Coolant Question

[S_94]

Hi all,

Been a while since I've posted! Hope everyone is well.

I had a warning the other night about low coolant level, topped up with some filtered water and that's done the trick for now. A full service is coming up but wanted to get the coolant sorted now. There's been discussions on here before about what coolant is needed (my Manual say G13). viewtopic.php?t=75294&hilit=Coolant&start=30

Looking on Euro Car Parts, will this do the trick? Says 'ready mixed' which is what I'd prefer instead of messing around with dilution ratios.
https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/triple-q ... -523770522

Assuming I can just use this to top up the current level?

[RUM4MO]

Yes that says it is same as G13, which probably means that it is based on the same BASF coolant additive.

I tend to stick with the latest VW Group offerings.

[SRGTD]

Hi @S_94. Good to see you back.

A low coolant level might indicate an issue with your car’s water pump and / or thermostat housing - a weak point on VAG’s EA888 2.0 litre engine. I don’t know if the Gen 3b version of this engine as fitted in the Polo GTI suffers from water pump / thermostat housing failures in the same way as the Gen 3 version used in the mk7 / mk7.5 Golf GTI and R, but it would certainly be worth monitoring the coolant level in your car to ensure it doesn’t drop again and also check around the engine block / engine compartment for evidence of leaks / dried up coolant deposits. As your car’s going to be serviced soon, IMHO it would also be worth asking the garage to do a visual check for signs of coolant leaks and maybe pressure test the cooling system for leaks.

[S_94]

Thanks @RUM4MO, will give VW a ring and see what can be bought over the shelf.

@SRGTD - Thanks mate, hope you're well!

It's an interesting one as I've had issues with the coolant in the past (have posted about it here), a couple of years back I had what I thought was a leak. Could quite clearly see coolant coming out of the container, albeit only 1/2 drops. Took the car to VW, they told me they did a very comprehensive pressure test and there were no signs of leakage, very odd! But yeah, will make sure this is checked at the next service and fingers crossed it's all good.

[SRGTD]

Thanks @RUM4MO, will give VW a ring and see what can be bought over the shelf.

@SRGTD - Thanks mate, hope you're well!

It's an interesting one as I've had issues with the coolant in the past (have posted about it here), a couple of years back I had what I thought was a leak. Could quite clearly see coolant coming out of the container, albeit only 1/2 drops. Took the car to VW, they told me they did a very comprehensive pressure test and there were no signs of leakage, very odd! But yeah, will make sure this is checked at the next service and fingers crossed it's all good.

I’m well thanks; hope you are too.

I had what I thought was a coolant leak with my previous 2016 Polo GTI when it was around 18 months old and still under warranty. I got an intermittent smell of coolant when I lifted the bonnet after a run and the engine was hot and the cooling system was up to pressure. I informed the garage when my car was in for its second service to get it logged while the car was still under warranty, so there was a record of it having been reported in case it was an early sign of the water pump / thermostat housing failing.

The dealer did a visual inspection and a pressure test and told me there wasn’t any sign of leakage. The coolant level never dropped though, but I could still smell coolant (not every time - it was one of those annoying intermittent things) right up to the time I part ex’d the car at 4.5 years old for my current GTI+.

[S_94]

Bumping this thread for anyone else who comes across it. I've called VW Parts this morning and they now recommend G12 coolant. Interesting as my handbook says G13. No idea what the difference is but there we go!

[ciclo]

VW replaced the G13 with the G12 Evo some time ago because the chemical composition of the G13 coolant damaged some seals in some engines. It was also said that the damage process in the seals was accelerated depending on some manufacturing/assembly processes of these engines, but it was not something that definitively shed light on the exact cause of the damage.
During the process of investigating these all-too-common damages, they used alternative methods that did not seem to be effective, the well-known silicate bags in the coolant expansion tanks.

[S_94]

VW replaced the G13 with the G12 Evo some time ago because the chemical composition of the G13 coolant damaged some seals in some engines. It was also said that the damage process in the seals was accelerated depending on some manufacturing/assembly processes of these engines, but it was not something that definitively shed light on the exact cause of the damage.
During the process of investigating these all-too-common damages, they used alternative methods that did not seem to be effective, the well-known silicate bags in the coolant expansion tanks.

That's interesting? Would it be advisable to flush the system before adding G12 then, if G13 is currently in there?

[ciclo]

I would flush all the engine cooling circuits with distilled water if my engine was affected by the G13 problem, I would do it twice before renewing it with the new G12 Evo.

Since a manufacturing date, there are engines that using the factory G13 were not affected, but I no longer remember the exact manufacturing date nor can I find the VW document (technical bulletin) where I read it, sorry.
Our Golf7.5 1.0 TSI DKRF 2018 came with G13 from the factory, it was not affected by the G13 problem, I had no problems with leaks in the cooling circuit, pump-thermostat box...

I renewed the engine coolant at 50,000km with G12 Evo without flushing the cooling system, so far everything seems to be in good condition.
Periodically/routinely I took a look at the engine at the most probable leak points, but I was already doing these 0.5 second routines before knowing that the G13 was causing problems.

[S_94]

Thanks ciclo. This is the one supplied directly by VW, cost £8.40.

[RUM4MO]

Yes, that is the latest version of coolant.

For anyone that does not know this, VW Group coolant went from G11 to G12 to G12+ to G12++ and then onto G13 which addressed all previous issues, was better than either of the G12 versions and maybe even produced using a "greener" process - and then moved onto G12evo, so that confused a few people, VW Group must have had a very good reason for "bucking logic" and calling this latest version G12 even although it is the first time that G12evo has been used.