2014 Touareg Coolant Issue

22317 Views 16 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Cracked366, Apr 29, 2019

agf80

Discussion Starter · Dec 22, 2016

Hello everyone,

So recently bought a 2014 Touareg, less than 6 months ago, and last week I noticed a leak under the car. Temps were about 5-7 degrees. I was told an issue with the coolant hose or clip or something. That was fixed and the day I picked it up from the shop, on the drive home, the coolant low light came on. Sure enough, it was below the bottom line. The service guy came to my house and added coolant. Drove it 6 hours after that and just a trip around town, a few miles a day, since Sunday. I looked at it again tonight and the level has definitely dropped again. When looking at the levels, the service guy filled it to the top line. Tonight it is at the bottom line. All within 4 days. I do not see a leak anywhere, and no evidence in my garage of a leak, but the level is not as high so I know it's going somewhere. If the car has not ran in a while and is cooled, would the coolant level be lower than if the car was running and warm? Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? I LOVE this car, it handles and drives incredibly, but to have less than 6 months and having issues in the first freeze of the year is not leaving a good taste with me.

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Spiegelglatt

· #2 · Dec 22, 2016

Writing about what part of the world you live in and what motor you have will help others here.

A couple things are to check coolant while cool and never when hot as you could burn yourself from the pressure and steam. Also always check when "stone cold" (not having run for six hours or so). This way you get consistent readings because heat expands cold contracts.

There was a certain year (can't remember what one anymore) where the 3.6 VR6 had an issue with the factory water pump seal not being complete resulting in coolant loss...an example of how it would help to know what engine you have...

noobytoogy

· #3 · Dec 22, 2016

The factory water pump sealant issue was on late T2s in 2010 and I think it was the Tdis that dumped pink coolant all over people's drives and garages floors as their car cooled down.

This sounds like a DPF that has failed and coolant is going down the exhaust pipe so you won't see any leaks.

It's not an uncommon problem and, if you have no warranty, it's not cheap.

As above, where are you and what car helps!

agf80

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 22, 2016

Thanks for your replies. I have a 2014 3.6L Sport V6 DOHC

agf80

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 22, 2016

Sorry; and live in the Atlanta area and in Louisville, KY. Was actually in Louisville when all of this started.

Scubacruiser

· #6 · Dec 22, 2016

Air trapped in the system from the hose clamp repair could possibly cause the issue. It can sometimes take quite a while to burp out all the air.

As mentioned, always check the coolant level on a cold engine. Pull your oil cap and look for white sludge. That may indicate a head gasket seal problem.

agf80

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 22, 2016

Thank you. Originally they thought it was air, and it is a LOT less of a decrease than it was originally. I've driven it over 400 miles since I got it back from the shop on Saturday. Was hoping it had enough drive time to get it all out.

Thank you for the information! I am going to be on the road a lot for the holidays so it sounds like I need to just take it back to the shop?

Scubacruiser

· #8 · Dec 22, 2016

If you want peace of mind then take it in. Nobody wants a breakdown during the holidays.

Reactions: 1

scarow61

· #9 · Dec 22, 2016

A cautionary tale for sure. I have 2013 V6 EFI, live in Western Washington. Bought our Treg in September with 40K miles. Not a lick of trouble until last week when I got the 'check coolant level' warning. Sure enough, the level was down. Only needed about 2-3 cups of distilled water to bring it to proper level. I had not noticed any leaks, engine temp was never above 200 degrees. I did notice the color of the coolant was NOT pink as I learned from reading other posts here. Two days later the check coolant level warning again. Took it to my local mechanic and they diagnosed leaking water pump. It was only leaking when under pressure; maybe that's why I had not seen fluid? My extended warranty company would not cover the repair as they said its a factory warranty. Took to the dealer and had the water pump replaced, free of charge. Power train warranty is 60 mos, 60k miles. Hooray for me.

Seems odd the pump would fail at 43k miles. Did someone put in the wrong coolant and if so, did that ruin the seals? VW dealer made no comment about cause of failure or the orange color of the coolant. All is well now, thank goodness.

