Coolant smell n cab

abager2 · January 16, 2016

I traded for a 2014 silverado reg cab, std bed 4wd ltz-5.3 auto with 30,000 miles on it...after driving it a week, i started smelling what i thought was dexcool in the cab...took it back to dealer, and they also thought it was heater core, so after a big job to replace it, which means pulling out the entire dash, they get it finished and i pick it up...2 days later i am getting a faint smell of dexcool in the cab again...i asked if they replaced the the cabin air filter because im thinking it may be contaminated with the smell and i noticed it when i ran the heater on max heat and blower on high, and they tell me tht filters arent covered under warranty...i tell the service writer that if thats the case i wouldve paid for it...not a big deal to pull glove box and do it, but seems silly not to during repair...no local stores have one in stock and i have to order one...i just hope i dont have another leaking heater core...its never been wet around floor or firewall that i can tell..not sure where the leak was...watching coolant tank to see if it drops any....any ideas?

WLC · January 16, 2016

Check around the top of the radiator for leaks. Mine has 3 out of four moulded clamps broke---but not leaking. Check out the thread ---- losing coolant for pictures. People started smelling coolant before they seen the leak.

Victory14red · January 17, 2016

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/180966-loosing-coolant/page-1

silveradosid · January 17, 2016

my truck just started this yesterday, thanks for the link victory

morrislee · January 21, 2016

Dealer was replacing torque converter on my truck and they saw the radiator was leaking. They replaced the cracked radiator and told me it was common on these models :S

Victory14red · January 21, 2016

It has to do with poor thermostat design. They wanted it to warm up as quickly as possible for emissions. Because of this the Thermostat cycles frequently and causes the broken mounts you see,because of the different expansion rates of plastic and aluminium. The new thermostat takes longer to warm up but doesn't cycle as much

abager2 · January 22, 2016

Guess it was just a bit in the cabin filter..i swapped it and havent noticed any smells for a few day....hopefully its fixed for good..

hirdlej · January 22, 2016

It has to do with poor thermostat design. They wanted it to warm up as quickly as possible for emissions. Because of this the Thermostat cycles frequently and causes the broken mounts you see,because of the different expansion rates of plastic and aluminium. The new thermostat takes longer to warm up but doesn't cycle as much

Does anyone happen to know when they started using the updated thermostat? My truck is a September '15 build so I'm wondering if I should proactively replace the thermostat to save a trip to the dealer or if I should be in the clear........