this morning the temperature just touched the red zone and then slowly dropped back to normal and again touched and then dropped back to normal. Went to the nearest Halfords, checked for the coolant level and found it to be empty!! (though the car was serviced at Kwik Fit just a month back). Approx 2.5 litres of Coolant easily got poured in the coolant reservoir.

(How come the coolant became empty in a month - hope its not a failed engine head gasket or something. There is no engine fault light or any loss of power etc..)

There is another peculiar thing which happened this morning as I drove the vehicle after an hours stop at a friends place (after having driven the car for 30 miles or so after getting the coolant filled up) - the car produced a lot of white smoke or steam which just disappeared very quickly (probably 30 secs).

From the last 2 days, car has failed to start in the first turn of the key. Y'day it didnt start even after 3-4 times, and then started normally. Happened this morning again. No definite pattern as to when it doesnt start. For example it started this morning in the first turn (when left overnight), but failed to start in the first two tries when I had it parked for an hour or so after a 30 mile drive. (Initially it felt as if the battery is dead as the key turn didnt crank the engine, but then all the dashboard lights and the fan etc were working normally. Also it started on the 3rd or 4th try normally)

Could this be due to a failed glow plug as some posts on HJ seemed to suggest? Any simple tests which I can do myself? (Car is at 99880 miles.)

Thanks in advance experts!

Edited by sam76 on 04/12/2011 at 21:00