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Spiegelglatt

· #10 · Dec 22, 2016

Coolant will appear a different color in the reservoir on the Treg- if you were to extract some out it would (or would normally) be the correct color. The reservoir interior is a color that changes the appearance of the fluid when you shine light into the chamber.

Yes, it is strange that it would go at that low of miles, but not impossible-just be glad it is fixed now. The water pump on the 3.6 Touareg is pretty easy to access just under the serpentine belt at the front of the motor, so wouldn't be as expensive as say a front wheel drive whatever (traversely mounted engine) with the water pump under say the timing belt (as is the case on some other vehicles).

SilverBullets

· #11 · Feb 21, 2018

Hey guys - I'm new to the forum (joined today actually because of this) but have spent way too many hours over on NASIOC and Audizine when I owned a WRX and an A4 respectively. I did a quick search and found this thread. What was the end result for you guys?

Here's my quick story. I bought my '14 3.6 Touareg Sport back in 2015 as a VW CPO vehicle with 13k miles on it. Besides of a couple of small dings and scraps on the bumper (car came from Manhattan), the thing was perfect. In September of 2016 with about 28k miles on it, I got the 'Check Coolant Level' warning. I had a scheduled service the next day anyway so I took it then (great timing by the way... thank you VW gods). They diagnosed it as a leaking water pump and replaced it under warranty. Flash forward to July of 2017. After driving the Touareg across the country from Ohio to Phoenix when we moved and driving around blazing hot desert for a Summer, we escape the heat and head to the mountains for a quick day trip. On the drive up, once again, 'Check Coolant Level' light comes on. Given we were a couple hours from Phoenix, I drove to a dealership there and had them top off the coolant level for my drive back. Once back in Phoenix, I get the car serviced for it's 40k mile service (it was at 37k miles) and they find a leak and replace the water pump... again.

Now today. Fire the car up this morning and once again 'Check Coolant Level' light comes on. It quickly turns off (which is consistent with what happened in the past) and I drive to work. I let the car sit for 3 or so hours and I just went out and checked the level. It's a solid 2 inches below the minimum level line. The car currently has 44k miles on it. I'm assuming it's leaking again but won't know until I bring it in.

Has anyone else heard of a car going through 3 water pumps in 44k miles??? Could it be a leak of a line somewhere? I love this car but going through a water pump before the required service interval is... uh... annoying to say the least (and concerning).

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Spiegelglatt

· #12 · Feb 23, 2018

SilverBullets said:
Hey guys - I'm new to the forum (joined today actually because of this) but have spent way too many hours over on NASIOC and Audizine when I owned a WRX and an A4 respectively. I did a quick search and found this thread. What was the end result for you guys?

Here's my quick story. I bought my '14 3.6 Touareg Sport back in 2015 as a VW CPO vehicle with 13k miles on it. Besides of a couple of small dings and scraps on the bumper (car came from Manhattan), the thing was perfect. In September of 2016 with about 28k miles on it, I got the 'Check Coolant Level' warning. I had a scheduled service the next day anyway so I took it then (great timing by the way... thank you VW gods). They diagnosed it as a leaking water pump and replaced it under warranty. Flash forward to July of 2017. After driving the Touareg across the country from Ohio to Phoenix when we moved and driving around blazing hot desert for a Summer, we escape the heat and head to the mountains for a quick day trip. On the drive up, once again, 'Check Coolant Level' light comes on. Given we were a couple hours from Phoenix, I drove to a dealership there and had them top off the coolant level for my drive back. Once back in Phoenix, I get the car serviced for it's 40k mile service (it was at 37k miles) and they find a leak and replace the water pump... again.

Now today. Fire the car up this morning and once again 'Check Coolant Level' light comes on. It quickly turns off (which is consistent with what happened in the past) and I drive to work. I let the car sit for 3 or so hours and I just went out and checked the level. It's a solid 2 inches below the minimum level line. The car currently has 44k miles on it. I'm assuming it's leaking again but won't know until I bring it in.

