Passat Estate coolant - help pls

[tertius]

I have a 2000 Passat 1.8 20V (non-turbo) that has appears to have allowed all its coolant to leak out.

If I try topping it up, I can see it start to drip out on the drive. So clearly there is a leak somewhere.

My question is would it be a problem to top it up with plain water in order to get it to a garage to look at it?

I'm hoping it'll leak out sufficiently slowly to allow to drive the 1-2 miles required.

thanks

[Mikey-S]

Should be fine for the short journey.. you won't do the engine any harm, but if it's lost most of the coolant you're at risk of it freezing with the UKs temperatures, so get the garage to drain it immediatley.

[tertius]

Cheers.

Only problem now is I couldn't find anyone local who would actually answer the phone today, so it'll be a few days before its sorted. Hopefully it'll stay mild - was 14.5 degrees c on the display today - in January!