Coooooolant smell!

2013 rs5 coolant leak/spray center rear engine after two hard runs. What’s back there coolant hose wise besides heater hoses, and what to expect for repair bill. I’ve smelled coolant on certain occasions like drive throughs, but very rare. Reservoir was low this time.

Is it right on the backside of the engine or around the Oil filter housing? There are some small coolant pipes going to the Throttle bodies to heat them up (not a good thing) and like you said there are some bigger ones on the back for the heater.

Here’s a pic to show you the backside of the engine. I circled the large heater hose that may be your culprit depending on where you are seeing the fluid? Partially hidden in the pic behind the hose and right in the lower middle of the engine ‘V’ is a hard metal hose that the other heater hose connects to. Draining from the left or right side of the transmission? Possibly in the valley of the engine ‘V’?


Found the leak. Expansion tank hose. I’m just going to patch it for now.

Congrats, was it rubbing on the clamp?

No rubbing at all. I believe this is the weak point this entire line. It’s in between where it connects to the engine and push-pinned to the firewall. Between the engine movement and it being secured, it wore out over time. Almost like bending a paper clip over and over. I can’t believe how flimsy the plastic was at the break vs half an inch away.
I patched it with silicone heater hose and didn’t secure it to the firewall.

I’ve got a 2006 Cayenne Turbo S and Porsche uses the same cheap plastic lines. I’ve had to replace a bunch of them as the plastic all gets brittle after age & heat. At least Porsche only used it for vacuum & PCV hoses and not for Coolant. But alas, they did use some Plastic T’s and plastic Hardpipes that failed on just about every Cayenne V8 from 2003-2006. They came out with an Aluminum pipe replacement but the parts alone set you back $500~$700 with no good will.