Hi all. I have a 2003 GM with the coolant reservoir being part of the radiator (the cap on the reservoir seems to be the pressurized cap for the radiator as well). My problem is I took the car to the dealerto get a coolant flush and when they were donethey left my coolant level halfway up to the "cold fill line" marked on the reservoir. I was just wondering if any of you have had this happen and if it's harming my car. The manual says the coolant level should be at the cold fill line when the car is cold, and yet the dealer didn't fill it up all the way to that line. Who should I believe? And is it harming the car? By the way, the temperature gauge is showing perfectly normal and the car doesn't seem to be overheating, but it is now making the "crackling" or poppingnoises after it's been turned off and it starts to cool, which I never noticed before the coolant flush.(I suppose it's from the metal parts re-contracting?)Any opinions would be welcome.

 

have you asked the dealership about this?

 

Hi, Patrick.
Thank you for responding and no, I haven't asked the dealership because I wouldn't be able to trust them to tell me the truth. I'm seeking an opinion outside of a dealer.

 

what happen,more likely than not, that when the system was flushed they did not purge the air out of the system. if you do a flush, then tighten your drain plug on the radiator and add coolant and cap it, you did not get the air out. what i do is after adding the coolant to where it "appears" that it is full, i start the engine and let it run until it gets to normal temp. it will sometimes push some coolant out, but that is the air bubbles in the system coming out. keep filling it while the engine is running until it stays full. in your case i would assume that all the air is out so i would add coolant to the proper level. hope this helps.

 

Thank you, cpettymore7777. Something was wrong that day I took the car to Maroone Ford. I believe they did the coolant flush improperly. They quoted the time it would take for service as 2.5 to 3 hours and it took 5 hours. All they did was a coolant flush, fixed a flat and obtain the keyless entry code for me. 5 hours for that? Yes. And oh yes, the same tire was flat the next day plus the rim had some new scratches on it right at the slot under the cap. They must have had my car parked for 4.5 hours and worked on it in a real hurry. Needless to say, they lost a customer that day. The offers that came in the mail after that went straight to the trash. Thanks for the info!!