Hi, there!
I have a 2015 Volvo. I have recently been noticing the coolant has been slowly depleting (I have had to add a little now and then) and sometimes after a lengthy drive I will smell a hot sweet smell under the hood. I understand I have a coolant leak. I have not noticed white smoky exhaust, and the oil is a normal oil colour. I do not have any wet patches beneath the car. I have seen what appears to be coolant pooling in this location (highlighted below with red arrows).
Obviously I need to get this taken care of before the leak gets any worse. Can anyone advise me based on the location where this leak might be, and whether it is likely to be a water pump, a hose, or…really, what I might be expecting when I take it to a shop?
On a possibly related note, while I was poking around I noticed this red liquid (transmission fluid, I assume) that had crystalised into a gummy lump, on what I believe is the transmission control module (picture below). Is this normal/serious/dreadfully bad? Any suggestions on action I should take there?
It’s hard to tell here the leak is since everything is still mounted on the engine.
Bring the vehicle to a shop so a more close examination can be performed.
Tester
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I don’t see any red arrows in either of those photos … lol … if the red arrows are important, figure out a way to make the photos larger.
I’d guess the most likely small coolant leak on a 8 year old car would be the water pump seal. It might only leak when the engine is running, and might be such a small leak it evaporates. I repaired a similar coolant leak on my Corolla not too long ago. In my case I could see a puddle under the car the next morning in the water pump area, but I could never see anything dripping when I looked during the daytime. I was adding maybe a half cup of coolant every 3 months. I could see no leaks coming from the weep hole in the water pump or from the water pump seal, engine idling or not.
The Corolla was forced off the road due to Covid complications, so I took that as an opportunity to bite the bullet and replace the water pump on a flier. Sure enough, once I got everything removed enough to see the water pump clearly, I could tell the shaft seal was leaking. Replaced the water pump, done, no more leaks.
Edited to show the area where I’ve got pooling…sorry about that.
I guess I was wondering…“what is in that side of the engine on a 2015 Volvo that might be leaking”
Volvo owners aren’t mechanics.
Mechanics aren’t Volvo owners.
There’s a reason for that.
You need to bring the vehicle to a shop so a mechanic can take things off the engine to find out where the leak is,
Tester
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Have you cleaned up the leaked coolant and waited for it to start leaking again? It may only leak under pressure from high heat.
Wouldn’t that side be the hot water output which goes to the radiator, bypass, and heater hoses? Maybe there is a thermostat there.
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No 2015 volvo engine experience, but with coolant puddling that high up on the engine, my guess is there’s a sensor somewhere the screws into the cooling system that’s leaking. Coolant temperature sensor, etc. There’s 5 such sensors on my older Corolla, and sometimes they do develop a small leak, but there may only be one gadget that screws into the cooling system on your newer volvo. there’s a coolant hose in the throttle valve area of my corolla, near the upper red arrow in your photo, but very unlikely to be the case w/your newer Volvo. Mine is for the throttle idle control actuator, but your throttle idle control is almost certainly done using an electric motor.
Don’t clean anything off the engine if you take your Volvo to a shop soon. They will probably use the puddles to help locate the leaks.
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