I have a 2013 dodge journey 4 cyl......my coolant tank shows about 1 inch low on coolant ....is it ok to add tap water to bring it up to max level Posted by B. W. on Dec 16, 2016

was the reading taken when cold or hot --you can add water to your coolant but be advised it will change the cooling or anti freezing temps

No do not add tap water, use only purified water or 50/50 coolant mix.

No , never use tap water ! A 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze ! Is it low when engine is hot or is below add cold mark . Should be two levels hot or cold ! And use distilled water if you make your own 50/50 mix .

The A/C causes the engine to work harder (that's why fuel economy suffers when it is run).

If your car has an electric fan - make sure it runs when the engine is hot. If it does not - you may have trouble w/o the A/C running if is gets warmer outside. Look for fail fuses, disconnected plugs, etc.

You may also have flaky thermostat that is not opening fully when needed to exchange hot water in the engine block with cooler water in the radiator.

First, check the coolant level. You should find a semi-transparent reservoir / tank located under the hood that has a cap marked "Coolant". The side of the tank should have two indicator lines - one for HOT and one for COLD. If the engine has been run up to normal temperature (so that it can provide heat in the car), you should see the coolant level at or slightly above the HOT line. If the engine is cold - first thing in the morning or after sitting for several hours - the coolant should be at or slightly above the COLD line. View these levels while the engine is off and the car is parked on a flat, level surface. If there is not enough coolant - you will need to add the CORRECT type for your car.

Hot Engine
(1) With the engine hot, add enough coolant to the tank to bring the level to the HOT line. You may have to check the tank several times after driving if the coolant level in the radiator is down a great deal. NEVER open the radiator cap when the engine is warm or hot!

or:
Cold Engine
(2) With the engine cold, add enough coolant to the tank to bring the level to reach COLD line. Additionally - with the engine cold - you can add coolant directly to the radiator by removing the cap. Start the engine, set heat in car to HOT and add coolant mixture to radiator until level comes up to the bottom of the filler neck. Once the engine is HOT (getting heat in the car) check and top off radiator as needed and put cap back on radiator.

Check the levels in the TANK several times over the next few days when cold. If the tank ever empties -you'll need to have this looked at by a mechanic.

I WOULD CHECK BOTH RADIATOR HOSES TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE HOT. THERMOSTAT COULD BE STICKING SLIGHTLY CLOSED.CHECK COOLANT LEVEL MAKE SURE COOLANT NOT LOW.IF COOLING NOT BOILING OUT OF THE EXPANSION TANK. I WOULD HAVE CAR HOOKED UP TO A DIAGNOTIC SCANNER AND CHECK COOLANT TEMPERATURE SEE IF TEMP. OVER 230 DEGREES IF SO RADIATOR COOLING FANS NOT WORKING.COOLANT THERMO SWITCH BAD BOTH FANS SHOULD BE RUNNING AT LOW SPEED.IF ALL LOOKS GOOD YOU COULD HAVE FAULTY LOW COOLANT SENSOR IN EXPANSION TANK.MAKE SURE COOLANT IS IN THE EXPANSION TANK BECAUSE COOLANT LEVEL COULD BE LOW.ADD COOLANT IN THE EXPANSION TANK UNTIL YOU AT MAX LEVEL LINE ON THE EXPANSION TANK.DONT OVER FILL THE EXPANSION KEEP ADDING COOLANT UNTIL COOLANT LEVEL STAYS AT THE MAX LEVEL LINE ON THE EXPANSION TANK.

COOLANT-ADDING ADDITIONAL
Do not remove radiator cap to add coolant to system. When adding coolant to maintain correct level, do so at coolant reserve/overflow tank. Use a 50/50 mixture of ethylene glycol antifreeze containing Alugard 340-2 y and low mineral content water.
Remove radiator cap only for testing or when refilling system after service. Removing cap unnecessarily can cause loss of coolant and allow air to enter system, which produces corrosion.

COOLANT LEVEL CHECK
The cooling system is closed and designed to maintain coolant level to top of radiator.
WARNING: DO NOT OPEN RADIATOR DRAINCOCK WITH ENGINE RUNNING OR WHILE ENGINE IS HOT AND COOLING SYSTEM IS UNDER PRESSURE.
Remove radiator cap. The coolant level should be to top of radiator. If not, and if coolant level in coolant recovery bottle is at ADD mark, check for:

• An air leak in coolant reserve/overflow tank or its hose
• An air leak in radiator filler neck
• Leak in pressure cap seal to radiator filler neck

TRANSMISSION and OIL LEVEL CHECK TUBES


I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jeremy_69f3cc28d95bf514

4 cyl Accords have a low pressure, self purging cooling system, so no purging is needed. Add coolant (cold engine) to the normal level. Then, with the coolant tank cap closed, open the radiator cap and fill the radiator completely, close the radiator cap and run the engine for a couple of minutes. Replenish the coolant to the proper level, since it will go down after the air bubbles have been extracted at the coolant tank.

Check your coolant reservoir under the hood. Your water/antifreeze mixture is probably low. If it is like many other Dodges the smart design of the coolant system on the van causes a low coolant condition to first starve the heater core of coolant before the level gets so low that you overheat and hurt your engine. Likely you will have to add coolant a few times before the system gets all the air out of the heater core and engine caused by letting it get low, so check a couple of times a day until the coolant level in the reservoir remains at the Max Fill line when checked a few different times. That will signal when the system has removed all the air from the coolant system.

Sorry to hear all this has been going on and the obvious hasn't been detected by a shop. All those parts probably would not of had to be replaced. This is a classic systom of a blown head gasket. Not every head gasket blown will have coolant in the oil. Compression leak from a cylinder will enter water passage in head and blow out the coolant because compression is greater pressure than coolant system pressure.