Bought a 2002 SE about 3 months ago, and after having it for about a month the low coolant light came on. I had almost none in the tank, so I filled it. Well, about a month after that, the light came on again. Filled the tank again, but this time I also bought one of those $1 "leak plugger" tubes to dump in the radiator. Soon afterwards, my engine temp readings started shooting way up at random times and I had no vent heat, almost like the heater core was getting no coolant. The problem seemed to work itself out, but I took it in just to have it looked at.
The car isn't leaking coolant externally (from what I can see), so I thought maybe a gasket somewhere wasn't doing its job. I know that's a pricey fix, and one that these cars are notorious for needing. After I took it to the shop, though, they said I'd need to fix my intake valves and want to charge me $950 to do it. This was shocking to me, as I didn't see any connection between the intake valves and a coolant malfunction; unless, that is, coolant is leaking into the combustion chamber and messing with the engine internals.
Any thoughts? Any help is appreciated. Should I get a second opinion?
