Smelly Heat (Antifreeze smell)

Tell us the main ingredients listed on the container...

I'll look but will it actually show ingredients? On a bottle of coolant?

Good to know... Now I am not so concerned. Unless the car starts shooting it out the dash vents in to my mouth.

Thanks, but I am surpised that no ingredients are listed. Is there more info elsewhere to be found?

Thanks, but I am surpised that no ingredients are listed. Is there more info elsewhere to be found?

Click to expand...

abc:

So it is good old ethylene glycol. Great... abctdi, do you have an MSDS for that?

guys, was that foto helpful? where are y'all headed with all of this knowledge

I can get one on Monday. One concern is breathing in trace amounts of this stuff...is it bad for you? I think the answer for ethylene glycol is different than for PG...

Dieseldorf, photo was very helpful. We are trying to figure out what breathing this stuff out of your dash vents will do to you over the long term. That's why abctdi is posting material safety data sheets for the stuff. I noticed there's also some organic acids and NaOH in there- NaOH should go to Na+ + OH- + H2O, but sebacic acid seems to have very little health information available...

I thuoght Carousel got your car all fixed up?
HMMM! It is a really neat little car and having two bad heater cores would be pretty rare.
Make VW give you another identical car and then one of us can try to buy yours at the auction for a great price.

I honestly don't know if Carousel actually got the car fixed the first time. I know they replaced the core, but every time I think the coolant smell is gone, it comes back for a very brief amount of time. They say this is left-over stuff in the dash sliding around and to bring it back if it's still doing it in January... hrmmm... If that's the case, it will be time for a VW factory engineer to make a trip to IC, because I am not going to part with this car. Unless it's for a TDI Jetta GLS with the mag rims and a stick...

I bumped into a fella trhe other day with a new 2005 Jetta TDI (5-speed) and he had the 17" Long Beach wheels off of a 2003 Jetta 1.8 T (gas).

It looked pretty nice. Have you ever sat in the back seat of a Jetta? Pretty tight!

I personally would stick with the Passat if you plan on hauling passengers in the rear seat. Just my .02.

BTW: I got the Neuespeed rear sway bar on the car last night. Green Diamond snow tires and the 15" steelies with hubcaps go on this week. The car feels a bit tighter and more responsive with the rear sway bar.

Nice! I need to get one of the Neuspeed bars soon. And some 17" mags.

I think we are getting a little off topic here, so now for a dose of reality. Here is what the MSDS said for ethylene glycol:

SAF-T-DATA(tm) Ratings (Provided here for your convenience)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health Rating: 2 - Moderate (Life)
Flammability Rating: 1 - Slight
Reactivity Rating: 1 - Slight
Contact Rating: 3 - Severe (Life)
Lab Protective Equip: GOGGLES & SHIELD; LAB COAT & APRON; VENT HOOD; PROPER GLOVES
Storage Color Code: Green (General Storage)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Potential Health Effects
----------------------------------

Inhalation:
Vapor inhalation is generally not a problem unless heated or misted. Exposure to vapors over an extended time period has caused throat irritation and headache. May cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness and drowsiness. Pulmonary edema and central nervous system depression may also develop. When heated or misted, has produced rapid, involuntary eye movement and coma.
Ingestion:
Initial symptoms in massive dosage parallel alcohol intoxication, progressing to CNS depression, vomiting, headache, rapid respiratory and heart rate, lowered blood pressure, stupor, collapse, and unconsciousness with convulsions. Death from respiratory arrest or cardiovascular collapse may follow. Lethal dose in humans: 100 ml (3-4 ounces).
Skin Contact:
Minor skin irritation and penetration may occur.
Eye Contact:
Splashes may cause irritation, pain, eye damage.
Chronic Exposure:
Repeated small exposures by any route can cause severe kidney problems. Brain damage may also occur. Skin allergy can develop. May damage the developing fetus.
Aggravation of Pre-existing Conditions:
Persons with pre-existing skin disorders, eye problems, or impaired liver, kidney, or respiratory function may be more susceptible to the effects of this substance.

I have not experience any of the inhalation symptoms yet...maybe because I only get a small whiff upon first usage.

Freaky. Yeah, that's what I thought, it's a CNS depressant and will cause kidney failure. I have had headaches from my car, as well as the sore throat thing. Am extremely upset right now...

My car is at the dealer again for this problem. This would be the second bad heater core...

I have had headaches from my cars before, and been pissed off too. But not from EG. I will be more aware of these symtoms before taking my car in...it seems to be a real hassle.

What is special about VW antifreeze that you can't use another brand?

Bad stuff happens...I guess its the chemistry of the additives. Diesels have a tendency to form hot spots and vapor bubbles. The additives prevent the bubbles, which can lead to local corrosion spots and pin holes.

