Coolant & Antifreeze Explained

azimabdul1983

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Hi,

I've got a 2010 E Class (E200 CDi Sport), I believe it is the W212 model as per my profile picture. I got a message on my way into work this morning to say "coolant level is low...". I am also now due my next service which is going to be a service B (at 56k miles). I am planning to wait a couple of weeks before getting my service done, should I just add a little bit of water as per some of the suggestions and see if the message comes up again? Or better to get some coolant and top up before I get my service done?

Any advice would be gratefully received. Also, as I am at work now I have not been able to check the manual to see what coolant is suitable for my car. I have gone to "https://www.opieoils.co.uk/" and put in my registration but was not able to see a suitable coolant for my car, can anyone point me in the right direction?
 

John Laidlaw

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Hi,

I've got a 2010 E Class (E200 CDi Sport), I believe it is the W212 model as per my profile picture. I got a message on my way into work this morning to say "coolant level is low...". I am also now due my next service which is going to be a service B (at 56k miles). I am planning to wait a couple of weeks before getting my service done, should I just add a little bit of water as per some of the suggestions and see if the message comes up again? Or better to get some coolant and top up before I get my service done?

Any advice would be gratefully received. Also, as I am at work now I have not been able to check the manual to see what coolant is suitable for my car. I have gone to "https://www.opieoils.co.uk/" and put in my registration but was not able to see a suitable coolant for my car, can anyone point me in the right direction?
You can get a couple of litre bottle of ready mixed coolant at Halfords for about £12. I’d top up with that until your service, as you say only a couple of weeks away. Don’t let it go low certainly and straight water at this time of year isn’t a great idea either.
 

azimabdul1983

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@John - Thanks for the tip, on my lunch break I went down to a local auto shop and asked for them to look up which coolant I should use as top up. They gave me a green solution, stupidly I purchased the coolant before opening the hood and checking. I did check after buying the coolant and it looks like the coolant level is actually okay. I drove to the auto shop which is about 3 to 4 mins drive from the office and the message did not come up. I did take a photo of the coolant level just to make sure I am seeing correctly, attached is a photo and from what I can see my coolant level seems okay?

Also, the coolant in the car looks like an orange colour and the one I purchased is green. I did read somewhere that we are not supposed to mix? I can't remember if that was to not mix the colours or if it was related to a specific "type" or "property" in the coolant which should not be mixed? I also forgot to take a pic of the coolant that was sold but hopefully I can refund that if my coolant level seems normal and it may just have been a sensory glitch?

I could not reply specifically to your message as each time I hit the reply button I get some form a java script error and don't have enough time on my hands to work out what the problem is with browser.

Thanks
 

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John Laidlaw

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@John - Thanks for the tip, on my lunch break I went down to a local auto shop and asked for them to look up which coolant I should use as top up. They gave me a green solution, stupidly I purchased the coolant before opening the hood and checking. I did check after buying the coolant and it looks like the coolant level is actually okay. I drove to the auto shop which is about 3 to 4 mins drive from the office and the message did not come up. I did take a photo of the coolant level just to make sure I am seeing correctly, attached is a photo and from what I can see my coolant level seems okay?

Also, the coolant in the car looks like an orange colour and the one I purchased is green. I did read somewhere that we are not supposed to mix? I can't remember if that was to not mix the colours or if it was related to a specific "type" or "property" in the coolant which should not be mixed? I also forgot to take a pic of the coolant that was sold but hopefully I can refund that if my coolant level seems normal and it may just have been a sensory glitch?

I could not reply specifically to your message as each time I hit the reply button I get some form a java script error and don't have enough time on my hands to work out what the problem is with browser.

