Hey guys has anyones Max smelt like antifreeze? I took my car to the dealership due to I have been smelling a slight hint of it and they say nothing is wrong with it and no leaks at all. My car is a 2010 with only 18,000 miles on it. No leaks on dry pavement, no leaks around engine or that I can see.... WHAT THE????

 

I have a 2012 Maxima with the same issue, the funny thing is they told me the same thing and I didn't except it. I went back three times and on the third time with a 2nd system pressure test they found the issue. Long story short they ended up replacing the short block. My recommendation keep going back and request a complete system pressure test. You could have either a head gasket problem ( why you wouldn't be seeing coolant just the smell) or a crack in the block ( this was my issue, 2 small cracks behind the timing chain. My car had only 17K miles on it. Good luck & keep us posted.

 

Had/have the same issue with my 2010. The dealership replaced the head gasket but the smell is still there. Last time I stopped by they told me it was just burning off the antifreeze from the head gasket job back in February.

 

Thanks guys, I thought so but after they said it was nothing and really dont have any problems (lights on, service engine, lag in startup or in motion) ..... Now that I think about it, I dont know if it will be covered due to it being a 2010.... :/ ****, especially if its similar issue to both yalls Max's!! I will keep you all posted so everyone can get it fixed it they do have an issue.

 

I think the coolant reservoir is an "open" design... not sealed... so you will get a slight smell at times... I usually notice after highway driving. With that said, The 2009-2010 Maxima and Muranos (same engine) suffer from leaking head gaskets. If you have a little mechanic in you, look around best you can and try to find a leak on either head. I did, found a leak on the rear head by the exhaust manifold (from under the car), took pictures to the dealer, and they couldn't argue with that. Prior to that, I got the "normal" answer 2 times. I will add I checked 4 friends cars that had the same issue and 3 had the leak on the rear head while 1 had a leak on the front head. Nissan has redesigned the head gaskets (3 layers vs. 2, I think) and that seems to have fixed the problem. The leaks are typically external, so it won't show up on a Used Oil Analysis or in the car's oil... but if the gaskets are faulty, anything could happen down the road. Good luck!

 

Here is a link to the Murano forum (remember... same engine as ours) with lots of pics.

http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/6...kets-09-a.html

 

One more... here is a link to pics from my first engine after they removed the heads.

http://forums.maxima.org/7th-generat...ts-w-pics.html

 

Kawowski,

Thanks for all your input and help. It doesnt always smell but your right, after a long trip or the car has been on for a bit, I can smell it. But again, they might tell me about the fact that it is a 2010 and not under warranty. Roughly what do you think that will cost me?

 

The year wouldn't matter... how many miles? If under 60,000, you are are still covered under the powertrain warranty. If you are over 60k, did you take it in for the problem before 60k? If so, you identified the problem before the warranty ran out... they just "missed" identifying it... and you should be covered. I asked how much the job would have been without warranty and they said around $2500.00. This is a major, common problem and should be covered (with a fight perhaps) even if out of warranty.

 

This EXACTLY! Too many over reactions here!

 

Mine has the same issue, smells like anti-freeze. I notice it big time in the drive thru when the fans kick on. Its not "normal" to smell anti freeze regardless the system.

 

Wow man funny that you say that, I tend to go to McDonalds alot for my kids and it never fails, I always smell it when Im in there!!!! Just didnt wanna say that earlier, sounded kinda funny... but yes, Im with you. Someone else said over reaction but, your right it should NOT smell like antifreeze.....

My car is a 2010 with now about 18,300... I dont drive it much due to working within 5 miles from my work.... I guess I will just have to pay for the diagnostic test to identify if indeed it does have a leak there... they guys there are kinda cool with me so I will see.

 

Nice car man, like that front you got going on. Well you might seem its a bit to much on thread but is yours ok? No issue with this?

 

You are still under warranty and will not need to pay a diagnostic fee with that mileage... it will be covered. Just take it in.

