did the refill and started the SS, it did take a while to get up to operating temp, close to 15 min, but then that was at idle, not moving the vehicle at all. Topped off the neck after reaching operating temp, also had the heater on, noticed no ordor inside the interior. Shut down the engine and just listened and looked for any signs of leaks, hissing, etc., there were none. Went back into the garage after a few hours and checked once again, and checked the filler neck, everything seems fine at the moment, will have to get back on the road and see what happens in a few days........

 

What dealers dont top off your fluids when you come in for service? You shouldn't have to be filling it up yourself if you take it in for service. (I know you may not take it in for service every 2 months, but once you get your first oil change your service advisors dont tell you what coolant and fluids where low??)

 

Your HHR tells you when the useful life of your oil is nearing the end. Depending on driving conditions and habits, oil life is often around 10k miles, which can be a long time without going to the service dept. That reminds me... I haven't popped by hood for a while to check the fluids either...

 

I have only had the SS in once for service, and I do my own oil changes, so the neglect is on me

 

SSROADSTER,

Unless you're David Copperfield, you have a leak. And I wouldn't be driving it hard until you get it fixed.


Continual driving while low on dexcool will cause a sludge build up that's not healthy for your engine.

No more on these vehicles than any other model. I have never seen a coolant leak on any SS yet. The number of 2.2L and 2.4L cooling system repairs are not more than V6s and V8s.

 

Thanks for the feedback ChevyMgr. My dealer said they have not seen any sort of issue with this either. I took mine in for a pressure test to find the leak today, but they found nothing significant. Seemed to hold pressure fine. They put the dye in the coolant and I am taking it back in a week or so to see if anything shows up...

Strangely, I had a dead battery this morning also when I went to start it! It has been cold, but it was almost 10 degrees this morning and it was in the garage... Hadn't driven it in a few days, and no lights or accessories were left on. That is a first for me with that on this car. Hope it isn't a trend we are starting here!

 

Brad, I appreciate your imput about the leak, but here is my new theory

drove to work this AM and back tonight, around 100 miles as usual. No ordor and opened the hood tonight, and the recovery tank is filled exactly where I filled it. All hoses are dry, but right around the coolant cap, I can detect just the slightlest ordor of antifreeze at the cap. My theory is that the cap or the neck may not be "true" and therefore not making an airtight seal to each other. It may be possible that some of the antifreeze may be evaporating ever so slightly at that "point".
The temp will fluctuate from 199 degrees to 205 and back while driving on the highway. This AM it was 18 degrees outside. The heater works fine, blows plenty hot, in fact I do turn the fan off at times as it does get very warm in there. No pronounced ordor in the cabin, as I had picked up before.
I will check the cap in the AM to see if the fluid is still at the top of the neck.
The only other area I could think of would be at the water pump, but the engine compartment is dry. And again the recovery tank is still filled.
We shall see, as the saga continues..............

PS maybe I am David Copperfield in disguise.................

 

went up to the garage and undid the cap, the fluid is at the neck, where it should be, I did notice however that this cap has a lot of resistance when first being undone, or after starting to tighten. Never had a radiator or hose cap feel like this one does, although, it is tight anf secure. will have to monitor on a day-to-day basis.
I also do think once again, that this is in part due to my neglect, as I have never undid the cap or really checked the recovery tank until this past weekend since buying the SS, so it may be possible that the recovery tank was never properly filled from day one, who knows?????

 

have been using the SS for the last few days and here is what I noticed. I filled the recovery tank, but at that time could not determine where the cold and hot line were on the tank, so I filled the tank almost to the top of the wide part, before it goes into the neck. Went to work Christmas Eve, and then checked before I went to use it on Christmas Day and saw that is was down lower than where I filled it and this was when the engine was cold. Ok, so I really need a reference point to go by, and rather than depend on my eyes and memory, I took a piece of blue painters tape and made "my own cold line" where the coolant settled at that time. Drove the SS again came home and looked at the tank, and the fluid is now where I originally filled it, and the engine is hot. So far, so good, checked on Christmas morning and the coolant is now down to the blue tape reference point on the tank. Took out again for the Christmas dinner trip and when I got back, the coolant was at the top and this morning it was at the blue tape line again. I put the "radiator" cap on so tight (I mean snug) the other day, that I can't undo it now, even if I wanted to. So todays theory is that the coolant system is working properly, as it is moving the fluid from the tank into the radiator system when it is suppose to and then back to the recovery tank like it should. The coolant smell around the cap is now non-existent. And there are still no signs of leaks that I can see. So maybe I am lucky, but at this point, I don't think I have a coolant by-pass hose leak. I hope I still stay lucky and that everything is in proper working order. Learned my lesson to make sure I check the recovery tank often to keep on top of everything....

 

Straying away from the coolant issue,I did have a dead battery myself about a month an a half ago,it took alot to charge it back up.Two weeks ago I thought it was dead again but just before I was shaking my rubber floor mats out and had the mat position on my foot rest and the clutch safty switch wasn't disengaging.So always check that if you have a manual.