Hi Scotty et al.,
I followed you guys' advice by purchasing the 2017 Acura against the 2018 VW Passat last month. I just learned from reading my car service manual & from one of your videos that there is a specific coolant for Asian cars. When I inspected the fluids (oil & coolant), I found out that the coolant reservoir is below the minimum. I still had my old jug of coolant from my previous car. Not knowing that there is a specific coolant for Asian vehicles, I added the old coolant that's not only probably at least 10 years old but also not specific for my 2017 Acura ILX. My question is, should I drain & flush the coolant and replace it with the right coolant? Will the coolant still dissipate engine heat even if it is very old? Thanks in advance.
Rolly
Reservoirs are removable. Just unhook, remove, dump it out, and put good coolant in.
If I have already driven the car with the old coolant before realizing my mistake, will it not have circulated already?
How many trips did you make? Can you tell by the color? So you poured in 1 qt of 50/50?
I made at least 4 trips with 6.4 miles each.
I did not look at the color after the trips but the coolant is blue when I poured it. I added less than a quart of 50/50. My concern is, it is an old coolant that is about 10 years old or so....
ok that amount is so small that I would not worry.Especially since it was universal coolant. It would take much longer for it to completely mix. (just look at the difference between cold and hot fill lines to get an idea)
Just empty out the reservoir and you'll be fine.
Thank you for your response.
very welcome
Which coolant did you put in and how much? Is pretty much just in the expansion tank or did alot of it spread into the radiator?
It was a regular non-vehicle specific coolant. I poured approximately 1/4 of the jug. I did not pour a single drop into the radiator but I'm sure it will find its way there. Will it cause corrosion to the engine? Or will it still be effective in dissipating the engine heat because it is old?
Also, you can check the coolant with an electronics meter. One probe in the coolant in the radiator and one grounded to the car (at least I think that’s correct, been a while. Someone else out there help me out.)
Thank you....
The coolant you poured in was blue? May I ask what brand and type you out it? Do you have a link to the coolant you put in?
What color was the original coolant? I assume blue, since it’s a Honda/Acura.
hopefully not windshield washer fluid 😯
No joke. One of my friends took his car to a quick stop oil change. A couple days later, he found out his brakes were acting kinda of funky. And there was blue fluid in his brake reservoir. Turns out, the shop put windshield wiper fluid into his brake fluid reservoir.
Sorry for my delayed response. I've been busy. The brand of the coolant is Super Tech. I was mistaken. The color is Yellow, not Blue. I did not see the color of the original coolant because the reservoir was empty. I'm certain that I put coolant into my reservoir because I looked at label. It says 50/50 prediluted Antifreeze coolant. What I am not certain about is, if it is compatible for use with Acura.
If it was blue I’d say you have a better chance of being ok doing nothing. Since Honda/Acura usually use the blue.
But since it is yellow, I recommend at least draining the reservoir and filling it up with the Asian blue coolant for Honda.
Often times, in manuals, it will say if you are in a bind, you can use water or almost any coolant. But make sure to drain and fill it ASAP.
TBH, I don’t think you need to drain and flush, unless it was a totally incompatible coolant. (Super Tech seems universal, but you’d have to compare the labels of Super Tech amd the Honda recommended coolant.)
Thank you...
My current mileage is 7,158 mi. When I purchased the car last month, it was at 6,528 mi.