I had a service at the dealer to do oil change for my 2005 Toyota Camry, but I noticed coolant leaking after that. I tried to pop up the coolant reservoir(pink coolant), but it was almost gone after two days of short distance driving. I took several pictures showing the leaking and attached here. Could you please suggest what could be the problem? Thank you!
Coolant leaking
- Thread starter beeth2006
- Start date
Either your upper radiator hose is leaking near where it connects to the radiator, or the radiator has a crack. From the pictures, I would lean towards a cracked radiator.
If you start it up and let it heat up you should be able to see the leak pretty readily with it leaking so bad. You need to get this fixed right away before you over heat the engine and ruin it.
If you start it up and let it heat up you should be able to see the leak pretty readily with it leaking so bad. You need to get this fixed right away before you over heat the engine and ruin it.
Thanks for the comment! If it's a cracked radiator, does it need to be replaced in whole? Could keep refilling the coolant be a temp solution?
You change the whole thing. Radiators are not very expensive anymore and generally easy to change. Be glad you don't have a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I would make sure your motor mounts are in good shape. Bad mounts cause the engine to rock and put a strain on the radiator near the upper hose connection.
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It's time for a new radiator. At the rate that you're adding coolant I'd say you have a pretty sizeable leak and this isn't good for the environment or small critters that might live in your vicinity.
There are many variables but I'd estimate that it is around a $800 repair bill. If you are a do-it-yourselfer and handy with car repair then this could be done for around $150 with a mail-order radiator and fresh coolant or $250 if you buy the parts locally. **these are just estimates.
There are many variables but I'd estimate that it is around a $800 repair bill. If you are a do-it-yourselfer and handy with car repair then this could be done for around $150 with a mail-order radiator and fresh coolant or $250 if you buy the parts locally. **these are just estimates.
On this 2005 model, how many known coolant changes have been done? I hope u say 5 times.
The car car nut recommendation is every 5 years.
Is the water pump original and what is the current mileage?
Thanks
The car car nut recommendation is every 5 years.
Is the water pump original and what is the current mileage?
Thanks
Looks like a top radiator tank seal failure, it's possible that the crimp could be tightened to stop it-but radiators (as stated above) are dirt cheap these days. The Toyota SLLC coolant to refill it won't be much less than the cost to buy a new one! Under $60 +shipping at Rock Auto.
Replace the radiator and upper hose.
Do it now before it gets worse, and it will get worse.
If you run the engine low on coolant, you will damage the engine.
Parts aren’t expensive. I would drain and replace all of the coolant. Toyota sells coolant pre-mixed. Drain the block and radiator. Replace the radiator and hose, refill with pre-mix.
Done.
https://parts.longotoyota.com/v-2005-toyota-camry--se--3-3l-v6-gas/cooling-system--cooling-system
Do it now before it gets worse, and it will get worse.
If you run the engine low on coolant, you will damage the engine.
Parts aren’t expensive. I would drain and replace all of the coolant. Toyota sells coolant pre-mixed. Drain the block and radiator. Replace the radiator and hose, refill with pre-mix.
Done.
https://parts.longotoyota.com/v-2005-toyota-camry--se--3-3l-v6-gas/cooling-system--cooling-system
Thanks everyone for providing the suggestions, really appreciate it! And sorry I went out of town for a trip and just came back home, sorry for the late reply.
@ripcord:
I followed you instruction to start up my car on the driveway, after a minute or two, I could see it leaked so bad. It looked to me when Please see my new photos below:
I felt frustrated for just a simple oil change the dealer could cause this problem. This should not be an exiting condition, because it failed before the oil change, something around the radiator must have be hit hard during the oil change.
I checked another Toyota dealer(won't got back the dealer who did the oil change), I was told that if the radiator fails, $850 for replace; if the hose is broken, then $200; if both fails, $900 in total. I am not that handy to replace car parts like this.
@ripcord:
I followed you instruction to start up my car on the driveway, after a minute or two, I could see it leaked so bad. It looked to me when Please see my new photos below:
I felt frustrated for just a simple oil change the dealer could cause this problem. This should not be an exiting condition, because it failed before the oil change, something around the radiator must have be hit hard during the oil change.
I checked another Toyota dealer(won't got back the dealer who did the oil change), I was told that if the radiator fails, $850 for replace; if the hose is broken, then $200; if both fails, $900 in total. I am not that handy to replace car parts like this.
I would not blame your leaky radiator on the dealer. Any plastic radiator in a 20 year old car is living on borrowed time because the plastic gets brittle and weak. I have have had that happen multiple times in older vehicles. Plus, based on the pics, it looks like you've had a slow leak for a good while until recently it became a big one.
$800 for a new radiator does seem high, but the dealer is going to put in more expensive OEM parts. You can probably order a cheaper aftermarket radiator online and do it yourself for around $150.
$800 for a new radiator does seem high, but the dealer is going to put in more expensive OEM parts. You can probably order a cheaper aftermarket radiator online and do it yourself for around $150.
Understand, thanks @ripcord
So, from the new set of pictures I attached here, you do think it's the radiator, not the hose, is that right?
Glad it turned out well for you. You saved yourself from ruining the motor in your car
And stopped the “stealer” from emptying your wallet! Glad we could help.
Toyotas are famous for cracked radiators, which is what you have. I used a Spectra Premium aftermarket radiator on a 2000 Camry with the 4-cylinder engine and it outlasted the car. It was very easy to install.