How low (coolant level) can you go - found a leak!

[Zprime29]

So I checked my coolant level on a whim tonight and was seriously confused. It looks empty! Shouldn't I be getting errors? Guess I'm stopping by the auto shop to pick up some coolant tomorrow. I opened the cap to peek in and did see some coolant at the very bottom. Still, hopefully nothing gets damaged from it being that low.

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[TaxmanHog]

Wow, that's LOW!!!!

You haven't had any battery service work done?

 

[Zprime29]

Nope, only service has been tire rotation and recall for the tail light. Nothing on the garage floor either, so I don't think there is a leak.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Nope, only service has been tire rotation and recall for the tail light. Nothing on the garage floor either, so I don't think there is a leak.

Might be a leak inside the HVB battery case.

 

[Nolander]

Whoa...(going to check truck now....)

 

[Zprime29]

Might be a leak inside the HVB battery case.

That's a scary thought. I'm trying to schedule to take it in for the recent recalls (tailight part 3, parking, sunroof, I forget the other) and 60k rotation/inspection so I'll definitely mention it to the SA. I skipped taking it in for the 50k and just had Discount rotate. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite me. I don't check it very often so I have no idea when it got so low. I'll be a little more vigilant from now on though.

 

[LightningPAN]

Where did you find this reservoir? It took my dealership a week to find out there was one there and how to get to it. It was low and their response was it came from the factory that way.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Where did you find this reservoir? It took my dealership a week to find out there was one there and how to get to it. It was low and their response was it came from the factory that way.

Driver side of Frunk, remove the trim.

 

[Zprime29]

Where did you find this reservoir? It took my dealership a week to find out there was one there and how to get to it. It was low and their response was it came from the factory that way.

That's pretty sad that the dealer didn't know. Open the frunk and look in the slot where the strut is on the driver side. That yellow tab is the manual release for the DCFC port. You can see it without having to remove the trim, I have mine off because I wanted to look inside and see if there was anything at all in there.

 

[Lytning]

That's pretty sad that the dealer didn't know. Open the frunk and look in the slot where the strut is on the driver side. That yellow tab is the manual release for the DCFC port. You can see it without having to remove the trim, I have mine off because I wanted to look inside and see if there was anything at all in there.

Take it back to the dealer for an oil change, and see if they charge you for it.
@Ford Motor Company must be hiring "technicians" fired by the quick oil change businesses.

 

[chl]

They seem to come from the factory set at the minimum level, mine was. I filled it to the MAX line.

Getting that low is unusual I think, there have been leaks reported so check under your truck on the ground / driveway for spots and take to get checked out by a competent tech / service person who knows the Lightning.

One post here said their truck was losing one 1/4" every 6 months. But I never had any coolant loss:

-----

"So it seems like my truck loses about 1/4" of coolant from the reservoir every 6 months. This works out to roughly a cup of coolant every 6 months. Never any coolant leak sign on the floor or smell. A small amount but not nothing. I've seen many posts from people saying the truck does seem to lose some coolant over time despite being a mostly sealed system. Given the size and complexity of the cooling system and how many connections there are its not crazy for some vapor seepage making it past the seals and clamps despite no liquid ever exiting. This works out to roughly 4% coolant lost per year. A rate of seepage that might not easily show up on a leak down test. The owners manual has some weird language of " If you have to add more than 1.1 qt (1 L) of coolant per month, have your vehicle checked as soon as possible. " 1.1 quarts per month is quite a ridiculous level of coolant loss.

Curious how much coolant the rest of you are losing over time?

Given the above is it worth having the dealer mess with the truck (I have basically zero trust of dealers)? Truck is still under warranty."

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...evel-and-dropping-vc-13dl-g.17695/post-687240

 

[rtk11226]

I had the same problem and had noticed coolant on my garage floor. I took it in to the dealership and they found rodent damage to coolant hoses and a wiring harness to the tune of $1500. BTW the correct Ford part no. for the coolant is CVC-13DL-G

 

[Zprime29]

I had the same problem and had noticed coolant on my garage floor. I took it in to the dealership and they found rodent damage to coolant hoses and a wiring harness to the tune of $1500. BTW the correct Ford part no. for the coolant is CVC-13DL-G

Haven't had an issue with rodents in the 9 years I've been at my current home. But I suppose there's a first time for anything. I told my service advisor about it and am taking it in on the 27th for recalls. I'll remind them to take a good look for leaks when I drop it off.

 

[Zprime29]

They seem to come from the factory set at the minimum level, mine was. I filled it to the MAX line.

Getting that low is unusual I think, there have been leaks reported so check under your truck on the ground / driveway for spots and take to get checked out by a competent tech / service person who knows the Lightning.

One post here said their truck was losing one 1/4" every 6 months. But I never had any coolant loss:

-----

"So it seems like my truck loses about 1/4" of coolant from the reservoir every 6 months. This works out to roughly a cup of coolant every 6 months. Never any coolant leak sign on the floor or smell. A small amount but not nothing. I've seen many posts from people saying the truck does seem to lose some coolant over time despite being a mostly sealed system. Given the size and complexity of the cooling system and how many connections there are its not crazy for some vapor seepage making it past the seals and clamps despite no liquid ever exiting. This works out to roughly 4% coolant lost per year. A rate of seepage that might not easily show up on a leak down test. The owners manual has some weird language of " If you have to add more than 1.1 qt (1 L) of coolant per month, have your vehicle checked as soon as possible. " 1.1 quarts per month is quite a ridiculous level of coolant loss.

Curious how much coolant the rest of you are losing over time?

Given the above is it worth having the dealer mess with the truck (I have basically zero trust of dealers)? Truck is still under warranty."

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...evel-and-dropping-vc-13dl-g.17695/post-687240

I recall that post, it did cross my mind while I was trying to figure out how it could have gotten so low. I'll be taking careful note of the level after I top it up. Nothing on my garage floor. I'll try to glance under the truck when I depart work. I don't see why it would leak there and not my garage though. Perhaps it's only leaking while in use?

 

[K6CCC]

Only a year old and 3500 miles though.

Geez, you need to drive that truck more! I was at about 17,500 miles after a year...
And that number has not changed much when I retired and stopped driving 52 miles round trip to work every day. More fun driving.

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