Antifreeze smell

[ClancyO]

A little over 11,000 miles on my 2020 and it just started doing this. Read this thread, came home and popped the hood trying to see if I could smell where it’s coming from. Definitely seems strongest in the vicinity of the radiator cap. Then I noticed the overflow line doesn’t have a clamp! I just added a clamp, I’ll follow up in a few days if this was the solution.

 

[Idahoktm]

A little over 11,000 miles on my 2020 and it just started doing this. Read this thread, came home and popped the hood trying to see if I could smell where it’s coming from. Definitely seems strongest in the vicinity of the radiator cap. Then I noticed the overflow line doesn’t have a clamp! I just added a clamp, I’ll follow up in a few days if this was the solution.

That's not it. Mine doesn't have a clamp there and I don't have a coolant smell. The overflow line isn't under pressure, so there's no reason for it to have a clamp. A spring clamp would keep the hose from moving around, if you're concerned about that.

 

[ClancyO]

I know it’s not under pressure otherwise it would easily blow off. But it does blow and suck and as loose as it was warm…. Idk. I work from home so it might be a week plus before I know if it has any affect.

 

[Idahoktm]

I know it’s not under pressure otherwise it would easily blow off. But it does blow and suck and as loose as it was warm…. Idk. I work from home so it might be a week plus before I know if it has any affect.

Do you see coolant drips from the hose? If not, it's probably not the culprit.

 

[ClancyO]

For what it’s worth, a couple of trips down, all long enough to get to full operating temp, zero coolant smell.

 

[KMach]

For what it’s worth, a couple of trips down, all long enough to get to full operating temp, zero coolant smell.

Hows this repair holding up? I too started to get some antifreeze smell at around 10,000 miles on my 21. I haven’t had time to pop the hood when it’s hot to sniff that area. There were a few TSB’s to replace the cooling fan and radiator hoses for a “skunk/antifreeze” smell on the 19 and 20MY. I am a tech and I have indeed seen this overflow hose on other chrysler models cause leaks/smells but they were all with higher miles.
I plan on putting a zip tie on it as with that it’s safer for the radiator because it’s very easy to crack the radiator if it is over tightened.

 

[ClancyO]

Hows this repair holding up? I too started to get some antifreeze smell at around 10,000 miles on my 21. I haven’t had time to pop the hood when it’s hot to sniff that area. There were a few TSB’s to replace the cooling fan and radiator hoses for a “skunk/antifreeze” smell on the 19 and 20MY. I am a tech and I have indeed seen this overflow hose on other chrysler models cause leaks/smells but they were all with higher miles.
I plan on putting a zip tie on it as with that it’s safer for the radiator because it’s very easy to crack the radiator if it is over tightened.

Seemed to do well. Did a long road trip and made a point to breathe deeply every time we stopped and nothing. Declared success, even updated YouTube video description, and then the other day after a short trip I could smell antifreeze again. But not near the rad cap, so … who knows. Either way I still think it’s worth the 50 cent vlamp

 

[JF19Longhorn]

I tried the zip tie as well. It seems to have lessened the frequency, but I still smell it every now and again.

 

[CRAIG4FSU]

2021 1500 w/ 6300 miles. No fluid loss or high temps on the gauge, but get the same smell as everyone else.

 

[xspeedy]

I’m noticing the coolant smell lately on my 2020 with about 9K miles on it. I don’t remember smelling it before. Not seeing any drips on the ground, but am going to pick up some coolant at the dealer to get a good mark and see if it drops. It is cold today, and it seems to be down around the minimum mark. I really don’t want to have to take it to the dealer - but I was just there for my inspection and probably should have had them take a look at it. Sigh.

 

[Brownmathteacher]

I have the same antifreeze smell on my 2019 Ram 1500 with 19,500 miles. This truck was purchased new. The smell start occurring this week. I was hoping to find an answer on this forum. There is no leaks on the Hemi. Reservoir is full

 

[trailblazersss]

I've had the smell since new also an last month the wife calls an says it was over heating. I jumped in the car found her, popped the hood an the rad cap was barely hanging on. Never seen one un twist itself like that. Went next door to autozone got a locking red tab cap an re filled it an strangely enough the smell is gone an haven't had a problem since.

