Hello everyone! I drive a 2008 Passat Sedan (https://www.edmunds.com/volkswagen/passat/2008/sedan/)). Today after I parked my car, I noticed that the front bumper air vent was hot when I stood in front of it to clean the hood. I waited for at least 15 minutes, and it still felt warm. I didn’t use Air Conditioning at all when driving and I’m not sure if this is normal. I remember the same issue happened in winter a few years ago. And I noticed that the coolant level is close to the minimum when I opened the hood. Do you think it means that my car needs more coolant or there’re some other mechanical issues? Thank you!
Open the hood and look!
Tester
In addition to what Tester posted, have you had your cooling system serviced? You should be nearing time for your fourth coolant change. At this age, do not be surprised if a plastic component of the system fails.
+1
And, if it does need coolant, here are two important points to consider:
Be sure to use coolant that is compatible with VW’s coolant specs.
Because coolant doesn’t evaporate, a low coolant level indicates that you have a leak, or that it is being consumed in the cylinders, and if the latter is the case, that’s not a good thing.
Thank you for your comments! I remember 5 years ago my car had a coolant leak. I’ll take my car to a body shop for a checkup.
You want a mechanic, not a body shop.
Why would you take it to a body shop for a probable mechanical issue?
Would you go to a Plastic Surgeon if you needed surgery on your internal organs?
Thank you so much for the reminder! I used to take my car to an official VW dealer whenever it had mechanical issues like this. They charged a lot and didn’t solve the issues of my car completely. So I’m not sure where to take my car besides a body shop owner I trust (he replaced several parts of my car last year). I’ve emailed him to see if he could refer me to an auto mechanic. Really appreciate all the advice here!