Check Your Coolant Level

G

GJ-Molestor

Banned
:
2011 BMW 528i, 2015 Mazda 6, 1995 Nissan Maxima Manual
So I decided to take a peek and see how much coolant was in my reservoir overflow tank when the car had roughly 40k miles on the clock, and was very surprised to see that it was at the minimum mark. I topped it up with some distilled water.

- always check your coolant level when the engine is fully cooled, as this gives you a more accurate reading. coolant expands when it is warm. do not add cool water/coolant to a tank of hot coolant.

- if you are topping up with coolant, always make sure it is the same colour as whatever is in your tank originally. you can cause issues by filling with a different colour. Use Mazda FL-22 OEM coolant.
 
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Its not OK to use distilled water. The Mazda system relies on 50% FL22 fluid to maintain frost protection and corrosion inhibitor. If you top up with water it gets diluted.
 
Anchorman said:
Its not OK to use distilled water. The Mazda system relies on 50% FL22 fluid to maintain frost protection and corrosion inhibitor. If you top up with water it gets diluted.
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Oh I see. So its already at 50% from the factory fill?

Use Mazda coolant to top up?
 
Never use anything but FL22 in your CX-5. The color of the coolant doesn't matter. Bulk green that every shop uses is also, well, green. But it's composition has very little to do with what Mazda specifies.
Our car was under - filled from factory. The dealer always has 50-50 FL22 in stock. Use it to top it off.
 
yugrus said:
Never use anything but FL22 in your CX-5. The color of the coolant doesn't matter. Bulk green that every shop uses is also, well, green. But it's composition has very little to do with what Mazda specifies.
Our car was under - filled from factory. The dealer always has 50-50 FL22 in stock. Use it to top it off.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for the help guys. Hopefully a mod can sticky this thread so everyone can see and check their coolant.

Cheers.
 
Anchorman said:
It’s not OK to use distilled water. The Mazda system relies on 50% FL22 fluid to maintain frost protection and corrosion inhibitor. If you top up with water it gets diluted.
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It is OK to use distilled water to top up in small amounts, which is usually the case. I’ve maybe put a pint of water in mine in 5 years. I’m sure as hell not gonna spend $20-25 on a gallon of FL-22 for that! Especially living in a temperate climate as I do.
 
paris1 said:
It is OK to use distilled water to top up in small amounts, which is usually the case. I’ve maybe put a pint of water in mine in 5 years. I’m sure as hell not gonna spend $20-25 on a gallon of FL-22 for that! Especially living in a temperate climate as I do.
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Yes. I added about a pint or half a litre of water to the coolant tank several months ago and everything is good.
 
paris1 said:
It is OK to use distilled water to top up in small amounts, which is usually the case. I’ve maybe put a pint of water in mine in 5 years. I’m sure as hell not gonna spend $20-25 on a gallon of FL-22 for that! Especially living in a temperate climate as I do.
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They also make FL-22 in QT size, and pre-diluted for the frugally minded.
 
banjos-n-beer said:
Why would an erroneous thread be worthy of a sticky?
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To be be immortalized for all time for stating the obvious?

paris1 said:
It is OK to use distilled water to top up in small amounts, which is usually the case. I’ve maybe put a pint of water in mine in 5 years. I’m sure as hell not gonna spend $20-25 on a gallon of FL-22 for that! Especially living in a temperate climate as I do.
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According to the maintenance schedule the coolant needs to be changed at 120,000 miles or ten years. Apparently the antifreeze will hold up for 10 years on the shelf, but deteriorates with use. I can relate to that, so has my knees, shoulders, hips, back, etc. lol...

I tend to run my cars until the wheels blow out, an example is the daily driver '05 Escape with 290,000 miles. My expectation for the CX-5 is the same. Having a jug of FL-22 on hand isn't a waste, you will use it if you run AND CARE for your car for any length of time. But I realize some folks do get bored with a vehicle and flip them in a couple years. This never made sense to me when buying a new car, to much depreciation loss to absorb.

$25 to much, eh?
 
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I think if your vehicle is under the 36k - 36months warranty, follow the manual as they said because you do not want your warranty not be honored for using something that was not specified. Some companies will grab from anything to blame it on the owners.
After warranty is over, you are on your own and you can do as you want.
I had to add a cup to a vehicle with 800 miles and members of that car forum suggested that use the OEM coolant. At $ 22 for a gallon was not a big deal.
The reason for adding coolant was air in the lines from the factory that purge after some driving.
Just my opinion.
 
SEOR MAZDA said:
I think if your vehicle is under the 36k - 36months warranty, follow the manual as they said because you do not want your warranty not be honored for using something that was not specified. Some companies will grab from anything to blame it on the owners.
After warranty is over, you are on your own and you can do as you want.
I had to add a cup to a vehicle with 800 miles and members of that car forum suggested that use the OEM coolant. At $ 22 for a gallon was not a big deal.
The reason for adding coolant was air in the lines from the factory that purge after some driving.
Just my opinion.
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I agree with you. Isnt the warranty unlimited mileage though? Im well past 36k, and almost at 36 months and the car has been rock solid reliable so I havent been worrying about the warranty too much.
 
GJ-Molestor said:
- always check your coolant level when the engine is fully cooled, as this gives you a more accurate reading. coolant expands when it is warm. do not add cool water/coolant to a tank of hot coolant.
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No no no. You definitely want to pop off that coolant cap after driving hard. Its the only way to get a good reading. For accuracy, make sure your face is directly over the cap when you take it off.
 
Natey said:
No no no. You definitely want to pop off that coolant cap after driving hard. Its the only way to get a good reading. For accuracy, make sure your face is directly over the cap when you take it off.
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Im sorry that not everyone on this forum is as experienced as you are. Perhaps sometimes its best to make things set and stone and make sure the noobs dont mess anything up? I hope you dont see anything wrong with that for everyone elses sake.. lol.
 
zipit.jpg
 
GJ-Molestor said:
I’m sorry that not everyone on this forum is as experienced as you are. Perhaps sometimes it’s best to make things set and stone and make sure the noobs don’t mess anything up? I hope you don’t see anything wrong with that for everyone else’s sake.. lol.
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He’s being sarcastic but dangerously so. If you release the pressure when at normal temperature it will boil instantly. Don’t do it for goodness sake.
 
It'll also shoot hot coolant up and burn the crap out of your face. Owning a car 101
 
Anchorman said:
He’s being sarcastic but dangerously so. If you release the pressure when at normal temperature it will boil instantly. Don’t do it for goodness sake.
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Its very clear to me that he was being sarcastic, and not in a constructive manner at all.

The memes are just getting boring by this point.
 
I would recommend a Mazda dealership to top off.....if even needed in their opinion. No sense in buying the OEM coolant while under warranty. That said lifespan is like 10 years if I recall.

The OEM coolant is specifically designed to not eat seals of the type of rubber used in the OEM hoses. A bit of distilled water should be okay but in the future stick to OEM.
 
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