Thanks
Oh dear! The coolant level looks to be ‘just about’ OK. Have you unscrewed the cap and looked inside? (When the engine is cold of course!)There should be a level marker I think in yours which is visible inside to tell you where it should be sitting. had I realised it was that close I would have suggested just a very small water top up as you originally said!My apologies. The yellow stuff you have in will be the MB G05 spec, an OAT type (Organic acid inhibitor)- what you will have read is not to mix that with an IAT (inorganic), as for the rest the colours are the colours.
Remember of course the car will have been cold on your short journey.
img8e287a27814dfc4735477e684de24de2_1_--_--_tiff.jpg
 

azimabdul1983

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Oh dear! The coolant level looks to be ‘just about’ OK. Have you unscrewed the cap and looked inside? (When the engine is cold of course!)There should be a level marker I think in yours which is visible inside to tell you where it should be sitting. had I realised it was that close I would have suggested just a very small water top up as you originally said!My apologies. The yellow stuff you have in will be the MB G05 spec, an OAT type (Organic acid inhibitor)- what you will have read is not to mix that with an IAT (inorganic), as for the rest the colours are the colours.
Remember of course the car will have been cold on your short journey.
img8e287a27814dfc4735477e684de24de2_1_--_--_tiff.jpg
No need for an apology, I should have done the sensible thing and checked the level before going to the shop. I can pop down and get a refund tomorrow so that is not a problem at all. I will see if the message pops up again on the drive home from work but will add a little bit of water tomorrow morning when it will be nice and cold before I set off for work. I did open up the cap and take a look inside, I can't think of the correct terms/words to use to describe what I saw... I think I saw the level marker but didn't see it if that makes sense (saw it but didn't register in my head at the time). It looked like there was another tube like thing sticking up inside the bottle and I could not see any coolant in that compartment/tube (not sure if I have described that correctly). I am guessing the coolant should not exceed that level which is why it looked like there was no coolant in the little tube/compartment. - hopefully that all makes sense. I will add a small amount of water and see if the message comes up again over the coming few days, I do plan on getting the coolant replaced as part of the service in a few weeks time so I can live with the message for a short period if it does come up. Thank you for your help, much appreciated.
 
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Hi

Sorry, for some reason I've only just got the notification from the forum.

You need to be a little careful with the coolant, it should be a MB325.0 spec, which doesn't have certain additives as they can affect seals and cause wear. If you are dropping the coolant in a couple of weeks, no worries.

Often it's best to top up with water as diluting coolant is usually okay - normally they are fine down to about -30C or so and hopefully we will not get anywhere near that. With water, there is no need to worry about compatibility or additives.

Cheers

Tim
 

azimabdul1983

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Hi

Sorry, for some reason I've only just got the notification from the forum.

You need to be a little careful with the coolant, it should be a MB325.0 spec, which doesn't have certain additives as they can affect seals and cause wear. If you are dropping the coolant in a couple of weeks, no worries.

Often it's best to top up with water as diluting coolant is usually okay - normally they are fine down to about -30C or so and hopefully we will not get anywhere near that. With water, there is no need to worry about compatibility or additives.

Cheers

Tim
Thanks for the info, will make sure I get the correct coolant for when the car is serviced and coolant is replaced. I did forget to top up with water this morning, I was in a bit of a rush to get into the office and ended up forgetting. However; the coolant level low message has not popped up either since the first time I got it yesterday just before the drive into work. The level seems okay to me so I will put the message down to a one off glitch. I did have a look around the coolant tank and cannot see any leaks or anything so hopefully the message won't pop up again. Service is a few weeks away so I won't worry unless the message starts repeatedly popping up.
 

Ricardo230

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Hi I have a w124 230e and the temp guage doesn't work. Yesterday while I was waiting for my wife it started steaming and dumped a load of coolent on the street. I topped it up from a boiled kettle when it had cooled down a bit.
Is this serious ?
 

Jim2

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For my 2010 Mercedes w212 E Class 2.1 diesel, can you tell me what is the coolant capacity Please?
Also Mercedes Benz Antifreeze A 000 989 08 25 10, is this an "IAT" or an "OAT" antifreeze?
Likewise is Comma Xtream G48 an "IAT" or an "OAT" Antifreeze?
Thanks, Jim.
 
