Red exclamation point in red triangle

-21*F this morning , car outside over night , started right up (2nd try), warmed it up for a few minutes .Didn't get out of the neighborhood and I get a warning chime and Red triangle with exclamation point , info center says check coolant with engine highlighted in red . Of course dealership is closed for new years day . Only had the car for 7 months , hope it's nothing . I really like this car .

Then check the coolant!

Transparent reservoir under the hood. Make sure the coolant level is in the proper range.

Be aware that these cars (along with all VWs) use a specific coolant formulation that must not be mixed with the cheap green stuff.

Yeah, check the coolant. I only had to add a little to mine once after driving the car for 6 months to a year(and during the timing belt service). You want G12++ or G13 coolant + distilled water. If the level was borderline before, the cold may have caused enough contraction of coolant volume to trigger the low level sensor.

Yes, I got that . Dealership is the only place to get that coolant around here . The car is still brand new , so the dealership can make sure that is the only problem . Not trying to be a premadonna but come on , it should have left the dealer with enough coolant don't you think ?

tom61 said:

Yes, I got that . Dealership is the only place to get that coolant around here . The car is still brand new , so the dealership can make sure that is the only problem . Not trying to be a premadonna but come on , it should have left the dealer with enough coolant don't you think ?

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Only if you "trust" dealerships. Best to open the hood and just look at the coolant reservoir yourself.

tom61 said:

Yes, I got that . Dealership is the only place to get that coolant around here . The car is still brand new , so the dealership can make sure that is the only problem . Not trying to be a premadonna but come on , it should have left the dealer with enough coolant don't you think ?

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It probably did leave the dealership with enough coolant. Hoses expand, air voids get expelled, and coolant contracts a little in frigid temps. Or you could have a leak. You can get Pentofrost ++(g12++) and Pentofrost E (g13) at a ton of auto parts stores. Usually cheaper to buy it from the dealer though.

In exceptionally cold conditions - Water+coolant has a different ratio of thermal expansion than the metals in the engine. The level will change somewhat with temperature. It's possible that this caused the level to drop far enough to activate the level switch.

Open the hood, make sure there is at least some coolant visible in the expansion bottle.

The expansion ball is empty , should have said that originally (my bad). Going to swing by the dealer after work tomorrow ( in my truck ) . Supposed to be warmer , may be some in bottle after it warms up a bit . Didn't mean to sound like the sky was falling , just a little frustrated with a new car is all.

Also yes , I know about vw G13 coolant . That's why I was bummed about the dealer being closed for the holiday . Not afraid of working on them , just put a new battery and glow plugs in the '01 beetle last night . It's sneaking up on 250k miles .

Okay , got a bottle of G13 coolant from the service dept. and with it being a little more than 35*F warmer than a couple days ago . Popped the hood and today there is a little bit of color in the bottom of the expansion tank . Filled it to the low line and all is well .

depending on how much you added, it may be wise to also dilute it with distilled water. dealer jugs come concentrated.

As was mentioned earlier, hoses can expand and allow for additional capacity over time. I had to top up on both 2015s a couple times up through 40k miles. These EA288s have a TON of coolant pipes/hoses, so this is likely happening on all of these cars.