# I always thought if you smell coolant under the hood, it's leaking

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-always-thought-if-you-smell-coolant-under-the-hood-its-leaking/142151>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** subaru\
**Created:** [June 13, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-always-thought-if-you-smell-coolant-under-the-hood-its-leaking/142151 "2019-06-13T16:14:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lee\_T](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/lee_t/32/86_2.png) [@Lee\_T](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Lee_T)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-always-thought-if-you-smell-coolant-under-the-hood-its-leaking/142151/1 "2019-06-13T16:14:43Z")

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We have a 2016 Outback with 4 cylinder engine. After driving the car, if we put our noses to the grill or open the hood, we can smell coolant. I thought that meant a leak. The service manager at the dealer said absent a puddle on the ground that’s normal so I figured she was getting out of a warranty repair. We took it to our local mechanic and he said the same. Can anyone tell us what’s going on?

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**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-always-thought-if-you-smell-coolant-under-the-hood-its-leaking/142151/2 "2019-06-13T16:45:03Z")

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The leak may be small enough that it evaporates quickly and will never leave a puddle.

Is the radiator low?

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**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-always-thought-if-you-smell-coolant-under-the-hood-its-leaking/142151/3 "2019-06-13T16:48:40Z")

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Also, if the radiator cap isn’t holding pressure properly, it can spray a tiny bit of coolant so that you smell it but there’s no puddle on the ground.

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-always-thought-if-you-smell-coolant-under-the-hood-its-leaking/142151/4 "2019-06-13T17:14:58Z")

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Years ago, I had the same symptom shortly after replacing a radiator hose. After I “tweaked” the position of the hose clamp, the problem went away. Whether the OP recently had a hose replaced–or not–it would be a good idea to check the hose clamps.

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**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-always-thought-if-you-smell-coolant-under-the-hood-its-leaking/142151/5 "2019-06-13T17:32:26Z")

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A pressure test for the system is needed.