[lorennunley]

I just brought my Niro to a local garage, I had suspected a coolant leak and they confirmed that the coolant was low and while they had it they had to top it up a couple times.The weird thing is they can’t find the leak anywhere, there’s no evidence around the reservoir, hoses, on the ground or mixed in the oil. Before I bring it to the dealer I thought I’d ask here if anyone might know where else the coolant might end up? I should also say that the engine hasn’t shown any signs of overheating or even running hot 🤷‍♂️

At first I was worried it might be a head gasket issue, which I guess it still might be but I figured there would be evidence in the oil

More often than not the overflow tank shrinks over time and the lid does not seal. This lets coolant steam out of the sealed system and you loose coolant. Replacing the tank and lid with an OEM tank and lid will solve the issue. I’ve run into this on dozens of vehicles.

 

[SDeemer]

2017 Niros are notorious for coolant leaks due to a stuck valve at the heat exchanger for the catalytic converter. Monitor coolant level daily, and fill to the MAX line whenever you add more coolant. Make a service appointment ASAP. If caught early, it should be fixed under warranty. If ignored, you could blow an engine head gasket.

Kia's pink coolant should be about the same price from a dealer as parts store pink coolant.

 

[Hammond]

Thanks everyone, for all of the great information on this thread. My 2017 Kia Niro heat stopped working and due to this thread I found that I had low coolant and made an appointment with the dealership. They told me that the coolant was leaking into the catalytic converter AND said they were contacting their warranty department to get the $3500 repair covered. I'm not the original owner of the car, which has 75k miles on it so I was surprised and relieved that they offered warranty without me having to fight for it.

 

[FlNiro]

Thanks everyone, for all of the great information on this thread. My 2017 Kia Niro heat stopped working and due to this thread I found that I had low coolant and made an appointment with the dealership. They told me that the coolant was leaking into the catalytic converter AND said they were contacting their warranty department to get the $3500 repair covered. I'm not the original owner of the car, which has 75k miles on it so I was surprised and relieved that they offered warranty without me having to fight for it.

That's good they getting it covered for you. Please keep us updated with how it goes.

 

[Hammond]

Update: the dealership covered the cost of the repair. I went in at 7:15am and getting approval to use the warranty took about 8 hours but replacing the part only took a couple of hours. I was able to pick up the car the following morning. And now my heat is working and the coolant level is fine. Very thankful to have this group to help with these issues.

 

[FlNiro]

We berate a lot of dealers here so please let us know which dealer treated you so good. Glad you got it fixed.

 

[Hammond]

We berate a lot of dealers here so please let us know which dealer treated you so good. Glad you got it fixed.

Sure, it was University Kia in Durham, NC.

 

[dgbehrends]

Adding my name to the list. I have a 2018 Kia Niro that I bought used with 92k miles on it. At 118k miles it overheated while my 18 year old son was driving home about 10mins away. Fortunately he pulled over right away. I drove to him and checked the coolant and the plastic reservoir was empty. I went to the local gas station and bought a gallon of the universal stuff, filled up the reservoir and drove it home with no overheat issues. It sat for at least an hour before I drove it home. For the next 6 weeks we would drive with the temp sensor front and center and monitor the coolant. It was loosing coolant but not anywhere under the engine bay. Whenever it would get low we would add more and probably went through a few gallons. I checked the oil and it seemed fine with no sign of antifreeze in it. The engine ran fine too. Still no sign of where the coolant was disappearing too. Finally I got on the forum here and realized that it was going out the tail pipe. I drove it at night and could see the white smoke out the rear window. I bought the heater core bypass kit and just installed it without any issue. My only concern is keeping the hose away from the exhaust so that it doesn't melt. There isn't a lot to connect to to keep the hose away from the exhaust.

What have others done to secure this bypass hosing?

 

[dgbehrends]

What have others done to secure this bypass hosing?

I was able to secure the loop next to the out/in ports of the HRS, and so far it seems to hanging in there just fine.