Coolant Low Message
 

So this morning I started the car and it showed "Coolant Low" on the dash. I popped the bonnet to have a look at the coolant reservoir. Sure enough, it was about 2mm below the Min mark. Being a Sunday and not near my local dealer, I took a cup of tap water and topped it up until it was about 2mm above the Min mark. Now, is it possible to get concentrated coolant from any store and add it in so its up to the Max mark? I never actually looked at the color of the coolant before.. it's Blue?!! I've seen Red and Green coolant, but Blue? Do I need special Volvo coolant?

I had this message recently and by chance was near a dealer and they topped it up for free. Like you say it is a blue colour but I wouldnt imagine it makes any difference providing its the same spec - see below from manual

Coolant 2.0T, T6, 3.2, D3, D5, 2.4D. 8.9 litres capacity. Coolant recommended by Volvo mixed with 50% waterA, see the packaging.

The question is where has the coolant gone ? Assuming it was on MAX when it was new .. you can get a litre bottle of coolant at the dealer about £4 get them to check for leaks ...

Check the oil level. If that has gone up you may have serious issues such as damaged head gasket or cracks in the engine block.

Otherwise the coolant may be leaking from any number of possibilities, such as radiator, heater, cracked pipes/hoses, loose joints in the cooling system or leaking welch plugs.

thanks guys.will have to call the dealer and ask for advice today.I don't think there is any leaks as there are no pools of coolant on the floor of the garage.car just had its one year service about a month ago so can't see why the coolant wouldbe low.will check the engine oil level tonight when I get homevia the manual dipstick.the electronic dipstick says everything is ok.

Mine too - and others...
 

Mine had the low coolant appear this week. 12k miles. Spoke to Dealer and he mentioned a few had come in with same reported issue in last few days. Anyone else with this problem?

Having the car checked over on Monday.

I would'nt get too worried if the coolant needs topping up by a few millimetres every year, it is inevitable that some loss will occur through evaporation etc. I would be extremely surprised if loss of coolant was as a result of a worn cylinder head gasket or cracked engine block. Personally I would just monitor the situation, if there are no visible signs of leakage and the loss is minimal there is nothing to worry about. You can top up a few millimetres with water, it will not seriously affect the concentration of coolant.

I've got a 4 month old car - was in for its 3 month check 3 weeks ago and now this am it's saying coolant low, stop safely. Checked coolant and it's well below the minimum level. How can this happen?

I had the same thing after about six months - the cooland low, STOP! - warning. Got a bottle of Volvo blue coolant from the garage in my village (they get delveries from Volvo within 4 hours apparently) for £4 and replenished it back to the full level, and since then the level has stayed exactly on full.

So if there was a leak it was a temporary one which fixed itself, which makes no sense at all but there we go...

I'll mention it at the 1st year service, and see what happens

Yes, but it was 2mm below the minimum level, so hardly minimal.