Yep. W got 7000 miles on the vehicle and have been happy with it so far. Dealer didn’t want to look at it at the last oil change. Said I needed to make an appointment for the diagnostician to look at it. The oil change mechanic can’t check it. The Dealer isn’t close so unless I see antifreeze or see a loss in the reservoir I probably won’t deal with it.

 

I haven't noticed any issues with mine. However, if you do see that it is loosing quite a bit of coolant I would have another dealer check it out. Probably not an issue you'd want to deal with when the warranty runs out.

 

Smelling Antifreeze

So recently I have noticed when my wife gets home and parks in the garage when I happen to be in the garage I can smell antifreeze. This has happened a couple times but not all the time. Just the other day we went through a drive thru and when I rolled the window down to pay I could smell it...

www.toyotanation.com

 

Can you actually smell coolant by itself? Don't think there would be any smell even if you are standing right next to an open bucket of coolant.
The only time you can smell coolant is when they had been through the engine and came out from the exhaust, or if some had actually leaked onto the exhaust and evaporated.

 

You can smell it, especially when it is hot.

 

After a drive and you get home, park the vehicle but do not turn it off pop the hood and have a look around, see if you can see any steam anywhere, look for any leaks, especially on hose connections and at the water pump. If no luck, turn off the engine and get your nose under the hood and sniff around, see if you can find where the smell is strongest. .

Have you been running your heater? You do not smell this from inside the car? no steamed up windshield? Check your floorboard under the dashboard for any damp or wet spots.

The coolant res has an exhaust port I assume, when the vehicle is running look for any steam coming out, look at the res and see if you can make out any bubbles. Constant bubbles can be a sign of exhaust gases getting into the coolant through a break in the head gasket seal. I would think if you are getting enough exhaust pushing through the coolant into the res with hot coolant, it has to get out of the res through the port and take along with it vaporized/steam from the coolant, maybe enough for you to notice the smell.

If the coolant level has not dropped I do not assume you have a leak of coolant into the oil, but would not hurt to take a look at the oil to make sure it is not starting to look milky and check for steam coming out the exhaust.

 

Others have reported this and I get it at times too. Coolant level seems fine after 10k miles so I'm not concerned about it...just keeping an eye on it.

 

I have and Continue to have that experience. Especially at a drive through window on a hot summer day here in Florida. Dealer performEd a coolant systems pressure test and “no signs of leakage. .

 

Mine still has the smell too on the driver's side. It's most noticeable from the wheel well or from the edge of the hood above the wheel. I've watched the coolant level like a hawk for months and it's not dropping.

Also, the coolant reservoir is on the passenger's side, not the driver's side. The windshield washer fluid reservoir is on the driver's side and much closer to the source of the smell. A post not that long ago suggested that may be the source of the smell, but I haven't put enough energy into it to find out if that's really what's happening. If it is, a washer fluid leak is much less critical than a coolant leak.

 

This is awesome info. I'll check into it. In particular, I'm wondering if this is a hidden issue like the head gasket. Something is causing this and I don't buy the idea that "it is what it is" from the dealer. Somebody at Toyota knows what is causing this and they would issue a TSB or other for info to service techs for a thorough explanation if it was really nothing. I'm sure it's a situation of them kicking the can down the road past warranty.

 

👍

 

Glycol coolants have a distinct 'musky-sweet" odor when hot - this odor also should be familiar to anyone who's had a leaky radiator or blown a radiator hose. I once had a car that had two heater cores, one under the front seat (so rear passengers got warm feet) and a small separate one for the defroster. I smelled the smell, noticed a greasy mist on the inside of the windshield, and found a leak in the defroster core.

Because the fumes are toxic to breathe, if the source is inside the car you should get it fixed asap. If outside the passenger compartment as yours appears to be, keep looking as it shouldn't be happening. (The exception might be if you have a non-pressurized overflow reservoir whose cap allows a bit of vapor out and you just happen to have a good nose for it.) Pinhole and intermittent leaks can be a challenge - there is a UV fluorescing dye one can add to the coolant to assist in such cases.

 

Same issue here 22’ Highlander 6k smell of coolant on the drivers side wheel well area.

 

Did you ever find the source? 22 highlander as well?

 

Interesting. Does anyone else "smell" the radiator fluid. If verified. Then there "is" a leak.

However, 2022, Toyota. Seems way to new to be having a leak.

If it were me: I get a black marker, mark the "overfill plastic" container with a little line. And check daily/weekly, and see if it is dropping. (also remove radiator cap, and be sure radiator is filled to the top, before you do the test).

If there is a leak, the level "must" go down over time. If it does not go down, What you are smelling must be "something" else.

Good luck, let us know what you find out....

 

If there is a leak, the level "must" go down over time. If it does not go down, What you are smelling must be "something" else.

This is where I've been with it. It does not go down on mine.
That's why I'm now open to other possibilities, including the washer fluid theory. It's not brake fluid, either; I've been watching that one too.

