Howard911s

always been accustomed to change my coolant on all my cars at 30K miles... i know all the other acuras i had all said 60K interval for changing coolants... but i just change it at 30K, cheap and good maintainence. Today... just looked at manuel under severe schedule. EVEN severe schedule only requires coolant change every 120K miles or that is 196000 KM ... is my eyes playing trick on me or is it really the case.? there is no way i will wait that long, but does this mean i can change it at 60K and still be safe? anyone gonna follow it?

GIBSON6594

I listen to the manual, if anything goes wrong, it's not my fault

sauceman

Yup, I've changed it at 194,000km for the first time. I figure the most severe requirements for maintenance would be suggested by Acura themselves, so if they don't require closer intervals, it really must not be necessary.

Although, I do believe they say 120k OR x months. You should follow the time prescription if you don't travel much.

Howard911s

true, guess im a bit more paranoid since im in los angeles.. hot weather, with freaking bumper to bumper traffic everyday.............

rugbybrado

me personalyl im old school. Just because a coolant can claim to last 120k doesnt mean i wont change it out. If it gives you piece of mind go ahea and change it at 30k, it isnt goign to hurt anything as long as you mix it right.

moda_way

So, How did the coolant look since you are the only member testing the 120k mile (or 194k km)?

sauceman

The dealership changed it. Quite frankly, I never thought of asking to see how it looked..

JTso

iTrader: (2)

The new Honda coolant is already pre-mixed, so no mixing is necessary.

moda_way

GEESH!!!

jlukja

.... and racing stupid old people in Camrys....

Howard911s

dats why i need to get my coolant changed to keep my car in top shape!

haroman311

yeah, i wouldnt wait 120k, but thats just me. if u had a DVOM, you could stick the lead into the radiator and check the cooloant, because after time, coolant can give off a tiny bit of electrical charge, and what else can happen is the coolant can become acidic, and eat away at your water pump, the seals, so on. so its important to change and flush it, by when the manual says atleast, if not, id go 30k, like guy above said

leftride

iTrader: (1)

i changed my coolant @ ~35k with my hondata HSG install

but otherwise i would have waitied till it was recommended

SodaLuvr

I'd use the Prestone All Makes/Models, which is basically green Dex-Cool produced using the HOAT technology I think.

Dex-Cool works in virtually all cooling system applications, believe it or not, because there is a car in the family that specs silicated coolant (96 Saturn built in 11/95, Dex-Cool wasn't factory fill until 4/96) and I run Prestone Extended Life Dex-Cool in it and have had no problems for over 2 years.

BTW...I'd follow the MFG's suggestion on coolant replacement. Coolant can last a long time unless it gets contaminated.

Of course, you can always have the coolant analyzed for about $10.

MW

gsrthomas

So say something goes wrong at 90k miles. And its not your fault. Who are you going to blame then??? Warrenty is out by now. Acura wont help you with anything.

Coolent is really easy to change. Its easier then doing an oil change. Better to change it before 120k. I would change it at 60k and then at 120k again.

sauceman

Hmm. If Acura doesn't suggest to change it before 120,000 miles, and something happens with it (being directly related to the fact that coolant wasn't and should have been changed), I would say Acura has some part responsability to share.

But I don't see those troubles happening too often anyway.

Arcticcl9

sounds like a good idea to change at 60k, since it won't hurt anything if I change it earlier ..question though, where do you guys dump the coolant if you DIY?

gfd1182

do you just drain the coolant and pour new one in, or is it flushed with additive?

SodaLuvr

Honda Type II only comes premixed...so the traditional water flush won't work.

jlukja

How much coolant does a drain-and-fill require?

CJams

yes! If it aint broken, don't fix it!

Going at least 10k between oil changes as well. The 3k mile crap was adopted back when Camaros with V8s ruled the roads and oil technology was 30years older/less refined. I'm just playing my part to avoid invading 3rd world countries for oil by changing it when it's truely needed and not when some dude/company that makes a buck everytime I do it tells me to.

