Coolant Leak

I have a 2020 Platinum with just over 3000 miles on it. Today while driving suddenly there was a smell coming from the A/C vent - the typical sweet smell of a coolant leak. The smell was present while driving and undetectable while idling - idled for about 20 mins waiting for my wife and as soon as I started driving I could smell it again. I looked under the hood and immediately found evidence of leaking coolant. The center portion of the crud looks wet. The coolant tank is actually filled about an inch higher than the Max line.

Is this enough of a leak to smell it in the cabin or is there also potentially something else going on too?

What am I looking at here?

Thanks for any help!

 

Its under warranty, take 1t back and get them to fix it.

 

Already scheduled. I'm just trying to know something about this before I take it in. I have a hard time believing I can smell that leak in the cabin because it's not subtle. I want to make sure it's not really a problem with the evaporator or at least have enough evidence to not simply accept it was a loose hose. I've played the can not replicate problem only to be back at the dealership with the same problem too many times.

 

That’s the Thermostat housing but looks dry now you can clean it and see if it comes back or take it to the Toyota dealer and wait a couple hours for them to clean it and say they “fixed it”

 

Could that explain the smell in the cabin?

 

That’s kinda small to smell inside but being that it’s a new truck you can be smelling all types of smells cause it’s breaking in

 

I've had evaporator/heater core leaks before in other cars - the smell IS antifreeze and as I said it is NOT subtle. Truck was fine and then it wasn't and the two other passengers and I all started making sniffing noises at the same time. I was just under the hood two days ago and that dried antifreeze was not there on the thermostat.

I guess my question is can a leaking thermostat hose be an indication of something bigger that would cause a significant antifreeze smell in the cabin?

 

Thanks, that was the answer I was looking for!

 

Take it to the dealership, let them fix it, your going to smell oil/coolant leaking into the engine compartment thru the ventilation.

 

It would be a bit hard to smell that little dried up coolant inside the cab but your heater core is inside the cab and could possibly have a leak anything is possible you can have maybe 2 issues or it can just be the truck settling in just need to keep an eye on it until your appointment take pics of the leak document it and clean it see if it happens again like that u can Show the service writer what they need to look into

 

Cleaned it and drove about 5 miles and there's already a fresh drop of new coolant there. I'll let it build up for good effect over the week - appt is next Saturday.

 

Do coolant and refrigerant smell similar?

 

I say so but I have been doing it for so long that I can smell the difference I’m going to say that coolant is sweeter than refrigerant but I can’t really explain the difference

Refrigerant is a bit stronger than coolant like you can feel it in your nostrils i dont know maybe I’m crazy lol been a mechanic over 30 years now i can smell other cars leaking next to me at stop lights

 

I'm experiencing the same issue. First time, Toyota said the clamp was loose so it was replaced, torqued, and then a issue test was performed was no leak as a result. It's now leaking again. What was the outcome here? What should I tell them next? "Still leaking, try again?"