Had a coolant leak - used Bars Stop Leak..

[JoeRL]

2 years into owning it, now about every two weeks I had to refill the coolant reservoir; there are no puddles and I can smell coolant through my vent system.

I went ahead and got some palletized Bars Stop Leak for my radiator I put it all in through the reservoir. I have run the car for at least a hundred miles now and I no longer smell coolant and my levels have not dropped at all. So it worked!

However now I have an issue where my system thinks I am low on coolant so I get the red point on the dash as well as 'coolant low stop engine' warning. As I said I've run the car a lot it does not overheat the coolant is moving freely through the system.

Before I go and replace the coolant level sensor (which I looked up and is actually pretty easy and relatively inexpensive ) I'm wondering if anyone has experience with the Bars and if the chemical components of the bars somehow throw off the coolant level detection system...?

many thanks in advance I really appreciate all the help this forum has been a great source of knowledge !

[Chuck W]

The Bars probably gummed up the magnet float for the level sensor and it's stuck in a "low" position.

[abscate]

Drive her nice and gently Joe. If you had a seep a a hose or connection, Stop Leak will work, if its an internal leak, it usually is shortlived success. The Stop Leak can really make things worse, too.

Think of it like a band aid for a wound that really needs stitches.

[SuperHerman]

Pull the codes and see what they say. Low tech approach - with intelligence for overheat: Pull the sensor harness and see if anything changes. Clean the sensor and see if anything changes. Look to see if you can short the sensor at the harness and see if light goes out. This points to sensor.

Bars Leak works, but can cause a mess. You are adding tiny particles to the coolant that find their way to the leak and fill the hole. The rest is just floating around your system and building up here and there. Not ideal. It is sold and it works and usually causes no issues - it has been around a long time for a reason. Still a proper fix is always better.

If you want to figure it out properly do a pressure test and add some coolant dye then replace the offending part. You could have a heater core issue, which is hard to find - the tell is usually the inside front windshield and your nose. You may get lucky and see the dye from inside. Have to remove some plastic, but you may find some wetness in the area and carpet. Exterior the dye will show when doing a pressure test pretty easy. Just look at every place coolant travels. I had a XC70 with a failed hose I could not find - went into the block on the drivers side. Dye and pressure test showed it right away - a very tiny pinhole leak.

Bars Leak not a greater cure for failed hoses, more for hard parts. I can see it working on a seam fail on the heater core, but it will most likely keep failing, Bars Leak aside.

Do a serious flush if and when you replace the part that has failed.