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Add Coolant or Flush?

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Old 06-27-2011 | 03:12 PM
  #1  
Kereshen's Avatar
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From: Hamlton, ON
Add Coolant or Flush?

Hey,

Low Coolant light comes on and then disappears after a few times. I searched the forums and saw that the sensor might be the problem. When i checked my coolant level, it is low.

Question i have is: Should i just buy 50/50 premix coolant and top off the current coolant in the reservoir or should i get a coolant flush?

The engine is cold, been sitting in the driveway for over 5 hours when i checked.

Thanks,
Kereshen
Old 06-27-2011 | 03:42 PM
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Jethro Tull's Avatar
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Originally Posted by Kereshen
Hey,

Low Coolant light comes on and then disappears after a few times. I searched the forums and saw that the sensor might be the problem. When i checked my coolant level, it is low.

Question i have is: Should i just buy 50/50 premix coolant and top off the current coolant in the reservoir or should i get a coolant flush?

The engine is cold, been sitting in the driveway for over 5 hours when i checked.

Thanks,
Kereshen
If it's low, it's low. Fill it and see if the light stays off. If it's not always low, it's a common problem, although it's not the sensor that fails, it's the float inside the coolant bottle itself. It's absorbing coolant and losing bouyancy. If you have an '05 or earlier, your replacement coolant bottle comes with a new sensor. If it's '06 or later, you re-use the sensor (which isn't bad).

The relevant TSB is no. 01-040/10

If topping-off won't fix it, you really do need the new coolant bottle. Get it from Finish Line, much cheaper than from Mazda directly through a dealership. You might also qualify for warranty work, if still covered.

Last edited by Jethro Tull; 06-27-2011 at 04:14 PM.
Old 06-27-2011 | 04:57 PM
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It's a good idea to use distilled water...
Old 06-27-2011 | 05:20 PM
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I have an 06 and my light keeps comin on and off. Took it to the dealer and they are replacing whole bottle under warranty.
Old 06-28-2011 | 12:57 AM
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From: Indiana
Originally Posted by Jethro Tull
If it's low, it's low. Fill it and see if the light stays off. If it's not always low, it's a common problem, although it's not the sensor that fails, it's the float inside the coolant bottle itself. It's absorbing coolant and losing bouyancy. If you have an '05 or earlier, your replacement coolant bottle comes with a new sensor. If it's '06 or later, you re-use the sensor (which isn't bad).

The relevant TSB is no. 01-040/10

If topping-off won't fix it, you really do need the new coolant bottle. Get it from Finish Line, much cheaper than from Mazda directly through a dealership. You might also qualify for warranty work, if still covered.
Can you provide a link for finish line please, google search returned quite a few results and after checking some out with no luck I thought I'd ask

I too had the same question as the OP: low coolant, fill it up with the coolant that says it mixes with all other coolants fine or flush the system?
Old 06-28-2011 | 12:57 AM
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monchie's Avatar
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From: Las Vegas, NV
Originally Posted by cyclone1208
I have an 06 and my light keeps comin on and off. Took it to the dealer and they are replacing whole bottle under warranty.

Mine is doing it when i drive over 60 mph and disappears when i go lower than 60 mph. I think i might have to go to the dealer to have mine checked.
Old 06-28-2011 | 02:44 AM
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From: San Jose, CA
Originally Posted by Reaver
Can you provide a link for finish line please, google search returned quite a few results and after checking some out with no luck I thought I'd ask

I too had the same question as the OP: low coolant, fill it up with the coolant that says it mixes with all other coolants fine or flush the system?
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...cat=336&page=1

i would call them before ordering, the part number they're listing isn't the latest revision of the tank. It could be they simply haven't updated their website.. but double check before ordering.
Old 06-28-2011 | 08:40 AM
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Yeah, use distilled water. You can get it pretty much anywhere, like the grocery store.
Old 06-29-2011 | 08:58 AM
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From: Hamlton, ON
I ended up picking up some, Prestone 50/50 mix from Canadian Tire. Its green in colour and is ethylene glycol based. Seems to be doing the trick and the light no longer comes on.

Thanks for the help guys, Appreciate it!
Old 06-30-2011 | 08:44 PM
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From: Indiana
Originally Posted by Kereshen
I ended up picking up some, Prestone 50/50 mix from Canadian Tire. Its green in colour and is ethylene glycol based. Seems to be doing the trick and the light no longer comes on.

Thanks for the help guys, Appreciate it!
Ditto, for me it was happening when I put the car in automanual mode and keep it in there at decent rpm's (say over 5k) for at least a couple minutes, as soon as I put it back in complete auto mode it would immediately go off. Anyways I put a little coolant in and haven't been able to reproduce the problem yet

As a side note that coolant reservoir is hard as hell to read, the only way I could really get any idea was to shine a light down into the hole and look in.
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