Coolant flush

[mk5Eire]

Well lads, message came up on my dash the other day saying the coolant was low. When i checked it was indeed quite low nearly an inch below the min line. As i had no G12 on me i just topped it up with water but i dont want to dilute the mix that much. Should i just get the coolant flushed all together and replace it with fresh stuff?

Car is coming up on 100k miles and as far as im aware the coolant hasnt been changed in it? it wasnt in the cars service history anyways! 06 mk5 gti.

Would it be natural for the coolant to get low over this period of time of might i have a leak? I cant see any obvious signs of one in the rad or the pipe coming from the tank itself.

Any help much appreciated,

Sean.

[doylebros]

My approach would be to recheck the coolant when cold and set it to the correct level and monitor it's progress over a given period or mileage (which ever suits your vehicle usage).

If it's ok and has no loss then recharge with G13 (that's replaced G12).

However, if it's never lost any coolant before I would suspect a leak!

[GrayMK5GTI]

If the car has had a cambelt change (which it should have with that age & mileage) then chances are that the coolant has been replaced with that.

It's not difficult to do yourself so worth buying the new G13 and doing it yourself 

[mk5Eire]

Thanks for the replies i will keep an eye on it over the next few weeks and see if it drops anymore.

In terms of topping it up do i have to dilute the coolant the same as if it were being put straight in after a flush?

[mk5Eire]

forgot to mention aswell that the car hadnt been started in over 8 days when i coolant light came on. Would this be the cause? that the engine hadnt been warm in over a week?

[th3_f15t]

In 3 years of my GTI, my coolant has never dropped. I would check for leaks.

[doylebros]

forgot to mention aswell that the car hadnt been started in over 8 days when i coolant light came on. Would this be the cause? that the engine hadnt been warm in over a week?

Not in my opinion - I would still suspect a leak.

[Degudodger]

Start by checking the coolant pipes for any pink crust build up especially where the coolant pipes go towards the engine bulkhead/firewall. If there are no signs of leaks your next port of call should be the radiator, check the bottom corners first.