ILoveMyHonda

IMHO id change at least halfway thru. 60k just to be safe. Even if Acura can be found responsible if anything were to happen direclty related to the engine coolant, I'd stil ahve to deal with all the headache of resolving it.

BTW yes all the Honda coolant is premixed, and i like using the HONDA coolant cuz its factory recommended, and its that really cool blue color!

As far as replacing, if its anything like older Hondas, im pretty sure its a messy event.
But its pretty much drain and fill, with a easy loosening of a valve to release air.

Mokos23

The other question this thread should be is how many of you guys are planning to keep your TSX for 120K miles?

jlukja

around 10 years (and whatever mileage that works out to be).

Reverend Adams

I will have any and all maintenance, of any kind, done at my dealership, that way I will never have any problems with them not knowing what planned maintenance items have or have not been done in a timely manner. This dealership happens to be a good one. my

yuhoo22

Considering I'm at 61k today; which is only 2.5 years, its shouldn't be too hard!

CJams

at least 1,000,000 miles or till I die! Which ever comes first. And I bet my coolant only gets changed 5 times total

CCColtsicehockey

ok well since were on the topic of honda coolant and some one mentioned about flushing it. i am changing my radiator hoses soon and obviously i have to drain it to do so. I am only at 37,000miles so would there be a point to flush it or can I just poor in the new coolant when I am done.

CJams

I think you can just top it off unless you get a bunch of dirt or shmeg in it when replacing the hoses.

smx95

I will shed some light to this thread since nobody in here is an automotive tech and get their hands dirty.

120k for any type of coolant is way over kill.

Dexcool is recommend up to 100k. At 45-60k dexcool becomes mud looking and once you run a flush through them (WITH A MACHINE THAT DOES THE ENTIRE SYSTEM) you will see sand like particles moving through the waist filter of the machine. IF you test the coolant with coolant dip strip testers you will see that dexcool and any other extended life coolant over 3-4 years will fail.

Honda coolant is premixed already. Honda systems usually take 12-14qts to fully flush out the entire system. This machine I am taking about. It has hose adaptors which goes into the upper rad hose. From there you connect these fittings into the hose and the radiator, then attach the machine lines to the proper adaptor. The machine works off compressed air pushing fresh coolant through the entire engine, rad and heater core and by that process pushing out the old coolant plus any other stuff thats in there.

The reason why all these companies say do them at 120k is because once your engine coolant fails and develops into internal engine block failure (Rust) your warranty is up and you can't do anything to the company. Another reason is because people don't like to do maintance. Dealership will never tell you to flush your brake fluid. But at 20k or every 2 years you should. Or else enjoy replacing brake lines at 100k.

Common sense says when you do a timing belt you replace the water pump, timing belt tensioner, drive belts, coolant and anything else that looks like it should be replaced at that point. Maintance is what keeps the car going. Hondas will last a long time but don't believe all the shit you read in your manual. You should ask a real automotive tech on their thoughts and go by what they say.

BTW I work for RAAUTO.COM Ron ananian the car doctor.

moda_way

For as much as you drive it, it'll be 20 yrs before you get to 120k.

I will drive mine until its time to buy the 2015 Civic and the 2015 Ducati xx98.

SodaLuvr

1. Dexcool is now rated at 5-years/150k miles. According to one of my contacts at GM, the fluid has shown to last virtually FOREVER during testing due to the lack of any sacrificial components such as silicates and/or phosphates. I'm aware of Dexcool's "problems." They involve extreme sensitivity to coolant levels and any leaks in the system. In other words, if you don't keep your system perfectly full and in tip-top shape...you're asking for sludge, crap, etc...but if you do, it's a non-issue. I personally know of many, many GM cooling systems running Dexcool with 0 problems and have well over 100k miles.

2. Why would you replace all of those items when you do your timing belt ??? A waste of money if they are not shown to be needed. Sorry, I'm not buying into the cheap insurance theory...though I understand that it's a calculated risk.

