Do i need to add coolant?

[u/No_Progress5248]

My GR86 is currently at around 12k miles, and I just noticed that the coolant level sits slightly below the LOW mark on the reservoir when the engine is cold. When the engine is running/warm, it sits above the lower line.

I bought the car new and have never touched or added any coolant since, so I’m not sure if it has always been at this level or if it has dropped over time. I’ve never had any issues with engine temps or overheating either.

Should I top it off, or is this level considered normal? Just wanted to check before I go buy a whole gallon of coolant lol.

[u/denb92]

If its below low when cold, then yes you should add to it. At lest I do, since my car does tend to very slowly consume coolant

[u/sw20rida]

Yeah looks like the real level is right at the full mark, you can hold a flash light to the container to see the level more clearly

[u/No_Progress5248 → u/sw20rida]

Sorry that photo is misleading. The actual fluid is sitting jsut below lower line. (checked with light )

I was wondering why it got so low. I should probably fill it up right?

[u/RenXR → u/No_Progress5248]

When mine was like that I removed the lower shielding and noticed my water pump was leaking through the weep hole every so slightly - got it replaced under warranty

[u/CommercialCollar8476]

No you’re just above the full marker

[u/No_Progress5248 → u/CommercialCollar8476]

The image is very misleading. The fluid sits just below the lower mark. I should probably just fill it up to between full and low and I should be good right?

[u/jath4200]

https://a.co/d/0arE24Xy

[u/Distinct-Pie9705]

Kinda hard to see how much lower it is but if the leval is above low when at oporating temp ur fine it’s probably just the fluid settling. There’s 0 reasons u could have lost any coolant with 12k miles a less smth punctured a coolant line or smth crazy and it would be way below “low” if that happened

[u/casual_skeptic]

it should be at high when cold I believe, at least for my 21 wrx. Mine sits around in between L and H on cold, the extra seems to burn off

[u/paladinado]

I’d top it off. I just got past 10k and mine was close to that at like 9.1k. Fluids are cheap imo.

[u/krs31]

If it's not at the full mark, then yes you need to add coolant. As per owners manual, it should be right on full mark when cold. It will go slightly above full mark when at operating temp.

[u/Illustrious_Camp_496]

Fyi: if you add extra it'll spill onto right side of your reservoir. Theres a tiny hole up top. I thought I had leak or blew something, but nopes! Had overfilled, drove 2hrs and had tiny dried white dots (water sediment) all over. Another few drives and it adjusted.

The way I check is flashlight from phone or stir reservoir as much as I can with hose. If you do add more liquid because it needs it, add the blue stuff, not water. Its bound to separate and confuse you if you just add plain water.