[peterlovesbeer]

Hi,

Got a warning today on my '16 Macan S (the car had a 20K service 2 weeks ago), about the coolant level being low; so I change course to the dealership for a top off.
2 miles later, the car said to not drive it any further so I did not; inspected the coolant level and yep, its pretty much all gone.
Got AAA to bring me a bottle of distilled water; topped it off and drove to the dealership. Quick initial inspection shows some coolant on the protective top carapace and further inspection shows splatter around the water pump. Looks like there's some leak over there and the coolant seeps off slowly. She's staying over night and they'll have to take off the whole front to be able to replace the water pump.

Anybody experienced anything like it ? After the transfer case replacement, now this at under 16K miles...
I'm starting to wonder about the longevity of this one..

Cheers

p

 

[Rapido1]

Under 16,000 miles?? Wow, not right. My ‘15 has the same mileage, a week ago I got the same message “do not drive”. Indeed the coolant level in the reservoir was low, topped it off and that was it. All normal. Hopefully your issue is nothing serious.

 

[peterlovesbeer]

Under 16,000 miles?? Wow, not right. My ‘15 has the same mileage, a week ago I got the same message “do not drive”. Indeed the coolant level in the reservoir was low, topped it off and that was it. All normal. Hopefully your issue is nothing serious.

It ended up being the water pump as feared/expected..Took 2 days to get it fixed; all the front had to come off :-(

 

[yrralis1]

I had the coolant light warning on my Boxster . It was not a complete drain like yours but it was fixed quickly. A small problem occurred shortly afterwards . I was sitting in traffic and suddenly I saw smoke . In a mid engine car it looked like it was right next to me too. I took it right in . Apparently there was some slight over fill . It was resolved with no further issue .

 

[jzwu]

This is the first Macan coolant/water pump issue I heard on this forum.

Anyone heard more such incidents?

 

[Big Smoke]

Ask to see the broken part. Take a picture of it, and post it.
Coolant is a closed system, If it's low? Its leaking on the ground, or into your oil, or into you piston and burning.
Thus white smoke from your exhaust or sweet burning smell.
If it is a water pump, are there belts and rollers to do while they are in there?
A new serpentine belt? while it is off. It would be two years old now? Hardly worth putting it back on?

 

[figlet108]

So as it happens I've had the low coolant warning coming on every day for the past couple of weeks. It was well below the min. Today I took it in and they topped it up. But they did say it wasn't right and needed to be investigated at my next service in a few K miles...

I have no doubt there's a leak somewhere.

And I should say it's a 16 Turbo - maybe that was a bad vintage...

 

[jzwu]

I think Macan uses an electric water pump so it is not belt driven.

 

[SoCalS5]

I think Macan uses an electric water pump so it is not belt driven.

That got me curious so I looked in the parts catalog. For the 6 cylinder, the water pump is driven off the serpentine belt. For the 4 cylinder, it looks like the water pump is driven by a separate toothed belt.

 

[FBarrientos]

My '16 Turbo reported low coolant level last November, since it was also due for the yearly service I brought it in, the dealer added coolant and checked but did not find a leak. Now a little over two months from the service at 14K miles I am getting a warming message saying that the coolant level is low at the reserve level. I opened the hood and saw that the coolant level was indeed very low. I have made an appointment to bring the car in but wanted to share this issue on the forum. I don't think this is normal by any means but have not seen many occurrences of coolant issues reported here. Anyone else having this issue?

 

[OzFoz]

We've had loss of coolant on our 2016 Macan S, with 30,000kms. It happened with no warning. Vehicle was parked for a few hours and upon return - no coolant and vehicle could not be driven. Went to dealer on a flatbed. I'm told a coolant pipe had broken and was replaced. The motor for front radiator shutter (blinds?) was also broken and replaced under warranty. Would have been bad for us had we been out of town or remote. Very disappointing for a new vehicle!

