To Drain and fill the Coolant or not?

[Mau]

Both my Acura's (see signatures) are hitting 5 yrs of service (still drive like it drove off the lot yesterday!) and they have Honda Type 2 filled.

The TL has 72K (KM's) and the RDX has 95K (KM's). I have a power steering hose recall on the TL so I asked Acura how much a coolant change would be ($120 CDN) but they said they don't recommend changing until I have to do the timing belt (yes these have tbelts!) which is at 168K. The TL doesn't get driven during winter but I was thinking of changing out the coolant due to age.

Same thing with the RDX but it does get used all year but it has a timing chain so I don't know what Honda/Acura's recommendation is (haven't looked in the manual yet).

What do you guys think? Change it out now ?

Should I use one of those Prestone tester gizmo's to test the condition of the fluid ?

 

[SOHCman]

I would think change it. 5 years is plenty long IMHO.

 

[Sayjac]

I have the same year 3.0L Accord, and plan on going the Honda rec 10 year ~110k Type 2 interval or when the timing belt/wp service is due ~7yrs, whichever comes first, likely the latter.

If I were you, I'd wait until time for the tb/wp service. Did the same with 01 Civic.

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: SOHCman
I would think change it. 5 years is plenty long IMHO.


+1. I drain and fill mine every other year.

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: Bgallagher
Originally Posted By: SOHCman
I would think change it. 5 years is plenty long IMHO.


+1. I drain and fill mine every other year.


A waste of perfectly good coolant, IMO.

My 07 Civic EX has 140,000 miles and I just recently did a simple radiator drain n fill because I was doing a modification that required removal of the radiator / coolant.

The fluid came out clear as day. No signs of going bad any time soon (usually you'll start seeing build up in the reservoir / radiator).

A simple drain n fill every 5 years is understandable but every year is just a waste.

 

[Rand]

he said every 2 years.

thats reasonable if you are just drain and fill with conventional green.
with dexcool thats abit often.

usually by the time you see buildup the coolant is very dead.

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: Rand
he said every 2 years.

thats reasonable if you are just drain and fill with conventional green.
with dexcool thats abit often.

usually by the time you see buildup the coolant is very dead.



Exactly what I do! Plus my story might be a little different because I am one of the lucky guys who has the dexcool/LIM gasket problems. I figure its cheaper to drain and refill with green (I COMPLETELY flushed the dex out prior to this, few years back) then replace the headgasket

 

[Mau]

Should I change the thermostats out even though they are good ?

Both cars are at operating temps pretty darn quick. I'll have to plug in my obd dongle to see how quick.

 

[Artem]

Originally Posted By: Mau
Should I change the thermostats out even though they are good ?

Both cars are at operating temps pretty darn quick. I'll have to plug in my obd dongle to see how quick.


Why fix what ain't broke?

 

[Boss302fan]

Drain and fill before you have any corrosion problems...

 

[The Critic]

All of my friends with Hondas follow the 7-10yr/100k interval with Type II and I have never heard of coolant-related issues.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Artem
Originally Posted By: Mau
Should I change the thermostats out even though they are good ?

Both cars are at operating temps pretty darn quick. I'll have to plug in my obd dongle to see how quick.

Why fix what ain't broke?

+1

 

[johnsmellsalot]

I would just drain and fill it. No need to "flush" it. The average life span of most coolants nowadays is 5 years.

 

[3putter]

at that kind of a change interval you are wasting time, effort, and money. not doing the environment any favors either.