Coolant top up

[marcs]

Anyone topped up their coolant levels yet? Ive done about 7k on my polo tsi. Just checked the coolant level and found its a tad below the minimum level when cold. Manual states to add G12 Plus-Plus or G12 Plus. Should I head to my dealer for this? Or would somewhere like super cheap have it?

Also engine has not chewed any oil so far.

[Hail22]

Got the same thing, no warnings yet and service is in a few weeks time so i gather its all good. Must be in all TSI's quite a thirsty bugger when it comes to heat reduction xD

I have Nulon Red long life top-up Coolant, think its safe to use for the TSI? :/

[Diesel_vert]

Anyone topped up their coolant levels yet? Ive done about 7k on my polo tsi. Just checked the coolant level and found its a tad below the minimum level when cold. Manual states to add G12 Plus-Plus or G12 Plus. Should I head to my dealer for this? Or would somewhere like super cheap have it?

Dealer only. I doubt the retail shops would stock it.

Also engine has not chewed any oil so far.

Must be one of the lucky ones!

I have Nulon Red long life top-up Coolant, think its safe to use for the TSI? :/

Nope.

Refer to the owner's manual for further details.

[gavs]

Your dealer might offer free top ups seeing as a) it's brand new and b)it's a sealed system so theoretically, it shouldn't have used any coolant because there isn't anywhere for it to go, which would mean it was over-looked in predelivery....

[marcs]

yeah ill just go to my dealer. No warning lights coming up either. But I definitely remember seeing it above minimum at least when i first got it thats for sure. I drive the thing like a baby.

[marcs]

guys i just rang the dealer. They told me its not necessary to top up until the warning light comes on. And in the case that it does they said its safe to top up with water. do I trust them? hmmm

[gavs]

Hell no!!!!!! It says to NEVER top up with water in your owner's manual!!!!

You introduce water, you dilute the glycol levels etc and can rust out your cooling system! I would leave it and monitor it over the next few months. If it keeps dropping, take it back under warranty.

[sVWatt]

Mine dropped below the min once, and I topped it up with mineral aquifer water (not) and it's stayed put ever since. I recon its just on the initial run in. Checked it twice since, and it hast not moved.

[Transporter]

Hell no!!!!!! It says to NEVER top up with water in your owner's manual!!!!

You introduce water, you dilute the glycol levels etc and can rust out your cooling system! I would leave it and monitor it over the next few months. If it keeps dropping, take it back under warranty.

The small amount (less than 1/2L) can be topped up with demineralized/distilled water. The factory fill is strong enough to take it. Of course ideally you should use 50:50 mixture. Also remember never mix 2 different brands of coolant, use only G12+ or G12++ coolant as per your user manual. After you topped up with water, at your next service you need to tell your mechanic to measure the coolant concentration and adjust, if needed.

[gavs]

The small amount (less than 1/2L) can be topped up with demineralized/distilled water. The factory fill is strong enough to take it. Of course ideally you should use 50:50 mixture. Also remember never mix 2 different brands of coolant, use only G12+ or G12++ coolant as per your user manual. After you topped up with water, at your next service you need to tell your mechanic to measure the coolant concentration and adjust, if needed.

Yeah, that makes sense Transporter I'm just going off what the owner's manual says and with having to fully strip out and clean the cooling system of a 4wd I owned due the flog before me topping up with water, I personally never endorse the use of water in any cooling system, but that's just me

[Transporter]

Yeah, the attitude in Australia when it comes to maintaining the cooling systems is a mixed bag (saying politely). I received a weird looks when I requested Castrol AF/AB coolant back in the mid '90. Even R***o's Au*oT*ch had a page in their TSBs saying that we didn't need AF/AB type coolants in the cooling systems, which they updated a few years later with the page (TSB) that was saying that we need AF/AB type of coolants from that date. I called it a climate change.

The thing to remember when it comes to the cooling system in any car is; listen what the car manufacturer says. And if they say; "use only the mixture of G12+ coolant and water", that's what you should use. I always use a mix between 50%-60%, this gives a buffer for a minor top up. I can safely say that, none of my customers who regularly serviced their car had anything corroded in the cooling system.

It is not just a marketing ploy when they say "use only VW coolant". There are some really quick cooling system destroyers between the coolants in the auto parts shops and they're big brand names (usually unknown outside of Australia).

[Hail22]

Yeah, the attitude in Australia when it comes to maintaining the cooling systems is a mixed bag (saying politely). I received a weird looks when I requested Castrol AF/AB coolant back in the mid '90. Even R***o's Au*oT*ch had a page in their TSBs saying that we didn't need AF/AB type coolants in the cooling systems, which they updated a few years later with the page (TSB) that was saying that we need AF/AB type of coolants from that date. I called it a climate change.

The thing to remember when it comes to the cooling system in any car is; listen what the car manufacturer says. And if they say; "use only the mixture of G12+ coolant and water", that's what you should use. I always use a mix between 50%-60%, this gives a buffer for a minor top up. I can safely say that, none of my customers who regularly serviced their car had anything corroded in the cooling system.

It is not just a marketing ploy when they say "use only VW coolant". There are some really quick cooling system destroyers between the coolants in the auto parts shops and they're big brand names (usually unknown outside of Australia).

Upon your post i had a look at Auto barn and the Nulon book says its red coolant covers VW MK VI Golf variants including GTI's, and the 9n3 polos.

Wouldn't that be a safe product to use since they're the ones saying its safe for these type of vehicles?

[Corey_R]

That depends Hail22.

Does Autobarn or VW cover the warranty on your car? Cause unless you wanna be going through Autobarn for your warranty issues, I'd be following what VW say
Btw... VW G12++ is not at all expensive. It's it really worth the hassle when we're talking about a <$20 purchase here?



Also, this is not a pre-delivery issue. What happens is sometimes there is air etc in the system. That can work it's way out over a few hundred k (even a few thousand, lol) and it "all of a sudden" (or so it seems) just drops. It happens randomly to cars. Just top it up according to your owners manual

[Hail22]

That depends Hail22.

Does Autobarn or VW cover the warranty on your car? Cause unless you wanna be going through Autobarn for your warranty issues, I'd be following what VW say
Btw... VW G12++ is not at all expensive. It's it really worth the hassle when we're talking about a <$20 purchase here?



Also, this is not a pre-delivery issue. What happens is sometimes there is air etc in the system. That can work it's way out over a few hundred k (even a few thousand, lol) and it "all of a sudden" (or so it seems) just drops. It happens randomly to cars. Just top it up according to your owners manual

Where can i buy G12++ even though my first service in a few weeks from now xD

[Corey_R]

I got mine from European Autotech who are a VW specialist, but also an APR dealer. I would presume that ANY good Volkswagen specialist / tuner SHOULD have G12++ available, cause it's needed for servicing and when doing hardware upgrades where you need to disconnect the cooling system etc.

I'm not sure if the Autobarns/Repcos/Supercheaps have them, but you could call them and ask I guess.