Nissan recommendation- Ignored in the Articles??

[edwardh1]

99 Maxima - what coolant to use?.
One Nissan dealer in my town uses the factory Nissan antifreeze for all warranty and a bulk / cheap/ "green" prestone type for all other Nissans so the parts man says.
The Motor magazine article talks about mostly Toys and hondas. so what should I use?

 

[edwardh1]

And Zerex seems to say green if I read it right??
http://www.valvoline.com/zerex/pdf/Zerex_CoolantChart.pdf

 

[benjamming]

What motor magazine article?

 

[MaximaGuy]

If you don't use the Nissan Coolants, you are asking for trouble. I drained and filled radiator with the some OTC prestone stuff and my radiator shot. IMHO, the risk of damaging something other than the radiator (that can be replaced) is far more than $20 for the Nissan Coolant.

 

[Da Game]

On the same page. I have a 97 Infiniti Q45 with the green stuff (Ethylene glycol base). Would Amsoil be a better choice? $20 for Nissan Coolant is alot. So far one board member here uses it and is pretty happy sofar, just want to hear more thoughts.

 

[wgtoys]

Modern coolants only need to be changed once every four or more years in most automotive applications. IMO it really isn't worth messing around with might-work fluids for this. Spend the few extra bucks at the Nissan dealer and don't worry about it.

I once switched a '96 Volvo to a Dexcool type replacement coolant and had a leaking heater core within six months. I don't know if the Dexcool caused the leak or not, but considering that the leak showed up at the glued joint between the fins and the plastic end caps and that there are many reports of Dexcool being incompatible with some polymers, I sure wonder.

The downsides are too large to justify the small savings of using a might-work cheaper coolant.

 

[Da Game]

Well Amsoil is not cheap by any means. I don't think it's a "Might-workfluid" considering Amsoil history. So the few extra bucks is no difference. Just thought there would be a Amsoil rep/user may chime in.

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

I put the Amsoil anti-freeze in my wife's 2004 Sentra, it's only been in there for about 2 months/500 miles, but so far no issues. Pablo and TooSlick didn't have any objections to it being used.

Since it was $20-30 for the Nissan stuff from the dealers, I just got the Amsoil instead, same price, and in my opinion, a far superior product.

 

[unDummy]

I find a lot of Nissans with coolant issues. I first blame Nissan for not providing more aggressive maintenance and coolant choice recommendations in the owners manual.

I also blame the owners for using tap water, not using the correct ratio, mixing brands of coolant, and owners who are quick to point out the recommended maintenance intervals which aren't soon enough.

No, you do not need to use Nissan coolant. But, if you do and have a coolant related problem, you won't be able to blame the coolant choice. Fluids are always too easy to blame for problems. So, stick with OEM fluids if you like pointing fingers of blame everywhere but at yourself.

 

[sky jumper]

well I think undummy is right on with his assessment of owner screw-ups. mixing coolant types - and I'll add failure to purge air from the system - have got to be the two leading causes for cooling system failure. and there sure are a lot of them. every day on the maxima.org forum there's a guy complaining about a clogged heater core.

do you have to use Nissan? no - but if you do switch to something else you better be darn sure you do the flush properly. personally, I see no point in using anything other than what the car came with just to save a measly $2/year.