Car is a 2007 Cayman S. 41,000 miles. I took my car out this evening after not driving it for probably a month do to weather. For about 10 seconds the car flashed a red "Check coolant level" and the red light at the end of the temp gauge flashed. This was half way through a 25 minute drive. The temp gauge stayed at 175. Then the warning went away. Right now the car is cooling and I will check the level in the morning.

Anybody have any comments on what potential problems could be happening? Possible water pump going bad? Simple coolant sensor? If its actually low coolant is it common for coolant to need toping off over the years?

Also the car recently threw P0300, P0301, P0302 codes which I am sure is unrelated to the coolant light. It happened after an extremely humid and dripping moisture day where the inside of garage was dripping with water. I just ordered/received new Coil packs and plugs which I will be installing this weekend.

I'm not sure why your warning would go away, so I'll let someone else troubleshoot that.

Yes, it is common to add a bit of coolant or distilled water to top it off. It's good practice to check it every 3-4 mo. It doesn't necessarily mean your water pump is going bad if you have to occasionally fill, but constant need to refill would be a sign of impending problems. Water pumps generally start to drip when they're in early fail stage and when that happens, get it fixed because it will totally fail soon.

The codes are for misfires and wouldn't be related to the coolant light. Because of the age of your CS, changing the plugs and coils will be a good preventative maintenance. If you don't have records on the water pump, it might be time for that to be changed too.

 

Mine did the same thing last summer. I was about 2 quarts low. Just low enough to cause the warning light to flash but not low enough to keep the light on after the coolant was hot and expanded.

 

Ditto here. I forgot how much coolant I added, but the warning message went away.

 

I had the same issue about a month ago. Turned out it was a cracked fitting that was leaking. I have an '09 CS and was told it is a closed - water free system and that you should never to rarely have to add coolant. Mechanic fixed fitting, drained and refilled and the system is back to 100 percent. PS They had to remove engine cover to find the cracked fitting on the top of the motor as the leak was slow and therefore no evidence of a leak.

 

Good info.

How did the mechanic ID the leak if no evidence was visible? Pressure test? Is it possible for a small amount of water to evaporate over a year? I would think some evaporation is normal.

I have had to add 1-2 quarts of coolant to my '09 Cayman twice in the 2.5 years of ownership. The first time was a temp/or something alert in the IC and the second was me checking it proactively based on the first alert.

Thank you.


Eddie

 

Eddie, The waterless fluid crystalizies when it dries. The evidence was little pinkish crystals around the broken fitting. I have had my car for over two years. Many, many track days and long mountain trips. Never added a drop of fluid until the warning light came on. Called my mechanic and he said, bring it in, something is wrong, you shouldn't have to add fluid to "your" system. I have almost 80k on my 987.1 09 CS. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks wxdudejax and it does help.

My car has been close to perfect but something must be happening to the coolant like you say so I'll get to the bottom of it.

Thanks again.


Eddie