Question about non-original coolant going back to OE

[JeffKeryk]

I was disappointed today when servicing my friend's 2012 Civic EX; the coolant was a light yellow. Ditto my niece's 2015 Odyssey after a timing belt service; the coolant was green.
I just topped off the reservoir with some Wally World yellow "mix with everything" stuff.

Is it worth it, in your opinion, to do a flush with distilled water and go back to OE? Is this asking for other problems?
Why the heck can't shops use the correct fluids? Sheesh!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Chris142]

Why the heck can't shops use the correct fluids? Sheesh!

Customers whining about every nickle or dime.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Customers whining about every nickle or dime.

Yeah, I get that. But just the same...

 

[slacktide_bitog]

It might be worth it, depending on the condition of the car otherwise

Customers whining about every nickle or dime.

Yeah, but at least use Peak 10x instead of Deathcool

 

[Warstud]

If there's ever a problem then you will be to blame

 

[GMBoy]

We always quote jobs with the OE spec coolant. Just not worth a few bucks savings to me to use an all makes formula. Plus I want the right color in there in case the customer has to check coolant and they actually read the owner' manual telling them to use "x" color and spec fluid.

 

[SC Maintenance]

If shops went with OEM spec coolant, they would need like 20 of them on stock. So they go with the mix with everything OAT.

With other peoples vehicles, I wouldn’t touch it. With mine, I would probably either flush, or just do a drain and fill couple of times. You’re never gonna get it all out either way, and generally an OAT is not a problem - just not great IMHO.

 

[TumblrDucks]

Probably multi vehicle coolant. It should not be a problem, perhaps you can call the shop and ask which brand of coolant they are using. If Honda is on the bottle, then everything is fine.

 

[atikovi]

Is it worth it, in your opinion, to do a flush with distilled water and go back to OE? Is this asking for other problems?

I like seeing OE fluid when buying a car, and if not, it certainly will have it when I sell.

 

[nthach]

If it was me and I saw yellow AMAM coolant, I’d refill with Prestone Cor-Guard or Peak 10X, send it. Those are “premium” AMAMs that are the same chemistry as Japanese/Korean pHOAT or Ford’s current Prestone fill. If it’s something else, like old school green IAT or G-05 in a Japanese car, I’d flush it until water drains clearish and refill with Cor-Guard or 10X.

I recently serviced a Ranger that saw green, it was due. If I did the future services, it would have stayed green. Used Prestone instead, so if Oil Changers/Jiffy Lube or the local quick lube touches it, the risk of coolant contamination due to dissimilar chemistry is eliminated.

 

[cdlamb]

My 2018 F150 started out with pink coolant (OAT) from the factory. Now they have changed the specs, & using a yellow coolant with the same OAT technology. They are supposed to be forward compatible. It now has a little of 200000 kilometers, & thinking I should flush it before winter. Is it worth testing the ph of the coolant?
I though there are paper strips that you can use to test it.

 

[SureshR]

My 2018 F150 started out with pink coolant (OAT) from the factory. Now they have changed the specs, & using a yellow coolant with the same OAT technology. They are supposed to be forward compatible. It now has a little of 200000 kilometers, & thinking I should flush it before winter. Is it worth testing the ph of the coolant?
I though there are paper strips that you can use to test it.

Mixing one OE coolant with another won't hurt but given the possible age of this coolant you might want to flush with distilled water a few times before refilling coolant.

 

[nthach]

My 2018 F150 started out with pink coolant (OAT) from the factory. Now they have changed the specs, & using a yellow coolant with the same OAT technology. They are supposed to be forward compatible. It now has a little of 200000 kilometers, & thinking I should flush it before winter. Is it worth testing the ph of the coolant?
I though there are paper strips that you can use to test it.

Ford used Dex-Cool(pink) and then their current yellow fill(Prestone Cor-Guard) and says both are compatible with each other. xOAT coolants are much more stable vs. silicated IATs. It wouldn’t hurt to do a flush in your case, but 200,000km === 124,000mi which is well within the 150K mi service life of Dex-Cool. The new stuff has a 10 year/350K service life, if Prestone is to be believed. The main concern with old coolant is the EG/PG breaking down into glycolic acid but with how stable the new OATs are, it’s not much of a concern as long as coolant is changed on a “reasonable” time.

IMO, from seeing a Toyota cooling system that saw nothing but Japanese pHOAT, the new breed of ELCs can go the distance.