Overheating only while idling

I was able to check it again after the radiator was cooled down. It went down again, but was at least at a visible level this time. I didn't get a chance to top it off and run it again. From looking at my manual, it says the car takes 7.4 quarts of 50/50 mixture coolant/water, with.69 quarts of that in the reserve tank. So about 6.7 quarts for the radiator and rest of cooling system. That is 1.675 gallons of coolant. I'm guessing most of that lives outside of the radiator. Anyway, it would seem the radiator was extremely low on coolant. We will see how long it holds the coolant once I top it off one last time tomorrow.

What did you make of the white smoke? I didn't see any coming out of the exhaust from what I could tell. I also didn't think that the oil on the dipstick looked "milky". So I really don't know what's going on here. I read maybe a leak in the heater core? My analysis would be that the coolant is being burned somehow, as I'm not seeing anything leaking on the ground, and there was the appearance of the white smoke. Also it does not appear the coolant is getting into the oil in large quantities.

The white smoke is coming from the back of the radiator. I do not have steam or white smoke coming out of the tailpipe, at least not in large quantities. I attached 2 videos of the white smoke in the last 3 comments of page 1 of this thread.

I'm pretty sure it was a sweet smell. It was coming from the back of the radiator, behind the fan.

And yeah it is probably steam rather than smoke. Seemed lighter and wispier than smoke.

Yeah that makes sense. Although a leak in my 10 month old cooling system is a bit dumbfounding. Since I've been replacing the radiator about every 3 years lately, the head gasket seemed to possibly explain why I've been chewing through them so fast. But there's no coolant in the oil, no bubbles in the coolant, and no white steam coming out of the exhaust. So if the head gasket is leaking, it is only slightly, and not the main issue here. I just really don't get all my radiator problems. I suppose if I maintained the proper fluid level, then maybe they'd survive longer.

Alright it seems to be mostly retaining its coolant. I checked it again today and it was closer to the top of the radiator. Filled it maybe 2 to 4 ounces, ran it for 30 minutes with the heat on full blast, and let it cool off for an hour and a half. The level was pretty much still at the top, it was only down by maybe half an ounce or an ounce. It appears it's splashing up into the rim of the filler neck for the radiator, and that may explain why the level was slightly down. Is it possible coolant collecting here then evaporating could explain some coolant loss? I did not see the white smoke around the radiator this time each time I checked. So I'm not sure exactly what is going on. Not seeing any coolant leaking underneath either.

Hi Joe,

There are no overheating at idle issues anymore. The temperature gauge stays a lot lower now and doesn't go above halfway. So it was definitely the low coolant, just a matter of whether it leaks/burns out or stays put I will be checking it regularly over the next week and report back what happens.

Adam

There does not seem to be an alarming amount of coolant loss going on. I will keep checking it. In total I added less than 1/2 gallon of 50/50 coolant/water mixture a couple weeks ago, and the level hasn't dropped much. I heard that running the heater can evaporate coolant, is that true? What about A/C or anything else?

What I meant by the 1/2 gallon was, that's how much I had to fill it up 2 weeks ago (which hadn't been filled since August 2019 when the radiator was replaced). And the level has not dropped nearly that badly, maybe half an inch from the the filler neck on the radiator. So this seems like an issue to just keep an eye on and top up as needed. My new issue is that the A/C stopped working today, which is in another thread, and obviously not related to this issue.

Yes, and the oil from my oil change showed no signs of coolant. So it seems the engine cooling system is fine with no head gasket issues.

Roy is helping on the other issue, although feel free to take a stab at it as well.

Take care of yourself as well Joe. Thanks for all your help. The name of the thread is A/C stopped blowing cold, not sure compressor is running at all.