I took my 07 Fit into Honda today for an oil change, and they told me there was no coolant in my reservoir! So they filled it up and tried to find a leak, but couldn't find one. They kept filling it up, and the level kept dropping. I had him top it off before I left, and already it's right in between the top line and the bottom line on the reservoir, after like 10 miles of driving. There are no leaks beneath my car, but the engine bay smells super sweet with the coolant smell.

They said at the dealer that maybe it's a broken head gasket. They also told me because of my intake, it voided the warranty. I don't really see how that could be. Don't they have to be able to prove a modification caused a failure in order to void a warranty?

Someone help. Could it be the head gasket? And can they void my warranty for having an intake on the car?

 

No, to answer your last question. They'd better be able to prove that your intake caused this. However, I'd say put your stock intake back on to avoid hassles.

Have you checked the oil? Is it milky? Any signs of oil in the coolant resorvoir?

It could be a number of things. But if you can actually see the level dropping without any signs of leaks under the car, you could be in for a world of hurt.

Check for signs of crusty coolant at the radiator, or under/around the block. Sometimes they're really hard to see. Need to get under the car with a flashlight.

 

I haven't checked the oil, as I just got it changed about 2 hours ago. But I'll keep an eye on it.

I'll have to take a look for the other signs you mentioned.

 

i blew the head gasket in my old civic. I had a lot of trouble with temp rising due to losing coolant via poorly seated hoses etc, so I carried tools with me. Temp started to go up one day, i pulled over, popped the hood, but gah! no coolant spray anywhere. Topped off the coolant, and drove to work. Mentioned it to my boss and he had me take the car in. If you're loosing coolant and can't find where it's going, that's bad.
I think the test is called a blow by or something.

 

Check all of your hoses. There might be a pin hole leak in one of them. If the engine bay smells of coolant, it's got to be spraying out somewhere.
Good luck!
"07 VBP Sport 5MT w/minor appearance & comfort mods!!

 

yes they can void your warranty with any modifications.... dealers used to not be that picky but since times are rough right now in the economy they are looking to save money by voiding warrantys. its unfortunate. i work at a chevy dealer and there was a diesel truck in my shop and it needed all 8 injectors on it... it pays 8 hours warranty and the injectors are like 300 each. gm declined the claim do to it having bigger tires than normal. 8 % increase in tire size.... i can see maybe if it was chipped but tire size... come on...

 

If you have been topping off the coolant over flow tank with water instead of a 50-50% mixture of water and anti freeze, you've lowered the boiling temperature of the mix........ My car did the same thing for the first year and a half that I owned it, I think due to the quality or mix ratio of the stuff installed at the factory. I had the same problem with a new Goldwing motorcycle.... I fixed both by replacing the factory installed coolant by using Prestone anti freeze mixed 50-50% with distilled water.... If there is still a problem you can add straight anti freeze to raise the boiling point of the mixture.

 

the not so fancy method of checking would be to let your car run for a second or two, shut it off then stick your finger in the oil cap and rub on the valve cover. check the oil on your finger for water. it has worked like a charm for me

 

the Magnuson Moss act protects you with aftermarket parts and your warranty. If they can prove the intake did the damage then they dont have to cover it. If you go back in maybe print out that law or maybe just mention it to them.

 

exactly. back when I had my tiburon I had supercharged it and my cam sensor took a dump. They tried to blame it on the supercharger which i knew was b.s.

I ended up taking them to court over it and won. I didn't even want them to touch the car I just wanted them to give me the part

 

damn, I neber topped off my coolant and reservoir is still in same lebel at 60k miles. check for loose hoses. maybe u didn't tightened it down right when u did an intake install or something?

 

How many miles on your car? I highly doubt it's a blown head gasket already. When did you install your intake and did it require the removal of the coolant hose like Fujita's? Did you lose coolant, is your car overheating?

I know when I did my Fujita SRI intake, I lost coolant and had to fill it a couple times over the next few days to get it back to normal levels. My engine bay wreaked of coolant until it burned off.

 

Right now I have about 27,500 miles. I installed the intake around 13,000 miles, and it's a Fujita SRI. I did lose coolant, but I took it to Honda that same day and had them refill it. But I only did that once, and never checked it again, so if you had to fill it multiple times after that, maybe that was my problem.

I never overheated, and the "HOT" light never came on. I explained that to the lady at Honda here in SB and she said even if the HOT light doesn't come on, damage can still be done. Whatever.

I've been checking it every day since this all happened, and the levels have stopped dropping. So maybe it was just really REALLY low. *Crosses fingers*

 

I had some air in the system and it took a couple fill ups to get it full. At first there's air taking up space in the coolant system making it seem full when you add fluid. As that air disipates it creates more room for coolant, thus the multiple fill ups. What's weird though is that you should have noticed your low coolant level a while ago.

 

it sounds like you just lost coolant when you installed your intake, and never properly refilled it. like someone up there already said, there was very likely air in the system so you needed to fill it up to level and bleed the air out, or wait and check it a a few more times after additional cycles (topping off accordingly each time). if the level seems to have stabilized then you're all good now, congrats!

 

I lost coolant as well when I installed my Fujita. I just checked the reserve and it was well below the min mark. It's at max now, but I'll keep an eye on it in the next few days.

 

Magnuson Moss doesn't protect against owner negligence. Don't rely on a visual check of the overflow tank; periodically (at least monthly, preferably weekly, remove the radiator cap when the engine is cold and check the coolant level. Most engines will lose a little bit of coolant over time, but if you don't keep up with it, and the coolant level drops too low, the engine can overheat and you can blow a head gasket or crack a cylinder head. Always top off with 50/50 coolant mix, not water.