A friend just forwarded me a PDF of the StarParts newsletter sent to Mopar dealerships. It doesn't make me happy.
Page 4's text reads:
HOAT (Hybrid Organic) to OAT (Organic) Coolant Transition
2013 Vehicles
All 2013 vehicles manufactured for NAFTA
use a new coolant type called OAT which
contains only organic components.
2000 – 2012 Vehicles
2000 – 2012 vehicles manufactured for
NAFTA use a hybrid organic coolant called
HOAT which consists of a combination of
organic additives (fully neutralized organic
acids) and one or more inorganic materials
Please note that HOAT coolant and OAT coolant ARE NOT interchangeable.
In fact, if you mix the two coolants by mistake – you could end up with a serious problem
as shown in the picture below.
Also, if OAT-type coolant is mixed with HOAT-type coolant at greater than 95/5 ratio,
corrosion inhibition will be severely reduced or eliminated. That means if one of your
technicians adds the wrong coolant type to a customer’s vehicle – it will be very expensive
to resolve and may require replacing the engine.
If you add HOAT to an OAT system in error, or the reverse – what happens?
If you add up to 5% - nothing will happen. But if you add more than 5% it will lead to a
corrosion problem inside the engine.
Worse than that, there are pictures that prove what some of us have suspected all along: the CURRENT Mopar HOAT coolant color is not very consistent or predictable. A picture quad shows 4 coolant samples. HOAT production and sevice coolant samples, and OAT production and service coolant samples. The production HOAT (G-05) is an orange color... redder than DexCool, but also clearly not a pure red. No other way to describe it than a darkish orange. The HOAT (G-05) service sample is a pure deep red.
Now for the really ugly bit: the 2013+ production OAT is a bright cherry red and easily confused with the current service G-05, but the 2013+ OAT service part is.... BLUE.
WTHeck? I mean seriously, are they TRYING to cause technician errors?!?!?
Page 4's text reads:
HOAT (Hybrid Organic) to OAT (Organic) Coolant Transition
2013 Vehicles
All 2013 vehicles manufactured for NAFTA
use a new coolant type called OAT which
contains only organic components.
2000 – 2012 Vehicles
2000 – 2012 vehicles manufactured for
NAFTA use a hybrid organic coolant called
HOAT which consists of a combination of
organic additives (fully neutralized organic
acids) and one or more inorganic materials
Please note that HOAT coolant and OAT coolant ARE NOT interchangeable.
In fact, if you mix the two coolants by mistake – you could end up with a serious problem
as shown in the picture below.
Also, if OAT-type coolant is mixed with HOAT-type coolant at greater than 95/5 ratio,
corrosion inhibition will be severely reduced or eliminated. That means if one of your
technicians adds the wrong coolant type to a customer’s vehicle – it will be very expensive
to resolve and may require replacing the engine.
If you add HOAT to an OAT system in error, or the reverse – what happens?
If you add up to 5% - nothing will happen. But if you add more than 5% it will lead to a
corrosion problem inside the engine.
Worse than that, there are pictures that prove what some of us have suspected all along: the CURRENT Mopar HOAT coolant color is not very consistent or predictable. A picture quad shows 4 coolant samples. HOAT production and sevice coolant samples, and OAT production and service coolant samples. The production HOAT (G-05) is an orange color... redder than DexCool, but also clearly not a pure red. No other way to describe it than a darkish orange. The HOAT (G-05) service sample is a pure deep red.
Now for the really ugly bit: the 2013+ production OAT is a bright cherry red and easily confused with the current service G-05, but the 2013+ OAT service part is.... BLUE.
WTHeck? I mean seriously, are they TRYING to cause technician errors?!?!?