 

[MO Rebel]

I had an antifreeze smell on my ‘20 Grand Cherokee 3.6 from day one. Never could find a leak, but did notice coolant level dropping slightly between oil changes. Dealer would top it off and insist that level of coolant loss was normal. I kept thinking head gasket, but never any white smoke or unusual consistency of engine oil. This last service visit, they found a slight leak in the radiator. First radiator they replaced it with (Mopar OEM) wouldn’t hold pressure and also leaked. So far, after installing another new radiator, the smell has completely disappeared. Maybe the supplier of OEM radiators has a problem. Once again, this leak was not noticeable until almost 50K miles when it apparently started getting a little worse.

 

[mikeru82]

I had an antifreeze smell on my ‘20 Grand Cherokee 3.6 from day one. Never could find a leak, but did notice coolant level dropping slightly between oil changes. Dealer would top it off and insist that level of coolant loss was normal. I kept thinking head gasket, but never any white smoke or unusual consistency of engine oil. This last service visit, they found a slight leak in the radiator. First radiator they replaced it with (Mopar OEM) wouldn’t hold pressure and also leaked. So far, after installing another new radiator, the smell has completely disappeared. Maybe the supplier of OEM radiators has a problem. Once again, this leak was not noticeable until almost 50K miles when it apparently started getting a little worse.

Your dealer was blowing smoke. It's never normal for a properly filled cooling system to need occasional topping off. It's a closed system. You might lose a little coolant if the engine overheats to the point where it burps out into the overflow reservoir, but it will be drawn back into the cooling system when the engine cools back down.

 

[MO Rebel]

Your dealer was blowing smoke. It's never normal for a properly filled cooling system to need occasional topping off. It's a closed system. You might lose a little coolant if the engine overheats to the point where it burps out into the overflow reservoir, but it will be drawn back into the cooling system when the engine cools back down.

That’s exactly what I kept telling them. That’s why I kept thinking I had a leaking head gasket, but I could never seen any symptoms of that and you would think a head gasket would show up a lot quicker than this small leak did.

We also have the exact same build but it’s a 2019. Never an issue with it. Even pointing that out, I just kept getting the “every vehicle is different” bs.

 

[mikeru82]

That’s exactly what I kept telling them. That’s why I kept thinking I had a leaking head gasket, but I could never seen any symptoms of that and you would think a head gasket would show up a lot quicker than this small leak did.

We also have the exact same build but it’s a 2019. Never an issue with it. Even pointing that out, I just kept getting the “every vehicle is different” bs.

There are test kits available to check for hydrocarbons in the coolant if you suspect a head gasket leak. It's very difinitive since there should be no hydrocarbons present in an intact cooling system. It's something you can do on your own if a dealership isn't cooperating.

 

[Einstein376]

My smell turned-out to be a head gasket leak. I discovered white stains on the front axle that led me to take the truck back to the dealer for the THIRD time to resolve this issue. The truck was there over three weeks waiting on back-ordered parts. Since the fix, the smell is generally better.

Jim

 

[Ortiz7983]

My smell turned-out to be a head gasket leak. I discovered white stains on the front axle that led me to take the truck back to the dealer for the THIRD time to resolve this issue. The truck was there over three weeks waiting on back-ordered parts. Since the fix, the smell is generally better.

Jim

Better but not gone?

 

[Einstein376]

No there is always a slight smell. It appears to be a value- added feature of the model ;-)

 

[MO Rebel]

My 2020 Grand Cherokee always had a slight antifreeze smell after driving since it was new. Finally, at about 35K, it was discovered that the radiator had a pin hole leak, apparently from the time it was new. First MOPAR replacement also had a leak. Replaced a second time and has been fine ever since. No hint of antifreeze smell at all.