A plastic surge tank connects to the cooling system with two hoses. During vehicle use, the coolant heats and expands. The coolant displaced by this expansion flows to the surge tank. The tank is mounted at a point higher than all of the other coolant passages in order to provide air bleed for the system.

The surge tank contains a coolant level sensor at the bottom of the tank. When the coolant in the system falls below the recommended level, a message of CHECK COOLANT LEVEL displays on the Driver Information Center (DIC).