 

[[email protected]>@W]

We've had loss of coolant on our 2016 Macan S, with 30,000kms. It happened with no warning. Vehicle was parked for a few hours and upon return - no coolant and vehicle could not be driven. Went to dealer on a flatbed. I'm told a coolant pipe had broken and was replaced. The motor for front radiator shutter (blinds?) was also broken and replaced under warranty. Would have been bad for us had we been out of town or remote. Very disappointing for a new vehicle!

The low coolant was likely as a result of the broken pipe, which may have been caused by an overheating situation created by the radiator blinds failing to open.

 

[[email protected]>@W]

Ask to see the broken part. Take a picture of it, and post it.
Coolant is a closed system, If it's low? Its leaking on the ground, or into your oil, or into you piston and burning.
Thus white smoke from your exhaust or sweet burning smell.
If it is a water pump, are there belts and rollers to do while they are in there?
A new serpentine belt? while it is off. It would be two years old now? Hardly worth putting it back on?

Coolant leaking to the outside of the system may not necessarily make it all the way to the ground. It is entirely possible that it evaporates or is boiled off hot engine surfaces before managing to drip onto the ground. This is perhaps why service techs now add a fluorescing dye to coolant when attempting to diagnose coolant leaks. Under a 'black light' coolant leaking onto an engine will show up.

Coolant reaching the combustion chamber will fail to burn, since it's mostly water, however it will be converted to steam, increasing the amount of white exhaust coming out of the tailpipe. CLOUDS of exhaust!!!

Coolant contamination of oil results in a higher than normal oil level over time, and oil that looks somewhat like a (dark & frothy) chocolate milkshake. Of course, without a dipstick, that would be difficult, if not impossible, to detect on a Macan.

 

[Rapido1]

'15 Macan Turbo with 15,000 miles, I had the same warning appear, checked coolant level, reservoir was way low. Topped off, and no issues or low level since. Very strange. Others on this Forum have reported same occurrence.

 

[Big Smoke]

On my coolant front. My closed looped "low coolant" light was flashing on my BMW.
It was in for service while under warranty. "no leak, topped it up". Was the dealers fix.
Now out of warranty, 3 weeks later. Low coolant light, again.
Quick google search and sleuthing. Coolant tank. Unhappy with my dealerships diagnosis ability @$195/hr.
Went got the part @$129 for the tank and 19 for a new cap, and another jug of black forest coolant.
One youtube course, and changed out everything in 30 minutes. Dealer shall not be rewarded for their incompetence.
O/P - you were covered under warranty. Great.
Others? who are not? seek knowledge. Like from here.

 

[justsam]

Water pumps, as low tech as they are, seem to be a nemesis for Porsche. I doubt there is a 996 out in the world that has not had the water pump replaced at least once!

 

[Aussieturbo]

This is the first Macan coolant/water pump issue I heard on this forum.

Anyone heard more such incidents?

Just happened to me also on my Macan Turbo , after 35000 km and 4 years, just not reliable enough from Porsche, I am looking to Porsche to cover cost as the product should be reliable

 

[///Bruce]

There has been mentions over the last 1-2 years about smelling antifreeze. And now we're seeing a few of these threads. There's another one that was just above this one where the owner also had a low coolant warning.

Is there a problem with a slow leak of coolant in these vehicles?

 

[Aussieturbo]

Just happened to me also on my Macan Turbo , after 35000 km and 4 years, just not reliable enough from Porsche, I am looking to Porsche to cover cost as the product should be reliable

Hi guys , just fixed today , see PDF file of damage to water pump and thermometer

Just happened to me also on my Macan Turbo , after 35000 km and 4 years, just not reliable enough from Porsche, I am looking to Porsche to cover cost as the product should be reliable

Just fixed,damage to water pump housing and thermostat due to faulty therostat as stated by Porsche

 

[Teddis]

I noticed my coolant was below MIN......when car was cold, 10C
I added 450ml, which to took it to MAX.

after warm up.....the level is now ABOVE MAX, slightly....is this a problem ?