Seemingly small coolant leak - could it be a bigger problem?

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I have a 2020 Tundra Platinum with 3000 miles. Today I was driving and all of a sudden I could smell coolant - I have been in cars with a heater core leak. The two other occupants also both made a comment about the smell. The A/C was on at the time. Everything else on the car is normal. I have an OBD-2 scanner and all temps were normal and the evaporator fin temp was 32-35F the entire time and the A/C was working well.

When I got home I looked under the hood and found a small coolant leak where a hose meets the water pump (see pics). The coolant level is 1/2" ABOVE the full line. While I know this is not normal I have a hard time believing that was the source of the smell - It was NOT subtle - it was very obvious and all three of us noticed it at the same time. We were in the car for 2 hours and the smell persisted. I cleaned the dried coolant and drove to the store - round trip about 5 miles and there was a fresh droplet of coolant.

I have an appt for next Saturday and while it's obvious there's something wrong with the seal of that hose are there any other issues that could cause that leak and would account for the very strong smell of coolant in the cabin? Some issue with the heater core or this is just an incidental finding and there's an evaporator leak? I'm just trying to prepare for the inevitable easy blowoff from the dealership of changing the hose and not addressing the real issue.

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It only takes a drop of coolant to stink the place out, yes the amount you are finding can cause it. Looks like a very minor issue, let the dealer repair it under warranty and forget it.
 
Let the dealer, well, deal with it.

I'm worried there might be some casting flash or roughness on the nipple that's causing a not-great seal. They could hit it real quick with some sandpaper when it's apart, for example. IMO it should be taken apart for inspection, not just have another clamp jammed on.

I'm trying to find a reason why this would be going on with a brand new car. The tension of those spring clamps is usually spot on, and the rubber won't have degraded from age already.
 
Originally Posted by eljefino
Let the dealer, well, deal with it.

I'm worried there might be some casting flash or roughness on the nipple that's causing a not-great seal. They could hit it real quick with some sandpaper when it's apart, for example. IMO it should be taken apart for inspection, not just have another clamp jammed on.

I'm trying to find a reason why this would be going on with a brand new car. The tension of those spring clamps is usually spot on, and the rubber won't have degraded from age already.


This.
 
Thank your lucky stars your truck is Toyota & not Ford-I've been fighting small leaks like this on the company Transit 250 in my sig since the lease began 60K ago. Dealer couldn't be bothered to fix it, so I just dumped a whole pack of ginger root Bars Leak tablets into it, leaks stopped (for now)!
 
Originally Posted by E150GT
That is some pink coolant

Someone filled it with Pepto Bismol by mistake!
 
Originally Posted by Trav
It only takes a drop of coolant to stink the place out, yes the amount you are finding can cause it. Looks like a very minor issue, let the dealer repair it under warranty and forget it.
+1
 
Brought it to the dealership today. They had it for about 5 mins and said they need to order parts - a "housing", some clamps and the hose. They'll call next week when it arrives. Said I need to leave the truck - "...while it may look quick it will take some time."
 
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