Smoke from Radiator

[Dreavens]

Hi guys,

I recently bought a Leon 1.8 FR TSI 180hp manual. Everything is going great so far! However i came across something that i just cant get my mind around and would like to solve before it might actually become a problem.

So what happens on occassion (not all the time but often) is that after driving it for a bit on temp, i turn off the car/stop somewhere and there would be steam/smoke coming from the radiator/fan/grill.
Has anyone had this before? Any idea what could cause this? At first i thought it might be salt (against icy roads, got quite the open bumper) that's being burned off at the high temperature. Though with the amount lately being poured on the road its hard to tell after a cleaning/wash if its still the salt or water or a totally different problem.

For context:
No indicator lights on
No coolant leakage (so far)
No oil leakage (so far)
On avg 11:1 fuel ratio km/l

See

for a video.

If anyone has any clue, id love to hear about it! (due to alot of problems with previous cars i owned im a little paranoia when it comes to trouble so this time id really like to stay ahead of any major issues)

Edit: no clue what the beeping or the internal fan sound is though :s (im not sure if its bad or good, but if someone can clarify that aswell to put my mind at ease thatd be great)

 

[SuperV8]

Is it smoke or steam? - as each have a very different cause.
I would smell the smoke/steam, should be obvious if it's steam from coolant or external water - or smoke from an oil leak/drip onto a hot surface.

 

[Dreavens]

Is it smoke or steam? - as each have a very different cause.
I would smell the smoke/steam, should be obvious if it's steam from coolant or external water - or smoke from an oil leak/drip onto a hot surface.

Im not sure if its steam nor smoke. I do neither smell coolant nor oil. It kinda smells like hot metal, not burned but just hot. So that leads me to steam i suppose?

 

[nanobis]

Im not sure if its steam nor smoke. I do neither smell coolant nor oil. It kinda smells like hot metal, not burned but just hot. So that leads me to steam i suppose?

Hi guys,

I recently bought a Leon 1.8 FR TSI 180hp manual. Everything is going great so far! However i came across something that i just cant get my mind around and would like to solve before it might actually become a problem.

So what happens on occassion (not all the time but often) is that after driving it for a bit on temp, i turn off the car/stop somewhere and there would be steam/smoke coming from the radiator/fan/grill.
Has anyone had this before? Any idea what could cause this? At first i thought it might be salt (against icy roads, got quite the open bumper) that's being burned off at the high temperature. Though with the amount lately being poured on the road its hard to tell after a cleaning/wash if its still the salt or water or a totally different problem.

For context:
No indicator lights on
No coolant leakage (so far)
No oil leakage (so far)
On avg 11:1 fuel ratio km/l

See

for a video.

If anyone has any clue, id love to hear about it! (due to alot of problems with previous cars i owned im a little paranoia when it comes to trouble so this time id really like to stay ahead of any major issues)

Edit: no clue what the beeping or the internal fan sound is though :s (im not sure if its bad or good, but if someone can clarify that aswell to put my mind at ease thatd be great)

I've got the same car but DSG. I've been having the same issue on and off untill today when driving home the dash though a warning for loss of coolant, Temps where fine in the 90/95c range so no over heating. I've pulled over and checked coolant and it's gone below the minimum but still has some in. But there is coolant stains on around the tank and on the bonnet sound deadening.

I've scanned for codes with ODB11 and it's thrown up B109515, for the right AC blower Flaps, and some Googling has brought up its link to loosing coolant into the harness causing a fault.

I've previously replaced the expansion tank, for one with a solid silica block not a bag, and the cap thinking it's the issue. I've also had the cabin fan blower motor replaced in December. I thought it was unrelated but it might be.
I've also replaced the coolant nipple for the billet 034Motor sports under the turbo at the back of the block. As that had failed.
Sinse I've had this issue over the last 18 months, I've used about 5L of coolant.

I also get that same beeping noise once the engine is off but assumed it's normal.
I'm going to ring around to some VWAG Specialist near me and see what they think.

 

[nd-photo.nl]

Could be a clogged heatermatrix?

Else: Is the waterpump and/or thermostat working correctly?

 

[nanobis]

Could be a clogged heatermatrix?

Else: Is the waterpump and/or thermostat working correctly?

I'm assuming the water pump and thermostat are working fine. It's getting up to 90°c and doesn't go much higher than 95°c.

I Do get that electric beeping noise once the car is off after it's up at temp, but have never been able to fine out if that's a good thing or bad.

I'm heading in the idea of heater matrix being blocked, but I'm not sure how the heater matrix could have been blocked as I removed the Silica bag last summer and it looked intact. I eventually replaced the header tank with a different one with a solid silica block about 3/4 months back along with new cap as they looked to going.

 

[Dreavens]

I've got the same car but DSG. I've been having the same issue on and off untill today when driving home the dash though a warning for loss of coolant, Temps where fine in the 90/95c range so no over heating. I've pulled over and checked coolant and it's gone below the minimum but still has some in. But there is coolant stains on around the tank and on the bonnet sound deadening.

I've scanned for codes with ODB11 and it's thrown up B109515, for the right AC blower Flaps, and some Googling has brought up its link to loosing coolant into the harness causing a fault.

I've previously replaced the expansion tank, for one with a solid silica block not a bag, and the cap thinking it's the issue. I've also had the cabin fan blower motor replaced in December. I thought it was unrelated but it might be.
I've also replaced the coolant nipple for the billet 034Motor sports under the turbo at the back of the block. As that had failed.
Sinse I've had this issue over the last 18 months, I've used about 5L of coolant.

I also get that same beeping noise once the engine is off but assumed it's normal.
I'm going to ring around to some VWAG Specialist near me and see what they think.

Hey. My previous car (leon 2.0 tdi) had this issue. Its most likely a blocked heater matrix in your case. See my profile for my post last year about it.

Swapping out the heater matrix solved it for me.

 

[Dreavens]

Could be a clogged heatermatrix?

Else: Is the waterpump and/or thermostat working correctly?

All my warmth elements work fine. The waterpump/stat is good. Heater is clear.

Its simply smoke/steam from the grille/radiator area.

I just (10 min ago) washed my car and gently used the hose on the radiator grille.

Im in the car rn warming it up.
It is smoking but in this case (just washed) im confident its steam.

Im waiting a bit till it dries out and I'll drive home. If at home its still heavily smoking/steaming I'll have the fan checked to see if the radiator(fan) is working properly.

Also sidenote: the other day my mechanic did a pressure test on the coolant. Passed with flying colors so it rules out a coolant problem