I would check ALL the hoses that contain water,( radiator to engine, engine to radiator, water pump bypass, heater hoses, in and out of heater, and so on). A loose hose clamp, can cause it to happen, or rotted hoses. Your car is 16 years old, and hoses do fail.
As for your heater working, and blowing cold air, THEY ARE RELATED. The hot water has to be pumped into the heater in order for the heater to blow out hot air. IF the water level is LOW, it will not pump into the heater, and thus, COLD air.
And the dying part, I cannot say. If the engine turns over okay, then it is not water locked. Meaning, no water in the piston area. The engine should turn over even if it is out of water. The only time, besides being water locked, that the engine won't turn over, is if it get TOO hot and freezes up. ( Not actually freezing, but getting so hot the metal expands and locks the engine that way)
As a warning, when an engine is extremely HOT, do NOT put cold water into the radiator. at least not fast. Allow it to enter, very slowly, to allow the cold water to heat up. Cold water on a very hot block can cause it to crack.
IF you cannot find any leaking hoses, or even maybe water pump gasket leak, you probably will need to replace head gaskets.
One thing is have seen, in older cars back many years ago, was a tiny hole in the radiator, leaking out. Hard to spot at times, but leaks enough to cause problems. A small hole, caused by a rock or something hitting the radiator.
Hi so coolant loss means a leak. this stops the car reaching it's working temperature which also means it does less mpg. so has been more expensive to run. so time to get it fixed a leak can be in many places the worst is the heater matrix in the dashboard as it is buried very deep inside. this would making removal very difficult and expensive if you can't do it yourself.
the next worst which is also expensive is the head gasket so is this car difficult to start lately. that would indicate water in the engine so have you drained the oil to see if it's has water in the oil. then we come to the least expensive hoses which need to be replaced or the radiator itself.
the other possible problem is of course the water pump.
You have a small hole which is slowly getting larger. Most modern coolants have a trace element in them which can be seen under ultra violet light. Take it to a workshop where they can check for leaks, assuming of course you are using the proper coolant mix and not just water.
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For a while now I have been having to keep an eye on the water in my engine coolant because it's empty. At first when I got it I had to refill it Mabey once every two or three weeks but here lately it's more often. On my way home yesterday I noticed it was trying to overheat so I pulled over and added water by the time I got home it was empty. I've also been having issues with my heater not blowing well or my A/C but the heater blows cold air. Could the two be related. Checked my oil and it's not milky so I'm hoping you can tell me it's anything other than a blown gasket. It totally died on me while driving today and now it won't start. Help please!
