Folks,

I have a question and hope to get some feedeback. Over the weekend, I bleeped my car a couple of times and on Sunday morning I got up for my morning coffee and started her up to warm up. After about hmm, say five minutes I got a CEL for the coolant -- I guess it was low.

So, I shut it off and let it cool down a bit. Now, I topped it off with 70% coolant (Prestone Dex-Cool) and 30% distilled water. Did I use the proper coolant? I read the manual and didn't say anything about this kind of coolant. Also, was the low coolant due to the high reving I was doing? If so, where did the spent coolant go? Does it just "burn out" so to say?

Thanks for your replies !

 

COOLANT TYPE
A mixture of soft water and ethylene-glycol based coolant/anti-freeze.

CAUTION: The engine has aluminum parts that can be damaged by alcohol or methanol anti-freeze. Do not use alcohol or methanol in the system. Use only ethylene-glycol based coolant. Use only soft (demineralized) water in the coolant mixture. Water that contains minerals will hamper the coolant's effectiveness.

Specified mixture percentages, water/coolant:


Protection above -16°C (3°F) 65% / 35%

Protection above -26°C (-15°F) 55% / 45%

Protection above -40°C (-40°F)

 

About your low coolant, I don't know. It's got water in it so it subject to evaporation just like anything else, especally when hot. maybe you should look for leaks or have someone do a pressure check on the cooling system.

 

Well, I just read the manual and it stated soft (demineralized) water, not distilled. I believe there is a difference. Did your Prestone bottle say something like "can be used for all types of coolant"? I do know there is a difference between the green stuff and the orange. But I have seen coolant at the store that is compatible w/ both types. Oh, and the manual does say to use between a 35/65 to a 55/45 ratio where the first number is the percent of antifreeze in the mixture. 70/30 is a little high as the manual says not to exceed 60/40. If U only added a small amount to get the level back to normal, I think you'll be OK. As far as your coolant loss, I don't think that U should lose coolant just from revving it. I take mine up high (but never exceeding the redline, hear that Mazda ) quite often and haven't had any problems like U have. I'd monitor the level closely and go to the dealer if the problem continues.

 

^^I think that's what I'll do-- i'll just monitor the coolant level. It wasn't a great amount of coolant and water, you're right-- I just wanted to top it off.

I looked for leaks but couldn't really see any... noticed the under carriage is pretty well protected. if there was a huge leak then it would probably drip from the skid pans. I placed a clean cardboard right under where I park...so i'll monitor it closely. hopefully it isn't something big.

 

dimineralized water and distilled water are the same thing. Distilled water is pure water no minerals ions anything in it as is dimineralized water.