Symptoms of faulty Coolant Hoses

Low coolant level

Coolant hoses carry coolant through them. Shocking, right? If the car’s coolant levels are low, it might be because of a leak in the hose. Speaking of leaks...

Houston, we have a leak

If you spot a puddle of liquid under your car, it might be that your dog chose an inopportune place to do their business. More likely, you’ve got a leak somewhere in your car. That leak could be from the coolant hoses. If you’re familiar with coolant, you can check out the leak to see whether the liquid is coolant or something else. Either way, something’s probably wrong.

Visible hose damage

You probably don’t pop your hood every morning to look at your engine. But if you do, hey, no judgment. If you spot damage on the hoses - such as cracks, swelling, or holes - well that’s a pretty good sign that they’re not as healthy as they ought to be. While you may not spot the damages, a mechanic likely will when doing other repairs, or changing your oil.

Overheating engine

You know that little thermometer on your dashboard, that lets you know the temperature of the engine? Pay attention to it when it talks to you. If your car is low on coolant, it won’t be able to - you guessed it - cool down. That makes your engine hot. A hot engine is not good. You probably could have figured that one out on your own.

Steam rising from your engine

Let’s be honest: steam emerging from under your hood is scary. It looks like smoke. Smoke is bad. If it is smoke, well, you’ve got a bigger problem on your hands. But most of the time it’s steam, which can come from leaking coolant landing on hot engine parts and bursting into steam. Steam is a pretty sure sign of coolant hoses that aren’t doing their job.