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smileyboy

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Hi... I'm easily confused... I have a 1987 R107 300SL with the M103 engine I believe... I'm keen to do a coolant change as it appears to have had minimal use for the last 12 yrs (less than 1000 miles)...I have no idea if the engine has 'yellow' metal in it.. Any advice would be appreciated... I see 325 & 325.5 specs mentioned... but I guess they are quite new, and I may need something older?
 

LostKiwi

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Hi... I'm easily confused... I have a 1987 R107 300SL with the M103 engine I believe... I'm keen to do a coolant change as it appears to have had minimal use for the last 12 yrs (less than 1000 miles)...I have no idea if the engine has 'yellow' metal in it.. Any advice would be appreciated... I see 325 & 325.5 specs mentioned... but I guess they are quite new, and I may need something older?
If you have the handbook it will tell you which coolant is required.
 

smileyboy

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Thank you... all it says is refer to specification sheet 310... but google only shows 310.1... and that suggests either 325 or 326 for any vehicle up to 2014... then 325.6 or 326.6 for 'any vehicle'...
 

LostKiwi

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Thank you... all it says is refer to specification sheet 310... but google only shows 310.1... and that suggests either 325 or 326 for any vehicle up to 2014... then 325.6 or 326.6 for 'any vehicle'...
Look here:
https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/325.0_de.html

Use the pull down box to select the specification required.

It would appear G48 is what you require.

If you don't know what's currently in there I strongly suggest flushing the system entirely.
 

Jim2

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Look here:
https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/325.0_de.html

Use the pull down box to select the specification required.

It would appear G48 is what you require.

If you don't know what's currently in there I strongly suggest flushing the system entirely.
Unsure of what coolant was in my previous Merc, I drained and refilled it with G48. Now I plan on doing the same with Merc Nr 2. Here's some pics of present status:
First pic shows color of the coolant ( not very appetizing, I must say...), 2nd Pic shows the level it was at when the "low coolant " warning showed on the dash. Its a pre April 141 registered vehicle, so I guess the G48 is the one to use. Only got the car 10 days or so ago, so we are still getting to know each other.......:) but so far, it's been a good experience. And long may it continue !!!
 

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LostKiwi

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Unsure of what coolant was in my previous Merc, I drained and refilled it with G48. Now I plan on doing the same with Merc Nr 2. Here's some pics of present status:
First pic shows color of the coolant ( not very appetizing, I must say...), 2nd Pic shows the level it was at when the "low coolant " warning showed on the dash. Its a pre April 141 registered vehicle, so I guess the G48 is the one to use. Only got the car 10 days or so ago, so we are still getting to know each other.......:) but so far, it's been a good experience. And long may it continue !!!
That does look due a change.....
 

Jim2

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That does look due a change.....

And it will get it, plus ATF change while I'm at it. The 1st change was done as per the schedule @ 40'000 Miles, but the 80'000 milestone for the 2nd change has been passed, and as I cannot find any evidence of it being done then, and as it's half the job just to check the existing fluid, an oil and filter change it will be.
 

Lion41

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Hi, something odd started with the coolant level last month.
I use the proper coolant 325.0 for my sprinter 313 '05 ( w903) but every time i top it up to the MAX after of 5-6 times driving it drops slowly every time and its 1/2 of the tank and stays there ( i saw it the next morning when the engine is cold) .
Where the other go ? getting out from the cap of the tank ( its ok no cracks there) ? i didnt saw any leaks anywhere but it is very odd because the coolant level was just below MAX line every time i checked.

Any thoughts ?
 

Jim2

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The Max line is exactly what it means...just as is the Min line, and anywhere between the two is acceptable. If its overfilled, then it will blow out the excess As far as I know.
 

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