How long should car coolant be changed?
Coolant is a special solution that is indispensable for every car. It has the effect of cooling, maintaining a stable temperature for the engine, helping the car to operate smoothly.
For vehicles that are not equipped with a coolant temperature monitoring system, engine overheating can lead to engine failure, vehicle inoperability, and even fire and explosion. Therefore, vehicle owners need to periodically change the coolant for their cars to help the engine operate best and most effectively.
What is car coolant?
The engine is considered the “heart” of the car, usually placed inside an airtight compartment and often generates a large amount of heat during operation. Therefore, coolant is used to regulate the temperature of the engine, while reducing the risk of the car engine overheating, expanding parts causing jamming during operation and thus can cause fire or explosion.
Car coolant is a solution consisting of distilled water and ethylene glycol cooling solution along with some other substances that have the effect of limiting corrosion, preventing evaporation... At the same time, this solution can withstand low temperatures that cause freezing in winter weather. Freezing will not occur if the right type of coolant is used for ambient temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius.
How often should car coolant be changed?
To ensure the engine and equipment operate normally at the allowable temperature, car owners should regularly check the coolant. The coolant tank is usually located under the hood, right inside the engine compartment.
Car owners must ensure that the coolant level in the radiator is always at the allowable level. The allowable level of coolant is when it is between the “Low” and “Full” or “Min” and “Max” positions.
On the other hand, during operation and movement, the driver can monitor the status of the engine cooling system using the digital clock cluster. If the clock needle is at the C (Cool) threshold, it means that the temperature of the engine compartment is quite stable. If the clock needle is at the H (Hot) threshold, the driver should consider checking the cooling system and replacing or adding car coolant.
Just like other fluids that the car engine needs to operate, coolant also needs to be changed continuously. Depending on the type of car as well as the time of use, there will be differences, usually the car needs to change the coolant after operating about 40,000 - 80,000 km.
In addition, if you find large oil patches floating inside the radiator, rust-colored or colorless, you need to quickly change the coolant for your car. You need to make sure that you have flushed out all the rust particles as well as dirt that can clog the system before replacing the new coolant.
According to the manufacturer's instructions, every 2-3 years of use (or after every 40,000 - 60,000 km of operation), users must clean the radiator and change the water.