Why is my Fiat 500 overheating?

My Fiat 500 was recently recovered after overheating. The radiator reservoir was empty and the garage diagnosed a leaking small radiator behind the dashboard (this had been replaced last year along with all the other air con components after the air con failed). The garage replaced this again under warranty last week.

However, after a single motorway trip of 400 miles the water level has dropped from max to min and there is a drip beneath the engine. Is this a known fault on the TwinAir engines or can you suggest any reason for the leak?

Asked on 10 April 2014 by Coline

Answered by Honest John

Not a normal problem of the TwinAir. And I hadn't heard of heater matrixes failing in 500s before either. But if the heater matrix failed and you ran for a time with low coolant then there could be airlocks in the cooling system and these can blow coolant out of the pressure cap of the reservoir. With luck, once the airlocks are purged, the car should be okay again. See: www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/cooling-system-airlocks/

Tags: radiators overheating technical issues

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