 

"Open system" I think its a cheap reservoir bottle/cap design. (similar to Nissan's add water batteries & their aluminum/plastice radiators). I have a 2010 Maxima and I sometimes smelled antifreeze too. When I removed the covering on the left side of the engine to put on my strut bar I found that the lip around my reservoir bottle cap was green from coolant.

I did some investigating and found that the cap doesn't hold pressure real well and allows some coolant to escape thus giving you the smell. I didn't think this "open system" was intentional so I wrapped some plumbers tape on the bottle threads and created a better seal for my cap. I haven't smelled antifreeze since June.

On a side note, the washer fluid bottle on the Maxima is a 2 part system in that you can actually pull the entire upper piece off. I highly detest getting vehicle fluids on my clean garage floor so is this another "open system" we have to be concerned with?

 

yeah my coolant reservoir had a bunch of crap around the top too like it'd been leaking. i have a faint odor of antifreeze in my bay as well.

 

Well I will look into it... it was not to alarming to me but just want to make sure its nothing major and Id like to get it looked at before I get rid of it soon... hear they are changing body styles in 2015...

 

Is it true the only care about the mileage for the powertrain warranty? My car has 56k but is an 09 so the 5year mark was hit in August. If I take it in now will they still honor the powertrain warranty?

 

no it's whatever comes first, I think what the op meant was if you brought your car in during your warranty period and they misdiagnosed it without fixing the issue you can bring it back and be fixed under warranty even the warranty Is technically up

I wish that we're the case I have 21k on my 2010

 

The powertrain warranty is 5 years/60k miles...

The bumper to bumper is 3 years/30k miles...

And yes, Tommy6905 was right... if you brought it in at less than 60k miles and they documented your concern but could not fix it... you can take it in now even if you are over 60k and they have to fix it. You addressed the problem while you were in warranty. They just failed to fix it then... or more than likely blew you off.

 

Regarding the "open" system... the reservoir has an open outlet on the rear side of it. It angles downward but is open. I messed around with it but can't seem to smell coolant directly from the reservoir... spin cap or outlet. My smell seems to be from around the radiator cap. I have replaced the cap with an OEM cap hoping that would fix the issue... but no luck.

 

Thank you brother, yes sir! I do occasionally smell it, my Jeep XJ did the same though, it would smell on hot days just as the Maxima does!! Oh sorry man, not complaining towards you, my bad if ya thought that!! Your best bet to see if there's a problem is to perform a pressure test and see if it holds pressure to see if there is any leaks in the cooling system!

 

Yea man thats what Im gonna do... Like I said, Im going to keep it for another year and after that, 2015 But your right, on hot days Im gonna smell it for sure! Any pics of your car man? Imma PM you>>>>

 

Another problem could be that your radiator is coming apart at the seams. Nissan radiators are made of plastic and aluminum that is machine stamped together. When they expand and contract so many times your car might began to overheat and the radiator will leak, and you will get the coolant smell.

This is what happened to my 03 Maxima (although it took 6 yrs to occur). We have the same style radiator in this generation Maxima as well. (I don't think that is the problem I'm just looking at all the possibilities).

 

I hope its nothing but at least will get it all checked out... I just knew someone had this issue so thanks for everyones partake in thread!

You all are great!

 

Awsome, sweet deal brother and thank you about the ride, I appreciate very much

 

Has anyone had this issue confirmed (replaced?) by Nissan with their 7th Gen? I know A LOT of people complain about "that smell."

 

I definitely have "that smell" too. Had it since the day i drove it home from the dealer. I've looked everywhere for leaks but saw nothing. Had a UOA done and none in the oil. The level in the reservoir stays the same. So I'm guessing the fumes from the antifreeze are just escaping the system somewhere. I know its not supposed to happen, but I havent seen any evidence of leaks anywhere.

