Coolant warning

[Transporter]

My Passat had the coolant light on at 55k km. The temp meter stays at 90 while the light was on. The coolant is below the minimum. Went to supercheap to get coolant liquid, they guy said better to flush the old one before you put a new one. VW service rep said don't top it / replace the fluid. Just put distilled water.

I am confused.

Just put distilled water in and let your service guy take care of it, they’re right. Don’t mix different coolants.


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[Simonr23]

The expansion tank (I’m assuming it’s been checked on level ground and at the right temp) should be fine for a few hundred mil of demin water.

Also, most temp gauges are biased to show their ‘good’ position over a wider range of temps (say 75-105) than is naturally assumed (and indicated by the dial)

Has anyone tested a tig/golf to see if obd readings change the coolant temp numbers?

I know in mine the oil temp varies a lot, yet my water temp never budges from the 90 mark(once warmed up) I know there is more water and a better system for maintaining its temp, but past experience tells me it’s not 100% honest.

[feenix74]

Do not use Supercheap Auto coolant in a VW (in the words of Dr. Egon Spengler "Don't cross the streams!"), your risk creating gunk in your coolant system.

Suggest you go to a VW dealer and buy a bottle of VW G13+ coolant, then mix it with water (distilled water if you so desire) in accordance the directions on the bottle and use that to top up your coolant. It will reduce your chances of incurring a costly bill later. As a interim solution you can top up to the min mark with water (you are diluting the anti-freeze/anti-boil/anti-corrosion additive levels but it is ok for a top-up).

[Guest001]

Look on the side of the coolant bottle It has which one it uses there Its Either G12 or G13 Probably the latter

DO NOT mix Coolants in a VW or you will be in deep doodoo. It turns into gunk if you do and will stuff the engine.

Do what Feenix says


Lastly find out why its losing coolant Could be the water pump as they are not known for longevity Only about $1000 to fix it $250 for the pump rest labour

[Dan_3MPS]

Happened on mine as well. Was up in the hills on the Qld/NSW border on a Sunday after driving from sea level to 1000m ASL.

Short of anything else I pulled over and topped it up with water at the time. No further issues since.

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[Dan_3MPS]

Happened on mine as well. Was up in the hills on the Qld/NSW border on a Sunday after driving from sea level to 1000m ASL.

Short of anything else I pulled over and topped it up with water at the time. No further issues since.

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Happened again the other day, changed the dash display to watch oil temps and could see them rising rapidly...evidence of a leak around the water pump area.

Luckily a dealer was nearby and I dropped in. Next to nothing left in the coolant reservoir, when the tech opened the reservoir up the system spewed out a heap of fluid all over the place. His explanation was a huge airlock, said it will need full flush and refill, topped up with water only as they didn't have access to the parts department for the G13 required. My old GTI did exactly the same thing as this when the water pump let go, so my guess is the water pump has shat itself.

Driving the wifes Golf around in the meantime, Tiguan goes in this week to be looked at...

[feenix74]

My understanding is that you can mix VW G12, G12+, G12++ and G13 coolants. However, never, ever, mix G12, G12+, G12++ and G13 with the old VW G11 (pre-1996 VW coolant) as you are guaranteed to get gunk in your coolant system as a result.

VW: Mixing Factory Fill Coolants

Mixing VW coolant with non-VW coolant (unless you know for sure that the product is produced by the OEM supplier) is also risking the creation of gunk.

I was taught a rule of thumb by an old-VWer that as long as the coolant feels a bit slick and slippery when you rub it between your fingers (and then go wash your hand thoroughly before you handle food) it will be ok for anti-freeze/anti-boil performance (noting that if you follow the mixing ratio on the bottle of coolant that you buy from VW you will get the best anti-freeze/anti-boil/corrosion protection performance from the coolant).

As Hillbilly says, might be worthwhile having a quick look for a leak in your coolant system (if you have top up again in the near future then you are most likely dealing with a leak). Usually you can see the dried pink crust of coolant near the leak. Usual suspects are the water pump and the plastic flanges where the coolant pipe attaches to the engine block.

[rave75]

Thanks for the reply guys! Will top it up with distilled water until my next service (5k km).

[GRD]

A lot of coolant posts but only one fault reported????

I had a low coolant warning a few months ago. Topped up with a small amount of water and thought that would be it.
Checked the coolant the other day and noticed it's dropped from when I topped it up (marked with a texta).

When I looked more closely around the overflow reservoir there looked to be evidence of fluid coming from somewhere under the reservoir.
The cars booked in for it's first service in about a week and a half so I'll see what they have to say.

Just wondering if anyone has had issues with the reservoir.

[sharp]

A lot of coolant posts but only one fault reported????

I had a low coolant warning a few months ago. Topped up with a small amount of water and thought that would be it.
Checked the coolant the other day and noticed it's dropped from when I topped it up (marked with a texta).

When I looked more closely around the overflow reservoir there looked to be evidence of fluid coming from somewhere under the reservoir.
The cars booked in for it's first service in about a week and a half so I'll see what they have to say.

Just wondering if anyone has had issues with the reservoir.

Just before my 2 year/30,000km service I've got the coolant light come up. The water level was just under the line in the reservoir. I thought the dealer would just top it up and send me back home but no, they did a pressure test without asking and found a leak. They replaced the thermostat housing. It's all good now.