 

Things like this usually don't fix themselves but might take awhile to develop into an obvious failure. Given that it's a new car be sure to take it to the dealership, get them to agree they smell something and document it on the service ticket. Repeat this regularly during the warranty period so you'll have good documentation if it finally fails after the warranty is expired.

 

Have the coolant smell on mine as well. After 10k miles I believe the coolant level went down about an inch and a half. So minute but still keeping an eye/nose on it as well.

 

As I had said before, coolant by itself doesn't smell, it is when the coolant get heated up and evaporates that you can smell the sweet smell of the ethylene! So if you want to find where the smell or leak is coming from you have to look at areas around the engine that has high heat that can evaporate the coolant! Dry coolant tracks is one of the signs you should look for, since Toyota coolant is red, look for pinkishwhite tracks, maybe around the water pump drip hole or the engine core plugs, maybe even the head gaskets! Don't expect to see coolant running out on the ground!

BTW, from what they are saying, too much exposure to Ethylene is dangerous!

Just saying! "Don't know nothing"! 🤣

 

FWIW, my wife's 2020 had the coolant smell - driver side in the garage only - for the first couple of years. Neither she nor I notice it anymore. Coolant level has never moved.

 

Here's a link to toxicity data on Ethylene Glycol (active component of may coolants): ICSC 0270 - ETHYLENE GLYCOL).

Bottom line: it appears the toxic limit in air is below what the average person can detect by smell. To me this means one should be concerned for their health if they smell coolant while inside an operating vehicle. However it seems unlikely one need be concerned about toxicity when receiving a brief whiff while outside a parked car that has had time to cool, though it could indicate a leak. If for some reason one feels they must tolerate this while driving, it might be wise to switch to a lower toxicity propylene glycol based coolant until the leak is fixed.

More: The odor detection limit (average, it can vary widely with individuals) is 62.5ppm (from another publication), where-as the the short term exposure limit (STEL) for toxicity by inhalation is lower, varying from 10mg/cubic meter (~ 8.3ppm) to 50ppm depending on whether the exposure is to aerosol or vapor. While ethylene glycol's room temperature vapor pressure is relatively low, one can presume that when hot coolant evaporates it condenses in cooler surrounding air to form an which is what one smells when an operating vehicle is leaking.

 

Bump.

 

21 highlander with a coolant leak smell dealer said that is normal i dont think so

 

And, I also, on occasion, smell coolant when parking in the garage. I have just under 19k on an XLE v6. So far, there does not appear to be any lowering in the reservoir. Has anyone found a solution?

 

I found an old article from about 20 years ago that said this was an issue that was due to the radiator cap and the way the coolant reservoir is vented. I too have not noticed any lower fluid levels, etc. but I still find this hard to believe. I've owned a lot of cars and a ton of brands that I've mostly bought new. I've never had this issue. My next step may be to try a new radiator cap at my next service visit. If that doesn't work, I've got a good local Toyota mechanic that I may pay to run a diagnostic on this.

 

When I had a 2019 highlander v6 that smell was apparent at times for quite some time ,eventually from memory it went away.
No sign of any leak.
Probably topped the coolant reservoir up by about an inch or so in 4yrs and 50k miles

 

I have a 2020 Highlander and I definitely noticed the same thing. I had the dealer pick over the car, check for leaks and made sure that they documented my complaint in their service writeup, I wanted to make sure this was documented - especially since I bought the 8 year extended warranty. I have seen this complaint all over the internet - but no one seems to have found a root cause yet.

 

Funny, but though I have reported I've experience this in the past I pulled into my garage yesterday and smelling the warm engine it occurred to me that I hadn't had that coolant smell for some time now. Good thing about an extended warranty is it gives you much more leeway in reporting problems because you have until it expires to do so.

 

I've heard others report that this goes away as well. Completely weird... especially, since I called Toyota to get a case documented (for warranty, etc.) and they acted like they've never heard of this. With this many people experiencing this, seems kinda shady for Toyota.

 

As a related comment to Toyota saying that an issue will go away:

When we bought our '22 HiHy Platinum, we raised several issues upon delivery, (or within the following week) and we were told these will go away. Due to circumstances, we have bought an unusually high number of new cars in the last 2-3 years, and none of them had any issues that the dealer told us this. Only Toyota. In fact, none of the others had any issues upon delivery or within the first few weeks. Only the most expensive one, from a brand that seems to have the best record for reliability and build quality.

Two of the issues DID in fact "go away" which makes me wonder about the build quality. There are still other issues that Toyota is not able to resolve. I suspect that they are happy that I have given up. We are actively in search of its replacement. Not rushing into anything as we were burned by this one and don't want to make that mistake again. The high MPG is very nice, the rest, not so much.

 

I experience this with my 2021 Limited. I think it's from the overflow reservoir which is NOT air tight. I have not seen any drop in coolant.

 

...overflow reservoir which is NOT air tight...

None are as they need to accommodate the expansion and contraction of the coolant. As coolant is heated and expands, the level increases in the tank and the same volume of air is expelled from the tank. As it cools, the level decreases and air is drawn in.