More Coolant Used In Winter?

[JTI]

Hi, I've had my GTI for about 6 months now and have just noticed that it seems to be consuming more coolant than usual. It was topped up when I bought it and I noticed about a month ago it was just above the low marker so I topped it up to max. Checked about a week ago and it was about halfway down again so topped it up again to just above max and checked today and it's already gone down to level with the max marker.

Only difference I've been doing to the car is I have been having the heaters on higher and blowers on more due to the cold weather. I've looked in the engine bay and there's no sign of a coolant leak. Could it be the cold weather somehow causing this? Does this amount of coolant consumption sound normal? Thanks.

[slix]

It shouldn't drop that much any time of the year.

I'm most certain you have a leak somewhere. Any signs of water/coolant on the under tray?

[dronners]

a car only loses coolant if its either leaking or being burned by the engine..  neither are good

[bonelorry]

Never put a drop of Coolant in any of my TFSI engined cars, I am on number 5 now.

[JTI]

Thanks for the replies, I had feared it wasn't normal. I'll have a proper look in the next few days and see if I can see a leak.

[unzippy]

Check under the oil filler cap.  If you see mayo/jizz you may have head gasket issues.
Or be a pervert.

[Dan_FR]

mayo is normal this time of year under the oil cap.... when you see it on the dipstick its time to worry

Mine uses(loses) a bit of water from the non-genuine waterpump I had fitted a while back. It'll be getting changed when I do the cambelt in 2017

[unzippy]

It's only normal if you do of short journeys.  It's where the condensation hasn't been cooked out as the engine didn't get hot enough.

[Dan_FR]

Due to the extended filler neck design it has a habit of staying longer than most other cars.

[JTI]

Thanks for the further suggestions, had a good look round the engine tonight and no obvious signs, some minor crust which could be something half way down on the right hand side, although is white not pink    I've put some cardboard underneath the engine tonight and will see if anything shows up in the morning.

It's only normal if you do of short journeys.  It's where the condensation hasn't been cooked out as the engine didn't get hot enough.

To be honest I do A LOT of short journeys due to work (majority are 10 mins max and I only live 15 mins from work) so I'm hoping it could be something as simple as this.

[slix]

Thanks for the further suggestions, had a good look round the engine tonight and no obvious signs, some minor crust which could be something half way down on the right hand side, although is white not pink    I've put some cardboard underneath the engine tonight and will see if anything shows up in the morning.

It's only normal if you do of short journeys.  It's where the condensation hasn't been cooked out as the engine didn't get hot enough.

To be honest I do A LOT of short journeys due to work (majority are 10 mins max and I only live 15 mins from work) so I'm hoping it could be something as simple as this.

Do you have any oil on dipstick?

I do 4 miles to work and never lose coolant but get the mayonnaise over winter which is normal. Losing coolant isn't.

[r5gtt]

Dude check your water pump as this is the time of year they love failing and leaking 
I had the same problem some years back and when I finally got the car on the ramp found the water pump below timing belt cover was leaking and I couldn't see it on the floor when parked up.

[Dan_FR]

My bad guys, i've only just read the OP properly - I only responded to the title and the first reply 

The 'mayo' under the dipstick is from condensation, nothing to do with engine coolant and is totally unrelated. If you are losing coolant then you have a leak (or are burning it). The latter normally comes with other symptoms, such as mixing of oil and water one way or t'other, pressure in the header tank, exhaust gas in coolant circuit etc.

You more than likely have a leak. As I said, mine leaks a little but its from the water pump (cheap aftermarket part). Mine has a tell tale drip from the bottom of the engine cover nearest the turbo outlet/discharge pipe. It does seem to be a common thing with the waterpump so worth checking

[JTI]

Well I've checked the cardboard and something has leaked overnight. Coolant level seems to have visibly dropped so I guess it's that. It looks like the leak is coming from directly in the middle of the engine (although slightly to the front right) so not sure what it could be, have had a good look in that area from the top of the engine but can't see anything obvious. Dipstick seems fine, small amount of mayo under oil cap.

I was planning on taking it to the garage anyway as I'm having a side airbag fault so I'll ask them to look into this also. Will update thread when I know more  :(

[pudding]

Likely suspects if it's the middle of the engine:

1) Main Water pump and coolant is creeping along on the block / sump and dripping down
2) Electric after-run circulation pump (under the alternator)