Coolant smell

Hello. I dont nkow if this is the right topic for my question. I have a citroen c3 2004 petrol and I have a very bad smell of coolant in the cabin when the car is hot ,my radiator is very good condition no leaks and the coolant level its always at the same point when i put the heat on, the air that comes from the vents its not smelling i dont know what to do, the smell comes from outside i think, has someone else the same problem with me??thanks for help me

Adreas90 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 2:55 pm Hello. I dont nkow if this is the right topic for my question. I have a citroen c3 2004 petrol and I have a very bad smell of coolant in the cabin when the car is hot ,my radiator is very good condition no leaks and the coolant level its always at the same point when i put the heat on, the air that comes from the vents its not smelling i dont know what to do, the smell comes from outside i think, has someone else the same problem with me??thanks for help me

Hi Adreas90, you do have a coolant leak. Ok, it may only be pin-prick in size and you won't notice the coolant level go down, but it is definitely leaking if you can smell it.

Probably leaking from the cabin heater side because you can smell it in there.

This is where the heater pipes are on the cabin side of the heating (which is the engine cooling)

This is a view from the passenger footwell (on a Right Hand Drive)


You need to look for a leak and be careful when the engine is hot because the coolant can be very hot.

If it is not the cabin heater and your smell is coming from the engine bay then you have a leak on one of the engine pipes or radiator.

How do you now the radiator is in good condition? You have to remove the bumper to see it.

There are pipes for coolant at the back of the engine too, any of these can be leaking.

You may have a failed head gasket and the coolant is leaking from there.

It will take some investigating to find where it is coming from.


What colour is the coolant in the reservoir?

Thanks a lot for the answers .. the coolant is green .. i thougt that my gasket is blown but if it was the coolan sould be brown or very dark green ... maybe its the heater inside ... i saw that pipes you told me and i put my fingers there and it was dry no coolant there

Adreas90 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:50 pm Thanks a lot for the answers .. the coolant is green

It should be pink. So being green means someone may have put the wrong stuff in there, buy why? The green may have caused a corrosion, who knows, but it is a good sign that someone has been there and done something against the Citroen recommendation.

Adreas90 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:50 pm i thougt that my gasket is blown but if it was the coolan sould be brown or very dark green

When the head gasket fails and allows the coolant out of the head it can drip on the engine and you get the smell in the engine bay. The head gasket can fail in several ways and this way just leaks coolant out of the engine onto a hot surface.

Adreas90 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:50 pm maybe its the heater inside ... i saw that pipes you told me and i put my fingers there and it was dry no coolant there

Inside the area in the photo is a mini radiator which could be leaking, but this is probably as much trouble as fixing the head gasket

Considering the age of the car and the possibility of an expensive repair, try a dose of this radweld in the cooling system to see if that helps?

You can run the engine and use your sense of smell to see which area has the strongest smell, but whatever it is going to be, I doubt it will be a cheap fix, if you want to do a proper repair on it.

Hello. i think i found were this smell of coolant comes from.its from the heater inside.monday i will replace the heater and i have order the o rings to put on the new heater.. hope to solve my problem

Adreas90 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 07, 2019 6:09 pm Hello. i think i found were this smell of coolant comes from.its from the heater inside.monday i will replace the heater and i have order the o rings to put on the new heater.. hope to solve my problem

It would great if you can take some photos as you do the job and post them here so others can follow what you did to track down and hopefully cure the coolant smell in the car.

I know that would be great but i dicited this job should do someone with experience and i will take my car to my mechanic to fix it...