Technical Didn't expect this from a 10 plate car.

[Ozstriker]

I've changed jobs and so now commute around 50 miles a day. My fiat 500 by diesel has done just over 30k miles and today on my way to work noticed there was no cold air blowing,then a bubbling sound from under the bonnet,all the coolant was gone from the radiator too.

I don't drive like an idiot or push the car too hard. Is this a common problem with the 500? Can anyone help me as to what the problem might be?

Just hope it's not going to cost money that I don't have. I didn't expect to have problems like this with a car that's done so little miles and in my opinion quite new.

 

[ahmett]

I've changed jobs and so now commute around 50 miles a day. My fiat 500 by diesel has done just over 30k miles and today on my way to work noticed there was no cold air blowing,then a bubbling sound from under the bonnet,all the coolant was gone from the radiator too.

I don't drive like an idiot or push the car too hard. Is this a common problem with the 500? Can anyone help me as to what the problem might be?

Just hope it's not going to cost money that I don't have. I didn't expect to have problems like this with a car that's done so little miles and in my opinion quite new.

Sounds like a radiator leak? Either case dont drive a car without coolant, so trusted local independant ASAP.

 

[zanes]

Not sure why a coolant leak would stop cold (air conditioned) air blowing. Was there any evidence of steam from anywhere? Did you check the coolant level with a torch? The coolant level can be very hard to read.

As it's a pressurised system it's possible it's something relatively small/cheap that's gone (radiator cap etc), the system has lost pressure and then the coolant has violently boiled at atmospheric pressure. I would expect clouds of steam with that though- when a friend's escort blew its expansion tank a following driver thought it had caught fire.

Other than that, as Ahmett says, do not drive it without coolant.

 

[Ozstriker]

Apologies,was meant to read there was no hot air,it would only blow cold. Not really any steam,could smell as if the car was burning oil. For the first time ever the car temp went one half way to 3/4 lit. Going to get the car on the ramps and have a look underneath later

 

[zanes]

Ah, that makes more sense. So you probably had no coolant circulation to the heater matrix in the dash. I wonder if the thermostat has stuck closed*, or the waterpump has failed. Then the system has got too hot, the pressure has risen and the radiator cap has opened to release pressure, hence the bubbling sound and a little bit of steam.

I'm 99% sure that if the coolant had truly all gone with the engine hot you would have seen bags of steam, and the temperature gauge might have dropped (as the sensor would then be in air). Like I mentioned, the coolant level is hard to read (it's read off the translucent plastic bottle bolted onto the driver's side of the radiator) without a torch.

I suspect the burning oil smell is just a very hot engine.

*In this scenario I'm not sure what the pressure release mechanism would be.

 

[arorat]

I've changed jobs and so now commute around 50 miles a day. My fiat 500 by diesel has done just over 30k miles and today on my way to work noticed there was no cold air blowing,then a bubbling sound from under the bonnet,all the coolant was gone from the radiator too.

I don't drive like an idiot or push the car too hard. Is this a common problem with the 500? Can anyone help me as to what the problem might be?

Just hope it's not going to cost money that I don't have. I didn't expect to have problems like this with a car that's done so little miles and in my opinion quite new.

Worth checking the expansion tank on the back left hand side, it was leaking at first MOT on my TA, May 2011 model. They replaced it under warranty.

 

[jrkitching]

Ah, that makes more sense. So you probably had no coolant circulation to the heater matrix in the dash.

:yeahthat:

Loss of heat from the heater is a sure sign of low coolant and if this happens you need to stop driving the car IMMEDIATELY or you risk seriously damaging the engine.

I know someone who risked driving home in exactly this scenario. Their journey was a little under three miles and the result was a wrecked engine and a trip to a scrapyard a few days later to receive £75 for a car that only a few days earlier would have been worth a shade under three grand. .

Hopefully if the temperature didn't rise above the three quarter mark the OP will have got away without anything this serious, but it's important to find the root cause of the problem or it will soon happen again. Modern cars should not need the coolant to be routinely topped up.

I'd also advise monitoring the oil level closely for a week or two; if it starts rising, stop using the car and seek professional advice, as this is a sign that the head gasket has failed due to overheating.

Most vehicle handbooks recommend checking the coolant level at least weekly (in the old days, it used to be daily), but I suspect very few drivers are this vigilant.

The 500 is not an easy car to check; I find that making a throwaway dipstick out of a thin strip of card helps enormously.

 

[KevinM]

You might want to check out my post yesterday: "Plastic coolant hose fitting broke off". My wife had a similar problem & I found a hose had broken away from the thermostat housing, and all the coolant was pumping on to the road.

 

[zanes]

I can't help noticing their are two ongoing threads about cooling system issues on 2010 plate cars. I'd check your thermostat housing...

Edit: Great minds...

 

[jrkitching]

I can't help noticing their are two ongoing threads about cooling system issues on 2010 plate cars. I'd check your thermostat housing...

Edit: Great minds...

Coincidence? Let's hope so.

But I'm off outside now to check mine (I have a '10 plate 500 too). Better safe than sorry.

 

[zanes]

I'm sure it's just a coincidence- with the numbers of 500s on the road now it's inevitable we'll have identical faults on here at the same time.

So long as it's not the start of anything.

 

[KevinM]

I guess two is not enough for a class action against Fiat!

 

[Ozstriker]

Much appreciated for the info,had a good look at the car last night and water was coming from the thermostat so taken it off and it appears that it's broke so ordered a new one to fit tonight. Hopefully that will be the problem resolved.

 

[zanes]

Interesting. The same part as KevinM had fail?

 

[Ralf S.]

Post a pic' of the failed part. It's either too feeble or there's something resting on it making it get fatigued (and then crack). Putting a new one on without finding out why the old one "went" is only part of the solution.

Hopefully your head gasket survived the brief skirmish with no coolant. They're pretty tough.


Ralf S.

 

[KevinM]

I posted a picture & description of my failure on my own thread: "Plastic coolant hose fitting broke off".

It would be interesting to know if it was the same.