My coolant reservoir is still literally full (just checked it after the car cooled off) but there seems to be coolant leaking on the ground right now. The flow has varied from dripping to it seemed like gushing after I had gone into a store (not sure if it was heated up more at that point so that's why?). I would have expected it to be down.

My car was in for an oil change and filter yesterday. Prior to this, no fluid. I would assume they may have overfilled the reservoir and this is causing the issue? The hose right from it into the radiator seems fine with no liquid around it.

Any ideas?

thanks!

 

how mechanically inclined are you? places like oreilly auto parts and autozone will rent you a cooling system pressure test kit. it will have a pump, and several adapters. you replace your radiator cap with an adapter, and pump up the system. the pump will have a gauge on it. pump it to what your car's spec, probably 1 bar. if the gauge does not move, the system is holding pressure. if the gauge slowly declines, look for where it is leaking. the kit will also test your radiator cap, a common fail item.

 

not very unfortunately....my car has been sitting all night. No leakage at all now and my reservoir is totally full even after yesterday's leaking...how is that even possible unless it was overfilled and was coming out of the top overflow tube?

 

normally what happens is the system will pressurize when the engine warms up. coolant expands, and the excess coolant goes into the reservoir. when the system holds pressure, the boiling point is higher. when the engine is shut down for a while, and cools down, coolant is drawn back into the system from the reservoir. if the radiator cap is bad, it will allow air to be drawn back instead of coolant. so, the next time the engine warms up, air and coolant is pushed into the full reservoir, and coolant is expelled thru the overflow tube. there will be an overflow tube right next to the radiator cap. follow it down, and see if coolant is coming from there. if it is, then you need a new radiator cap.
if the cap is good, then when the system pressurizes, and you have a leak, coolant is expelled from the leak. when the system cools, air is drawn back thru the leak, the system is no longer sealed. this is dangerous, because in a very short time, you will lose all your coolant, and the engine will overheat, and probably sieze