Has anyone else heard of a car going through 3 water pumps in 44k miles??? Could it be a leak of a line somewhere? I love this car but going through a water pump before the required service interval is... uh... annoying to say the least (and concerning).

Somehow I doubt another water pump will help in the long run. I would start with topping off the coolant and watching the level every week. Be sure to use the correct coolant. I would also take it to the dealer with this history as something is not right. It could be something simple like a leaking coolant cap or something more sinister like a casting defect in the block where the water jacket has a hairline crack and coolant is escaping and getting burned. Tests can be performed and hopefully they can trace the real problem, but do this soon as you want them to pay for it.

The 3.6 is a good engine, and IMHO the most reliable Touareg motor, but defects and anomalies are both possible and have been reported on here (might run a search as I recall a thread where the ultimate issue was a block casting defect...which is where I got the worst case scenario).

Ck986

· #13 · Feb 25, 2018

I’m considering a 14treg with a changed water pump at 18k miles. My 12lux had the thermostat go at about 70k miles. Replaced under warranty. I also had low coolant but never had a problem again after the dealer visit and thermostat replacement. It didn’t make sense, but didn’t worry about it since tech appeared to fix it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

waslove

· #14 · Mar 4, 2018

I had got my first check coolant level indicator in my '14 V6 Treg at 58k kms. I simply topped my tank up with some distilled water and it was alright till I hit around 65k km, when one day I got off work and saw a pool of water under my car. Luckily there was a reliable mechanic close by who diagnosed a water pump failure and replaced the water pump within an hour. He told me that water pump failures are so common in Tregs that he changes one almost every day.

There are two things that bothered me about his process though..
1) He had use long shafts and hammers to pry out the water pump which really shook the engine up.
2) He insisted on using just a single bottle of coolant (1.5l) and regular tap water to top up.

I live in the middle east and my car is now at 66k, and while the temp is maintaining fine, I am really worried about the long term health to the extent that I am considering flushing and refilling with distilled water and 2 bottles of coolant. Does anybody have any tips in this regard?

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noobytoogy

· #15 · Mar 4, 2018

Your so-called mechanic used incorrect fluids.

Go to your VW dealer ASAP, buy the correct amount of the correct coolant and a bit to spare, drain your system and refill it properly.

nickyt

· #16 · Mar 4, 2018

waslove. Unless you are living in an area with the softest 10% of water in the world... flush it out with the distilled water and refill correctly. The minerals commonly found in drinking water do not play nice with the long term health of your antifreeze, which leads to eventual engine problems.

____

Silverbullets. Something is up. That is too many water pumps and I now worry that you have a leak somewhere else in the engine. You need a coolant system pressure test done.

Have you had any problems with the oil level? What does the bottom of the oil filler cap look like? If you do your own oil changes, what does the used oil look like?

Also, I would get a oil analysis done at the next oil change. You need to be looking for any unusual wear metals and especially the amount of water / antifreeze contamination in the oil.

Even if the dealer does the oil change, you can get them to collect a sample of oil. Google Blackstone Labs Oil Analysis.

Cracked366

· #17 · Apr 29, 2019

This sounds like a DPF that has failed and coolant is going down the exhaust pipe so you won't see any leaks. It's not an uncommon problem and, if you have no warranty, it's not cheap. -noobytology

Hey Noob, I have a 2014 3.0 TDI Treg. Overheated on a long climb in eastern sierras Dec2018...ever since I've been chasing my tail with slow coolant loss and no sign of it anywhere. Is this an internal head gasket leak or due the DPF like you stated above?

It overheats on a long drive (3+hrs) and I go into a vacuume lock but it cools down fast and drives normal after refilling. Holds pressure in reservoir. Appears to boil when in overheat. Leaks fluid under reservoir when I'm opening cap to depressurize.

First time this happened at 99,000miles. I reported to dealer and they act stumped.

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