Chevrolet Check Coolant Level & Add Coolant

Is your Chevrolet overheating, or a check coolant warning illuminates on your dashboard? Learn how to fix it by following the procedures below.

Symptoms

• Engine Overheating,
• The temperature gauge is in the HIGH range,
• Check Coolant Warning,
• Low Engine Coolant Message
• A/C turns off due to engine overheating

What You Need

• Chevrolet Engine Antifreeze Coolant

Engine coolant should be diluted 50/50 with distilled water unless you buy a pre-mixed engine coolant.

Procedure

In this guide, you will find instructions on how to check engine coolant on Chevrolet and add coolant if the level is low.

1. Park your Chevrolet on a level surface.
2. Pull the hood release under the dashboard until you hear the Chevrolet hood pop open. Next, you need to release the hood safety latch at the front of your vehicle.
3. Locate the coolant reservoir (tank) in the engine bay. You can check the engine coolant level simply by looking at the side of the tank. If the level is below the minimum mark, you must add coolant, or your vehicle may overheat. Do not open the cap when the engine is hot. 
4. Turn the ignition on, but don’t start the engine and check the engine temperature. Wait for the engine to cool down. This may take a while. Keep ignition, lights, and radio off to avoid draining the battery.  
    
5. Remove the cap by turning it slowly counterclockwise. 
6. Add engine coolant/antifreeze. Only add coolant type recommended by Chevrolet. In an emergency, it is okay to use any color coolant. It is recommended that the system be flushed and filled with the recommended Chevrolet coolant when possible.
   

These instructions apply to models such as

• Spark
• Sonic
• Bolt
• Volt
• Cruze
• Malibu
• Impala
• Camaro
• Corvette
• City Express
• Trax, Equinox
• Traverse
• Tahoe
• Suburban
• Colorado
• Silverado
• Sonic
• Blazer
• Astro
• HHR
• Uplander
• Avalanche

The location of the hood release and coolant reservoir may vary between models. We hope you find this guide, “Chevrolet Check Coolant Level & Add Coolant,” helpful. Check these troubleshooting and repair guides for more tutorials on your Chevrolet.