Smelling whiffs of coolant lately and found this. Anyone know what the usual failure right here might be? Coolant res a little lower as well….


Drivers side top corner of radiator area

 

Looks to be a lose hose clamp right under the word Rad. Give the area a good wipe down and drive a bit…. Then see where it is wettest.

 

I had a check engine light come on (and go off and come on). Coolant was leaking. LR replaced my thermostat under warranty. I'm not half the car guy that some of you are so unsure if it's related but for whatever it's worth....

 

I complained to glen cove regarding the same thing (smelling coolant occasionally ) because i drive with my kid in the car. The service manager told me ( although it felt like he was just trying to get me out the door so it take anything the dealer says with a grain of salt) the over flow tube is right next to the intake for hvac.


my 2020 p400 coolant was also low. The reservoir was replaced to remedy that issue .
to me it looks like salt ( when was the last time that area was cleaned). This issue is common if you search the forums. Mark the reservoir's coolant level with a sharpie and see if it continues to drop.

 

Thanks for the input.

Deffo not salt (hasn't been in any and that engine was clean a month or so ago...). I think this type of coolant must dry leaving this sort of residue. ? I did think maybe it's washer fluid somehow from the headlight squirters... but really I haven't used them and I have been smelling coolant. I have my appointment booked for late October at the main dealer!!! lol

 

@nashvegas - Definitely a coolant leak in that area. From the pics (thanks), it doesn't look like anything is loose. Here's what I would do (ymmv). Great calling the Dealer and scheduling the service even if it will take a while and is a PITA. That does appear to me to also be the residue of coolant after it has cooked off. It's also in a wide area. So it is either evaporating up onto your hood and then flowing back down when condensed or, more likely, under a bit of pressure. First off, look to see if there is residue in the same spot on the hood. Either way, start up the Defender and run it for a while. Put on some goggles or safety glasses! It's very likely that the coolant is either a mist or a spray. Have someone rev the engine a bit (I hate super reving engines) after it warms up. Then check it out again. Take a paper towel and try to wipe around there. Actually a tissue paper/toilet paper may work better to quickly detect moisture. Make sure you don't grind your fingers on any fan belts or ask your brother-in-law to do it for you (kidding!). I suspect something is cracked in that big honking thing (see how technical I am?) above the "RAD" hose. I could look up an engine diagram if you care. At this point, try to isolate it and then send pics. At that point I'll pull the TOPIx and part # and give you a wag as to whether I would do it or not.

Good luck!

 

I had a look at mine the other day. The reservoir is again lowered to the min line but no white stains like you show. Definitely a small leak somewhere as I've topped it up with a little splash twice since I bought in October 21. It was low when I picked it up so really only about 100ml of coolant lost in nearly a year. Still no good. Should be zero losses on a new car I reckon. I'll get the dealer to top it up again as I still can't find the OEM coolant anywhere at a normal price. Maybe get them to sell me a gallon to have on hand.

I know many of the universal coolants state they are fine for the Defender (especially for a top up) but I like to get OEM fluids where possible.

 

Update: Just had it at the dealer / fixed the problem. They confirmed a slight coolant leak with pressure test and replaced "turbo coolant intake pipe" and "turbo coolant outlet pipe". So I guess be on the look out for this as a potential future failure mode. As far as I know mine hadn't been touched anywhere in there, other than the PCV recall repair 4-5 months ago.

Service receipt


These two hoses / plastic hose assemblies were replaced: LR121762 & LR121417


No idea why it was leaking but seems to be fixed. Was nice parking yesterday and not getting eau du coolant walking by the hood. ALSO -- man, there is a lot of plastic on this cooling system. In 10 years we're going to be replacing it all given how the plastics are faring on L494/L405/L320/etc.... Oof. Not sure how I feel about that...

 

Thanks for "the rest of the story", @nashvegas !

 

Is that something they stock normally?