fluid burning and if I open the engine there is a light white smoke coming out. As far as I can tell them is no leak. Meaning there is no green fluid if the car is parked and running in the same spot for a while.

 

Thanks car is out of the base 3yr/30k warranty period but is still under the 5yr engine/drivetrain warranty period. Is this something that should be covered under warranty? I also have the Gold Plus extended warranty but that has a $100 deductible. Any help is appreciated.

 

Thanks a lot guys.

 

PS. I swear I searched but I didn't find anything similar!

It sounds like you probably do have a small coolant leak even though you didn't see one, it may only be dripping onto an exhaust pipe and not large enough to reach the ground. It sounds like the gold plus warranty would cover necessary repairs, but I'm worried about the possibility of a diagnostic fee. If they find a problem that's covered under warranty, they should cover the diagnostic fee and you'd only pay the deductible. But I'm worried about them hitting you with a diagnostic charge even if they claim they can't find a problem. I'd contact subaru directly and/or your local dealership, explain what's going on, that you have the gold plus warranty, and see what they say.

Pretty much what he said.

 

Could be as simple as a loose hose clamp.

 

Do you know how to check the coolant level in the overflow tank ?

 

When the engine is cold, the coolant level shold be at the cold line on the outside of the bottle/tank.

 

There is also a hot level too. If you check it then.

Unfortunately there is no engine temp gauge in this car

 

 

Ya I can't believe that! It's actually my GF's car but I'm thinking of using the Torque app for Android and a Bluetooth ODB sensor to "create" one. Don't even know if it's possible but gonna give it a shot.

Thanks for your help everyone. Turns out it's a loose oil filter and it's actually oil that is leaking and burning. Unfortunately, under another battery related emergency situation the last oil change was done at a Sears so off it goes...

Ya I can't believe that! It's actually my GF's car but I'm thinking of using the Torque app for Android and a Bluetooth ODB sensor to "create" one. Don't even know if it's possible but gonna give it a shot.

 

yeah. And it's not just the imprezas... Some people think they are useless; I don't.

 

As to use the Torque app, that's exactly what I am using on a daily basis. Tracking boost, coolant temp, afr, timing advance, speed sensed by gps. I've been using this app for over two years now without any issues.

For future reference, we are in North/Central NJ and can always check these things out pretty easily for folks if they need it. Generally we do not charge a diagnostic if we don't have to spend a ton of time checking it out or if the owner actually has us do the repair.

 

-Mike Paisan

 

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Ya I can't believe that! It's actually my GF's car but I'm thinking of using the Torque app for Android and a Bluetooth ODB sensor to "create" one. Don't even know if it's possible but gonna give it a shot.

 

Its totally possible. The car has the sensor it just doesn't have a gauge for it.