Q: Car is leaking massive amounts of antifreeze, and then proceeds to overheat.
Okay so my car is leaking massive amounts of antifreeze/water, and then after driving for about 20 mins or so once the car really warms up it starts to produce a white steam in the engine, and has like a sweet smell to it. Then the car begins to overheat. I have to constantly refill the antifreeze/water daily and sometime several times throughout the day just to make it to my destination. As I am refilling it, I can see the antifreeze leaking from underneath the car onto the ground, and it usually takes around a gallon and a half of antifreeze/water to refill each time. Anytime I drive, or park somewhere there is a massive trail of antifreeze following behind the car. If the car starts to overheat during a drive i have to immediately pull over, and allow the car to cool down and then proceed to refill the antifreeze once again to make it to my destination. Any idea what this could be?
My car has 167000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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Hi, thanks for writing in. It would be highly recommended that you not drive the vehicle until the leak is located and fixed. One and a half gallons is basically the amount to fill the entire cooling system, so the leak is definitely major.
To constantly drive the vehicle with this continuing overheating of the engine, serious damage will occur. It would be best to immediately have a certified mechanic take a look at the vehicle and identify where the leak is coming from, and make the repairs. The leak could be coming from a ruptured hose, a failed radiator, or any number of other possible areas.
If you need help identifying and repairing the issue, YourMechanic offers several options. They have trained mechanics that can come to your home, or place of business, and perform the diagnosis of the coolant leak and repair it as necessary.
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