I think the problem with the bubbles on diesels you are referring to is cavitation. I have been told that the VW diesels are small enough and smooth-running enough that cavitation is not a major problem.

Supposedly Dexcool (GM coolant) is close to G12 in terms of additives, and can be used interchangeably, as long as you drain out and flush the system before changing. If you are worried about cavitation, you can put in an anti-cavitation additive, but there don't appear to be any of these in the G12. The two main kinds of coolant are ethylene glycol and propylene glycol. This is mostly a difference in the toxicity. PG is less toxic (about 1/3 as toxic) as EG. Dexcool uses PG, G12 is EG, AFAIK.

These are further complicated by the anti-corrosion package- old style chartreuse colored north american coolant is EG with silicates. Toyota red coolant is EG or PG with silicates. Dexcool and G12 use OAT (organic acid technology) which is incompatible with silicate additive packages. You need an aluminum radiator, etc. to use OAT-based coolants. You need a brass or copper system to use silicates.

But, IANAE (I am not an expert)

What he said...

What Dealer do you go to?
Sean

As mentioned earlier in the thread, I go to Carousel in IC. The problem here is not the dealer, but the massive number of bad heater cores for these cars.

Okay, everyone, one last (I hope!) update on the status of my bad heater core(s). I got my Passat back again from the dealer yesterday. They had it all day and took the dash out again, after much angst and telling them I wished I had bought a Camry instead. (don't worry- I was just doing it to get them to work on the car). They found that the second heater core (the one they installed in October) was also slowly leaking. They replaced it. Again.

We'll see how long this one lasts. Last time this problem started, I was driving with full heat on and my defroster running- it was very very cold and rainy out. Could the A/C condenser (very cold with defrost on) and the heater core (very hot with heat on full) in such proximity to each other with both on be causing my heater core to somehow "warp" or something? Am I performing a big no-no by having the heat on full with the defroster on? Never had a problem with it in any other car. If this one goes bad, it's back to Hondas, guys. Not that I want to, but I may have to.

Quit \'yer whining Man! Put a coat on!

Just having fun with you Nick. The heater core in the Passat is the 'best' heater core I have ever used. The real problem here must be due to low quality fuel. Yeah, that's it, the low quality fuel you are using is causing your heater core to leak.

Seriously, I write this all with a smile on my face. How many days has your car been out of service due to heater core problems? My total loss of service is up to 16 days. I really hope that they can get your heater core squared away. What a pain that must be. What are they saying is happening? Are there pin holes, bad fittings, design, dumb luck? I would hate to have one of these go out in extremely cold weather. Although some may see this as a small problem, I don't view it that way. I have never, NOT once had a problem with any heater core. What gives? Of course me saying this is cause for my heater core to fail. Best of luck Nick. Peace, we don't need no 'stinkin' heater core!!

Are there many issues related to heater core problems on NHTSA?

Regards,

Bryan

Quit \'yer whining Man! Put a coat on!

Yeah, that's fair game. Seriously, though, I don't doubt that you have a bad tranny at all. I know how it feels. Mine has been "out of commission" for about 12 days over a period of 3.5 months.

They have both had what was described to me as "three pin holes" (three each time, weird) in the core, location of the holes never described to me other than being "on top." The first one apparently really leaked quite badly into the heater box, and they had to do a lot of cleanup. The second one they said there was a "dime sized" puddle of coolant. I have a really hypersensitive sense of smell. Someone across the street from me walking by wearing old spice can set off a migraine. So they were amazed that I had smelled the coolant. They couldn't smell anything on multiple occasions of me bringing the car in. Whew. This better not happen again. I don't consider it a minor problem when they have to remove my whole dash to get at the part. Now my dash is full of multiple rattles, which I'm sure will never get corrected.


Well, that's the end of my b*tchfest about my core for now. Hopefully not more later.

I drove a new sedan on a lot in Nashville last week that had the typical heater core failure smell.
Our new one does not do this and hopefully never will.

VW of Langhorne actually told me they don't smell the antifreeze smell that I do. I told them that it either makes me a liar or I am imagining it; I suspect neither. It smells like antifreeze. When I pick up the vehicle - unrepaired, I am requesting they hand write they find no problem with my car and have not had the complaints from others as well. When the class action suit appears, I suspect a recall.

Same here, different dealer. I get a faint whiff each time I use the heater, nothing alarming though. They pressure tested it and proclaimed it good. It must be that time of year for this complaint to come up again...

I took mine in too for the same situation and they said it was not leaking as per a test they did. It was much worse when I first got the car. The more I think about it, the more I think it may be more due to a valve leak than a tank leak. Now I don't smell anything and the coolant level is normal.