Is there a leak in the coolant reservoir?
You definitely have a leak somewhere in the cooling system. The reservoir is not where the leak is coming from and it isn’t the best place to check the coolant level. The coolant expansion tank is there to capture the expansion of the coolant in the rest of the system.
What causes coolant to spray out of radiator?
While this can happen from any number of cooling system components, it is very common for the upper plastic tank on the radiator to crack and only spray when it is pressurized. Radiator hoses can develop pin holes that will do the same thing. You can warm the car up with the hood open and wait to see where coolant comes out.
How does coolant get out of the engine?
The spraying of coolant in the engine compartment occurs after the cooling system pressurizes. When pressure begins to build in the cooling system, coolant will be forced out much like a spray nozzle from a water hose.
This could be the early signs of the classic signs of the stripped head bolts. There’s about 91 pages worth of information from when it was discovered some 10 years ago in 2008. It sounds like you caught it in the very early signs. If it is leaking, you’ll either leak externally (behind the intake manifold, you need to inspect/remove there).
Why does my car coolant tank go empty?
Could be that your cooling system is so low that every time your engine cools down, the coolant in the overflow tank is sucked back into the engine. With a properly purged cooling system where the fluid level is at the cap, you shouldn’t see the overflow tank level go down over months or even years.
Is the coolant in the radiator going down?
Coolant level in radiator does not go down when seen from top with cap off. Car does not overheat, even when operating in 100F+ air temperatures with the A/C running.