tneconni

While refilling my washer fluid I noticed that the coolant tank was below the min marker.

The owners manual says that the coolant system is "sealed" and therefore any leakage is a problem that the dealer needs to look at.

What it doesn't tell me is if this is something I can just have the dealer look at in a couple of months or if it is a take time off of work and get it done ASAP. I can buy replacement fluid online and have it topped off by the end of the week, but wouldn't want to do that if this was going to be an urgent, but warrantied, issue the dealership was going to take care of.

I took a picture via cellphone but it hasn't yet uploaded to the cloud...but the fluid level was probably ~3/4 inch below the min fill line.

And for what its worth, I'm driving a 2016 SQ5

uberwgn

It's not an issue or concern unless the level continues to fall.


Are you able to pop by the dealer and have them do a quick top off?

MurrayA4

tneconni
Do you by chance live somewhere cold like the midwest or god help you, kidding, Canada ?
Coolant level on my Tdi can drop to min when its really cold- brrr, and then go up near max during the summer- ah.I'd say monitor it, check every couple of days if you drive a fair bit.SQ5 - lucky you - doesn't have a rep.for loosing coolant, but anything is possible.

MP4.2+6.0

The difference OP notes for coolant level doesn't seem material, but no it should not ever lose any coolant in normal operation. As noted, I would just top it up slightly--either via dealer or adding small amount of distilled water. It won't affect mix percentage of antifreeze materially for ¾". To check it as far as leakage, fill it to a known level like the lower mark. Or make one with a grease pencil or something similar. Then check it weeks later under same general conditions--engine cold, same parking place (that is either flat, or same slope first time), etc. If it moves down at all, bring it to dealer's attention. Anything in cooling system is warranted the full 4/50 term.

BarryT

Every VW and Audi I've ever owned has done this. My friend is a VW tech and he said that he has to top off a lot of the cars that come in for service.

Hardwired

My wife's 2012 Q5 started doing this and a couple of months later dumped a puddle of coolant in the driveway from a cracked water pump housing. $1000 bucks later (it was 5K miles out of warranty, of course) she now drives a new Tacoma.

Redd

Coolant level will always float a little as the ambient temperature and engine block temp change, but it should be able to stay between the "min" and "max" levels, that's why there are two level lines. If you are someplace HOT you will also often lose a little by simple evaporation.

But since you've got a warranty..."Takee fixee" and let the dealer look for leaks or cracks. That also documents a possible cooling problem. And, they'll top it up with gen-you-whine Audi coolant for you. Then just take a look from time to time and see if it is just slow evaporation, or a growing problem.

13Q5

I have a 2013 3.0 with 62k just had the water pump replaced. I saw my overflow showing min. was advised to bring it in. next thing I am being told there is a leak something about frost plug area. turns out pump was leaking and replaced under warranty.

tneconni

I appreciate the replies. Put in 2 cups of coolant (or rather 1 cup of coolant and 1 cup of distilled water) and now its squarely between max and min. The coolant is such a striking neon pink I'm fairly confident I'd notice a puddle of it where I park and I see no such puddle. I'll keep an eye on it and mention it to the dealer when I bring it in for my next service.

MP4.2+6.0

FWIW, a good percentage of the time you don't see anything. My best approach it to note exact height on side of bottle (typically when motor cold) and then look at it from time to time. Two reasons:

1. Smaller leaks often just fall on belly pan underneath and either evaporate off or wind just blows it off at speed.
2. The leak is near hot parts and it is burned/evaporated off. On the latter, it leaves a telltale pinkish residue you can spot at or near sign of leak. Sometimes sort of crusty, sometimes like cotton candy.

Have found leaks several times over the years, including on various Audis under warranty that have resulted in fixes from simple clamp tightening to a full radiator replacement. And I don't think on any of the leaks I tracked down the fluid hit the ground, but the vehicles did have very slight losses at bottle you could deduce over a few months. When mine are in order, car can literally go years with no fluid added at all. How my now 45K mile 2013 Q5 has been so far.