 

I just got my car back from the dealership and they sprayed the rear bumper for me because they sold it to me with it backed into a bush and I didn't think it would cause damage over three months it was in the lot anyways I also had the sub in the passenger door replaced as a warranty item free of charge of course but I was worried about the antifreeze smell from the car and have been tripping about the head gasket leaks etc so I rolled underneath her today and found no seepage or leaks phew !! I did see the slight seepage from the coolant reservoir as mentioned before so this is a problem . Tomorrow I will use some Teflon tape and see what happens . If this is it I am taking it back to the dealer . Hey it only has 21000 on it and is a CPo from nissan . Lol

 

I've noticed everyone seems to mentioning resevoirs, rad caps and cooling system parts from under the hood causing this coolant smell and dealership or anyone not seeing any signs of coolant leaks being if it were under the hood it may be a little more difficult to smell if you have your windows up but if you are smelling this when you have your heat on and the only place being looked is under the hood has anybody possibly considered the heater core under the dash? sometimes the leak may not be bad enough to leak out soaking your passenger side floor but a leaky heater core can definately cause the smell of coolant. Just a suggestion.

 

I smell it outside of the car .

 

well i was smelling something similar so i took my 2012 in only 26000 miles. well they discover a leak in one of my throttle body hose's so they replace both to solve the problem. i haven't smelled anything else so ill keep my nose and eyes open for the head gasket next time.

 

Throttle body hose hmm ? I will look at that closely tomorrow thank you .

 

The cooling system is not a fully closed system, you will get a hint of coolant smell after an interstate run once the cap vents to the reservoir which has a, roughly 1/2 inch vent hole. The other problem is head gaskets seeping which was one of Kawowski's problems, I'm the tech that rebuilt his motor. If you look up at where the head meets the block and see coolant crust then the gaskets are seeping. It is usually more prevalent in the valley between the head. We get countless complaints about coolant odor, some are legitimate but for the most part others are blown out of proportions.

 

I am checking near the throttle body soon but yes I know that it's an open system . But that's a crappy reason to get a smell if coolant from the reservoir . Bad design who besides a mechanic would know about the smell of coolant all they know is it smells weird it's also poisonous the fumes in all and I am sure most of us have kids and a fresh vent in the Ac means that you get it inside . I did check the entire bottom of the at heads etc nothing at all . I am going to look at the iac valve hoses that's where the other member said the stealership was leaking .

 

If all else fails don't rule out the heatercore. Doesn't hurt to take a look there anyway.

 

It's head gaskets if you can smell it. My 2010 has done it since new and since the coolant level never dropped, it never got checked out or fixed and at 93,000 miles, I'm stuck with it. I had to add about 500mL of coolant to refill it at ~60,000 miles, so it's a slow slow leak, but enough to smell quite strong. At 93,000, it has gotten low again, so obviously the leak is getting worse. Both headgaskets on mine leak.

That open port on the reservoir creating such a stink isn't really logical. You smell it strong because it is hot coolant coming out onto hot metal components and evaporating instantly. The reservoir has cold coolant in it that gets hot coolant returned to it when the engine gets hot. Fluid in reservoir rarely gets hot enough to evaporate enough to smell.

Late,
Trav

 

So i've been having this burning plastic smell in my car when I turn the heat on (around 6,000 miles) since I got it. First I thought it was because it was brand new, then I thought it's because someone is burning something and I am just driving past it. Today it started to bother me more since i was spending more time in traffic, so i tried to circulate inside, open window to vent, but smell would keep coming back.

When i got home, i grabbed a flash light and I started looking underneath the car, it is cold and kind of late so I did not want to jack it up but I noticed grease/oil droplets on one of the bolts in what I assumed to be transmission area (driver's side, perhaps just parallel to the left wheel). I am DEFINITELY taking it in for the leak, do you all think the smell is related?

 

Question for you guys with coolant smells.

Does you windshield fog up when you turn on your interior fan ?

I had this problem in my old car before and notice it in my max now. When I start to smell the coolant my windshield start to fog up a little either in summer time or winter time. I was told it was due to the oil mizing with the coolant, though it didn't make any sense, but I needed a upper intake gasket change on my engine. After that was done it was fine..

 

Yep... '09 and newer Maximas and Muranos have head gasket issues. If you're smelling coolant, try to look insid the V of the engine or look up from under the car where the heads meet the block. If you see blue or green "crustys", you need head gaskets.