Coolant issue!

[Lee90]

Hi everyone,

I had a top up coolant message on my 2015 c220 2.1 amg edition.
so I set out and bought what I believe is the correct coolant/anti freeze it’s a blue / turquoise colour, now the problem is when I went to top it up the stuff in there already is illumines orange!
Now I know I can’t mix the 2 colours but Im wondering if I need to drain and flush the orange out and put the right stuff in or if orange is actually ok to use and I should just buy more of that and top it off. I can’t get a answer from anywhere and really hope someone here can help. Cheers

 

[Exp21]

Hi, do you have the 651 engine?

 

[Lee90]

Hi, do you have the 651 engine?

I dont actually know how would you find that out? It’s the 170bhp 2.1 diesel if that’s any help

 

[Exp21]

yes it's 651 engine. For what I know, the correct coolant is the one you bought (blue/turquoise) (MB 325.0 spec if I remember correctly). Mine also looks like brown/orange, but in my case is an optical illusion, due to age and mileage. If I suck some of the coolant and put it in a glass it's blue like the new one. I asked many mechanics but no one could give me an answer about this fact, but it looks orange only looking the reservoir from above (as if you're checking the level). In MB they told me that another 651 engine had coolant looking like mine. I suggest you to check if it's really orange or not. If it really is, I think someone put another non genuine coolant into your car

 

[LostKiwi]

Firstly the colour of the coolant is meaningless.
There is no standard amongst manufacturers as to colour of coolant.
Secondly if you don't know what's in there replace all of it as mixing incompatible coolants can cause them to form a gel and that's a nightmare.
Finally if it's only a top up use plain water. A litre or so won't create any issues in the UK regarding freezing.

 

[Lee90]

yes it's 651 engine. For what I know, the correct coolant is the one you bought (blue/turquoise) (MB 325.0 spec if I remember correctly). Mine also looks like brown/orange, but in my case is an optical illusion, due to age and mileage. If I suck some of the coolant and put it in a glass it's blue like the new one. I asked many mechanics but no one could give me an answer about this fact, but it looks orange only looking the reservoir from above (as if you're checking the level). In MB they told me that another 651 engine had coolant looking like mine. I suggest you to check if it's really orange or not. If it really is, I think someone put another non genuine coolant into your car

Iv just after taking some out and it’s 100% orange so I take it at some point someone’s put the wrong stuff in ‍

Firstly the colour of the coolant is meaningless.
There is no standard amongst manufacturers as to colour of coolant.
Secondly if you don't know what's in there replace all of it as mixing incompatible coolants can cause them to form a gel and that's a nightmare.
Finally if it's only a top up use plain water. A litre or so won't create any issues in the UK regarding freezing.

ok thank you, I hear prestone make a antifreeze coolant that can be used in any car but more importantly can be mixed with any other antifreeze. Do you think that is a viable option or should I just stick to the water for now? And would you recommend getting it flushed in the near future?

 

[LostKiwi]

ok thank you, I hear prestone make a antifreeze coolant that can be used in any car but more importantly can be mixed with any other antifreeze. Do you think that is a viable option or should I just stick to the water for now? And would you recommend getting it flushed in the near future?

No idea on the Prestone sorry.
I'd stick with water for now and flush it when convenient.

 

[mioba]

just top with water. For the dilution it won’t make any difference unless it’s litres.

I would be surprised if the coolant has already had been changed and replaced on such a new car.

Just get the right coloured coolant in there

 

[LostKiwi]

just top with water. For the dilution it won’t make any difference unless it’s litres.

I would be surprised if the coolant has already had been changed and replaced on such a new car.

Just get the right coloured coolant in there

You can't go by colour. It's only a dye and there is no standard.

 

[mioba]

You can't go by colour. It's only a dye and there is no standard.

sorry shouldn’t be racist. Let’s be more PC with coolants

 

[Bay Leaf]

I would imagine that it's the spec that's important not so much the colour. My other car used the orange stuff and I've got plenty left but when it's time to flush I will check the MB spec, otherwise it will do for the wife's car.
How long can the antifreeze stay in a MB for?

 

[LostKiwi]

I would imagine that it's the spec that's important not so much the colour. My other car used the orange stuff and I've got plenty left but when it's time to flush I will check the MB spec, otherwise it will do for the wife's car.
How long can the antifreeze stay in a MB for?

As I repeat over and over, colour does not guarantee any particular spec or type of coolant. It's solely a dye added by the manufacturer and there is no standard colour code.

 

[ajlsl600]

Its a real croc of shxxe that using diff makes can cause any issues.many would not know.and as you say colour is just dye.

 

[Jmelouise]

I also have a 651 engine. The coolant looks orange. Can I use this? Typed reg into Halfords and this is what it brought up.

 

[Bay Leaf]

Check the spec on the container if it matches with that in your hand book or on some models it's on a label under the bonnet it will be good to use.

 

[Jmelouise]

Handbook is useless cause it’s not just for my car. It’s for lots of different models.

 

[LostKiwi]

Spec is MB325.6 for your car. G40 should be fine.

 

[LostKiwi]

For future reference to check go to https://operatingfluids.mercedes-benz.com/category/coolant