Son's 2017 2.0L is slowly losing coolant--a few questions

[mrdctaylor]

Originally Posted by Triple_Se7en
My wife's former 03' Malibu did this for the last three years of ownership. We would top it-off and once a month would only need about 8 ounces. Used more in the summer and the hot temps may have contributed to it.
I see you are in hot Texas and I suspect your son goes to college there also? Does he use the car AC a-lot, or is it broke?


Yes, we're both in Texas. He uses the AC a fair amount just like we all do down here. If it wasn't showing up in the oil and it wasn't under warranty, I would just keep an eye on it. As it is, I'd rather get it looked at under warranty just in case. As others have said: peace of mind.

I recently had a slow leak on my Tacoma. After watching it for months I finally took it to my mechanic. It was thankfully just a slight leak at a hose (new clamp fixed it).

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted by Whimsey


I have a feeling you're out of powertrain warranty, would have been 5 years/50,000 miles. O'Reilly actually has a nice loaner coolant pressure tester, pump it up & see what drips. My Transit 250 actually has a degas tank leaking & a heater hose quick disconnect bad, it's going into the dealer before it hits 50K.

The power train warranty is 5 years/60,000 miles. Our 2017 2.3 EcoBoost Explorer developed a slowish leak. It turned out the actual water pump was leaking. They replaced it under warranty. thankfully the water pumps on the 4 cylinder engines are easy and water pump is relatively inexpensive, unlike the V6 engines in the front wheel drive vehicles. Have it checked out to make sure it's not something serious like a head gasket. I rented from Avis a 2016 Escape with the 1.5 EcoBoost and the coolant tank was empty

.

Whimsey[/quote]Sorry, I thought your powertrain warranty would be 5/50 like the Transit. Weirdly enough, reading my warranty doesn't show external cooling parts (hoses, radiators, fittings, degas tanks, etc.) as being covered. My recent experience with Ford vans ('04 E-350 6.0 PSD, '12 E-250 4.6, '15 Transit 250, '18 Transit 250) has been almost universally negative, with dealerships not repairing issues under warranty (but more than happy to overcharge once they were out), and general bad service departments. I actually pressure tested the '18 myself BC I didn't want to hear the stealership carp "there's nothing wrong with it"! A gallon of Specialty Orange RTU in 45K miles for topoff says otherwise!

 

[mrdctaylor]

We got it back yesterday. They kept it 3 days, pressure tested it and said they pulled the spark plugs to check for water in the cylinders (after my son sent them a link to the TSB on this engine). They never found anything. I guess we'll watch and wait.

 

[meep]

is this an ecoboost? some of the 4cyl EB motors had a head gasket issue -it was showing up in the focus RS, which of course is a seriously high-strung vehicle. (I can accept some teething pains here since ford dared to try to build this thing for the public). perhaps it's related but not as visible.

or it could just be porous aluminum, which does contribute, slowly, very slowly.

-m

 

[mrdctaylor]

Yes, it is the 2.0L Ecoboost. I had just changed the oil and there was no indication of coolant contamination. They supposedly pulled the spark plugs while pressure testing and saw no evidence of coolant in the cylinders. I'm not sure what else they could've done. I guess we'll just watch and see.

 

[mrdctaylor]

I've had people on an Escape forum tell them that dealers claim it is normal. I'm not sure I buy that. The coolant must be going *somewhere*, right? I mean, I suppose it could be coming out of the overflow hose or something if the full line on the reservoir is really too high or something like that. I have no idea. Thoughts? It seems like I've done about all I can do for now.

 

[meep]

it's slow. my worst-case money is it's doing what it did in the focus RS - slowly leaking into the cylinder under use and burning off. But very, very slowly. Pulling a spark plug and inspecting them can give a better indication.

If you like the car, keep it under warranty or just know at some place it may need a new gasket, and keep driving. I think in general these EB motors are great, you get a lot of driveablity and efficiency with them, but like all mfrs, there are teething pains.

 

[mrdctaylor]

They pulled the plugs at the dealer (or said they did) and saw nothing. I may look into an extended warranty.

 

[pbm]

My 2014 Focus SE (purchased new) was losing coolant....not a lot...but approx. every 6 months it would go down an inch or so in the overflow tank.
I purchased a new radiator cap and my issue seems to be solved. I also put Teflon tape on the threads every time I remove and replace the cap....

PS: I'm not a big fan of the pressurized degas bottle cooling systems because plastic deforms and the only thing sealing it is an O-ring....My Cruze had the same issue but far worse....

 

[BigShug681]

I think in the 3 years and 80k miles we've put on our 2.0 EB escape I've only had to top the coolant off once. If the vehicle is experiencing no drivability issues and the coolant loss is very minimal as your post suggests, I wouldn't worry about it. The 2.0 is pretty stout, the engines with issues were the early V6s and some of the ST vehicles have issues.

 

[mrdctaylor]

Originally Posted by BigShug681
I think in the 3 years and 80k miles we've put on our 2.0 EB escape I've only had to top the coolant off once. If the vehicle is experiencing no drivability issues and the coolant loss is very minimal as your post suggests, I wouldn't worry about it. The 2.0 is pretty stout, the engines with issues were the early V6s and some of the ST vehicles have issues.


What year is your Escape?

 

[BigShug681]

Originally Posted by mrdctaylor
Originally Posted by BigShug681
I think in the 3 years and 80k miles we've put on our 2.0 EB escape I've only had to top the coolant off once. If the vehicle is experiencing no drivability issues and the coolant loss is very minimal as your post suggests, I wouldn't worry about it. The 2.0 is pretty stout, the engines with issues were the early V6s and some of the ST vehicles have issues.


What year is your Escape?

2017

 

[Toys4Life_C5]

Whenever I check one of my cars (mine, wife, kids, dads etc) and the coolant is low I throw a pressure checker on it. Pump it up the the pressure stated on the cap and let it sit a couple of hours. If it is the same, I dont worry. If it drops, time to start digging. Pressure checkers are under $100 and a very useful tool to have! Just a thought. I have a Stant model, but there are others.