GLA 250 Cooling Issue?

[Bob66]

Hi All

Hope for some help from some people with more knowledge of Mercedes than me.

After 7 years of 14 hour shifts i finally saved enough to buy a 2018 GLA 250 2.0 Petrol, Fell in love with the car as soon as i saw it but have been a bit concerned about a possible cooling issue.

When changing the oil i noticed a small amount of coffee coloured liquid on the oil cap, panic set in but i have since read that this can be normal in cold weather?, the wife has also been saying that even on a very short run the radiator fans are on for most of the time, it also reaches operating temp in a very short time.

I checked coolant level when cold and it was about 1cm above the white T but when hot it is almost at the filler neck, i can also see some stains from coolant under the expansion tank but it does not appear to have a leak.
It smokes a little bit of white smoke from cold start up but nothing that would seem out of place and goes away when warm, the temp gauge has never gone above the 3/4 mark in the 2 months iv'e owned it. The coolant colour is not as pink as the new coolant i purchased but also not that discoloured.

The car has only done 25000 miles and has full service history so i cant believe it can be a head gasket problem but because i am not used to Mercedes and there quirks i wanted to ask for your guys knowledge, I have put every penny i own into the car and will be devestated if there is a problem but also don't want to bury my head in the sand about a potential issue.

Many thanks for anyone that can help,

Bob

 

[AMGeed]

Hi Bob
Welcome to the forum
Congrats on your GLA ownership.
The coffee coloured residue inside the filler cap was most likely the result of condensation and nothing to worry about. Same as the white smoke coming from the exhaust, nothing to be concerned about if it disappears when the engine warms up.

It sounds like the coolant tank is slightly overfilled and overflows when the coolant expands as it heats up.
Try removing some until its just under the full mark and see if there is any change.
If you are still concerned, the car will be under warranty if you've just bought it, so return it for a check up and explain your worries.
The engine should run at around 90c when fully warmed up. Not sure where that is on your temp gauge. They are very efficient and heat up quickly.

 

[Bob66]

Hi AMGreed,

Thanks for the reply, that has put my mind at ease a bit, out of interest what is the correct coolant lvl as it does not seem to have a max/min level.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[Bellow]

Hi AMGreed,

Thanks for the reply, that has put my mind at ease a bit, out of interest what is the correct coolant lvl as it does not seem to have a max/min level.

Cheers,

Bob

Find a handbook - hard copy or on-line - for the above, adjust (if necessary) the level to the marking and observe any change. No change means everything is fine. The level will be higher when hot - that is normal.
Otherwise, everything in post #2 is spot on - including that petrol engines warm up quickly. If you are used to diesels, it might be surprising just how quickly a petrol gets to operating temp.