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So, on my 2 mile drive to work today, I pull into the lot with steam coming through the hoods heat extractors. As I sat there staring in disbelief, it got worse.
I shut the car off and popped the hood. The steam was gone, but there was condensation (imo) in an unusual spot. A/C was off, window was down during drive time. Coolant temp was 180* and the drive was an easy one, only hitting 52 mph. Once the hood was popped, this is the only thing I could find:
Can someone shed light on this?
She only has 678 miles and I'm really hoping it's nothing!
Last edited by Drummer4life03; 09-12-2016 at 10:41 PM.
Look for a leak at your tank are should I say fittings on the S/C look like something is not tighten down good under pressure after the car gets warmed up.
Check your coolant level in the S/C, Then the coolant after that. Robert
The brass fitting looks like the intercooler bleed valve. Check the reservoir on the passenger side below the radiator hose. There should be a small bubble in the pink fluid reservoir. If it is a large bubble, head to the dealer. The system needs to be vacuum filled.
You didn't get the hood wet lately did you? Water from rain or a car wash will cause this steam and has happened to a number of owners.
If the car was parked outside it could have been from a heavy dew overnight. A heavy dew would deposit moisture through the vents on the radiator or any parts where cool damp outside air could settle. Once the coolant and engine surfaces start to warm up moisture on the engine and radiator fins would start to evaporate thus the steam.
I get mad steam out of the vents if I run the car through a touchless car wash when I am being lazy. I would do the checks said here, but more or less it SOUNDS like a non-issue.
Is the "small" bubble you mention how much room (air) is above the fluid? Mine has about 1/2-3/4 " of space above fluid. My '16 Z only has 1000 miles w/no issues but just curious & what problems being low could cause. Thanks!
Originally Posted by 383vett
The brass fitting looks like the intercooler bleed valve. Check the reservoir on the passenger side below the radiator hose. There should be a small bubble in the pink fluid reservoir. If it is a large bubble, head to the dealer. The system needs to be vacuum filled.
I get mad steam out of the vents if I run the car through a touchless car wash when I am being lazy. I would do the checks said here, but more or less it SOUNDS like a non-issue.
Big no no on those auto washes. The thought makes me cringe.
Big no no on those auto washes. The thought makes me cringe.
I've used touch-less washes many times and get the steam. We have water rationing so it's a real pain when they make it illegal to wash your car at home.
A real no no is the guy with a C6 I saw the other day using the foam brush at the car wash.
I've used touch-less washes many times and get the steam. We have water rationing so it's a real pain when they make it illegal to wash your car at home.
A real no no is the guy with a C6 I saw the other day using the foam brush at the car wash.
Wow not sure what I would do if I couldn't wash my car. I know I wouldn't use a touchless automatic car wash EVER. The steam is another good reason not to use that kind of car wash
How are your wheels doing? When you first got the car there was a little insert in the arm rest that said no automatic car washes. Some guys who did ended up ripping off trim pieces or grinding their wheels. One guy even has a gash down a door.
You can wash a whole car with a single fill on a 3 gallon yard sprayer. Did it all the time when I was living in a condo. Close your garage and no one will ever know.
Last edited by spearfish25; 09-20-2016 at 06:02 AM.
I was with one of our forum members when he picked up his new 2015 Z06(one of the very first ones).
The car had been parked inside the dealer's shop overnight. After the paperwork was completed and the car brought outside, run up to the gas station and filled, and parked in front of the showroom, and packed, and the car was running. It was around 43 degrees, sunny, 9:30 AM, no rain for a while.
Steam started coming out of the hood vent(quite a bit). The happy new owners went ahead and headed home to Sioux Falls, SD and I never heard any complaints from them after they got home.
Big no no on those auto washes. The thought makes me cringe.
LaserWashes are touchless and awesome for getting the undercarriage also. Do a great job of cleaning the car and leaving a spotless surface, unless the car was caked in filth. Good when you're in a hurry or winter. Yes, the hood vents "steam" for a minute or so after washing. No biggie.
I am guessing that the negative comments were more about the type your wheels fit between bars to guide the car . Although the car washes tend to remove wax faster than quality car wash & your hose & buckets. Just gives us an excuse to get her/him shining purty agin!!
How are your wheels doing? When you first got the car there was a little insert in the arm rest that said no automatic car washes. Some guys who did ended up ripping off trim pieces or grinding their wheels. One guy even has a gash down a door.
You can wash a whole car with a single fill on a 3 gallon yard sprayer. Did it all the time when I was living in a condo. Close your garage and no one will ever know.
With the touchless wash all you do is drive in over the jets shooting water under the car, stop the car at the mark, wait 5 minutes for the system to spray the car with a cleansing mix, rinse it, blow dry it and then turn on the green light telling you go leave. Some of them have you drive out past the blowers Vs having the blowers travel back and forth. There are no rails, the spray heads travel around the car and if the car doesn't have a lot of caked on dirt it does a pretty good job of getting it clean.
HOWEVER, depending on the touchless, the spray can be very damaging. I have fine needle point size holes in my paint around my front fascia. I bought my car last September, drove it all winter and couldn't wash by hand until spring. I was driving through a number of different touchless washes to keep the car clean. Sometimes twice a week. When I was working on changing out my brake rotors and pads for a HPDE, I noticed the tiny little paint chips. It looks like the front of the car was sandblasted it is so fine. But it is missing paint and can only assume (since I don't live in the desert) the damage was caused by the water pressure in a touchless wash!
09-12-2016, 09:24 PM
Steam coming out of my C7 Z06 hood vents??!!
