Between us here in the forum...this is pretty common. It's supposed to stay full cold and hot but for some reason it will tend to go low when cold and full once it gets warmed up. I say supposed to because when you buy the car new that's the way it is. I learned after a repair in this area or valley leak. The coolant will never stay full like from factory. I haven't had the valley leak plate, but they cleaned out my radiator once because I had debree stuck in the bottom. The technician had to take apart my coolant reservoir and since then it's gone low when cold and full when hot. At one point when warmed up it wasn't full that's when I knew it had to be topped off. Fortunately, what this means to you is that you can use this as ammunition to get reimbursed for the $300. Take a picture of it when cold to show the manager that the job wasn't done right, that they broke a part and made you pay for it. That you demand your $300 refunded immediately or you will report them to corporate. Then demand they rectify the low coolant issue. Honestly, if it's not leaking all they have to do is top it off, but for some reason it doesn't stay full when cold. I wish someone can answer why not. I've read is caused by evaporation other said air bubble pressure but I dont buy it. When that area doesn't get tampered with it remains full at all times.

 

Their response when i asked them why it fluctuated if there were no leaks was that sometimes more stayed in the system instead of in the reservoir. Ive been looking at it every couple days for a month or so since i last filled it and it always fluctuates right in the same range, maybe 1/8". Might be tough getting them to believe that their work caused the coolant level to move even if they did do a poor job.

 

well... ****. maybe I never had a leak in the first place and they fabricated the entire thing. The coolant level is exactly back where it was before I took it in, 1/4" below the L mark when cold. I will have to check it hot and see what it goes up to.

 

I doubt they said you had a leak even if you didn't, it is a pretty common issue on these cars. I personally would just continue to monitor it for a bit and see how much it really moves, like I said mine fluctuates a bit but always stays pretty constant.

 

before I had my valley plate leak fixed mine would also fluctuate and drop below the low. Since then it's been at full with no issues; cold and hot it's still at full. I would say some movement is normal, like nks mentioned.. but it really shouldn't move between full and low. The system is closed and shouldn't be disappearing.

 

Agreed^^^^After I had mine fixed mine does not drop below the full mark now (trust me I check it at least 2-3 times a week with a flashlight). It does however rise above the full mark when hot, but when cold and first thing in the morning it's at the full mark as expected when everything is supposed to be sealed up on no longer leaking coolant.