3. Speaking of OEM service intervals...I just finished r/r the valve cover on my 96 Saturn SL2 oil burner to replace some failed plug tube seals. The internals only had a light golden coat of varnish on it...no sludge whatsoever...not even any dark or heavy varnish. The engine had 96k miles on it. For the last 40-50k (before it was every 3k), the oil was changed with whatever 5w30 mineral oil Kragen had on sale for < $1/qt and the cheapest filters I could find. Service intervals were between 7-10k miles, driven in 1-2 mi trips most of the time with oil consumption at 1qt/2k miles. The recommended drain interval under my conditions was 3mo/3k for this car...YMMV

pimpin-tl

Didn't GM get sued or something about the long life Dex-Cool Orange stuff that caused abnormal corrosion? Our 96 GrandAm had a Water Pump fail at 15k of miles due to the coolant.

I remember there was a big deal about it and it would not last to 100k+ like people said. It barely lasted to 60k. I am just going by what I hear guys, no facts here.

SodaLuvr

Umm...there are a lot of rumors about Dexcool causing intake manifold gasket failures on 3.1/3.4L GM V6 engines, but that simply isn't true. The gaskets on those engines failed regardless of coolant used due to a design problem which has since been corrected with the "updated" gaskets.

pimpin-tl

I forgot to mention his headgasket blew at 28k so we ditched the car.

Threedom

Hmm, my wife had her 1995 Camry for 49k miles so I doubt her TSX will see 120k miles. It will however see a radiator flush around 30 k miles though.

smx95

threedom I have nothing against you but do you work in the automotive field?

Ok I want you to go up to any dexcool car with original coolant with around 60k and test the coolant. Better yet remove the lower radiator hose and put a strainer under the coolant and see what comes out. As for intake manifolds there is no such things as a rumor. It is 100% true. The gasket becomes thin over time and NOT flushing your coolant will cause the coolant to become acid like and eat away the thin rubber gasket causing coolant to now go into the engine causing mechanical damage.

About the timing belt. Why would you spend 4-5 hours pulling apart the belt and knowing that at 100k this has an original waterpump (which is T-belt driven) and not replace it? So that in the next few miles or so the waterpump fails and now you are stuck with the cost of labor to pull the timing cover off again with the belt. Tensioner is highly recommended because at 100k they arent are tight as they were from factory. Please if you haven't put your hands on anything don't talk out of ignorance. Ask any well made mechanic and they will tell you the same thing.

Ending statement. It's your acura you may do whatever the manual says to do. Let me know at 100k how everythings going.

smx95

Sorry message was for soda. Don't know why it says the other guys name.
Again I am not out to attack you I am just stating the truth of the matter.

Threedom

No I don't but I won't let a car go beyond say 7 years without a coolant change, period. I doubt we will be able to let you know at 100k how everythings going because at that time we will have moved on.

SodaLuvr

I have nothing against you either. Although I do not work in the automotive field, it doesn't completely invalidate my opinions...I also respect yours since you see more cars than I do on a daily basis. However, what you state may not be the absolute fact either; it is merely your observations (certainly valid) but may not be applicable to all vehicles.

I've changed quite a few Dexcool cars myself that had nearly 100k on the original coolant. There were no signs of sediment, crap, whatever you want to call it...sorry. The problem is limited to those systems that did not stay full and at the correct concentration. Provided that good quality water was used in mixing the Dexcool, the system is functioning properly (especially the cap), and the system stays topped up...Dexcool has worked fine for me and I continue to install it or its "clone" (Universal Prestone) into all vehicles I service.

As for testing the coolant...certainly a valid suggestion. However, I question the accuracy of in-shop test kits. If they were truly that accurate, why don't OEMs just use test strips to test their coolants during the validation process? I agree with the concept, just not the way its done. Besides, Dexcool is an organic acid type coolant so it starts out with a lower pH than the traditional coolants.

The intake mainfold gasket was caused by a poor design on GM's part...it was unrelated to the coolant used. There've been numerous users on various forums who bought into the "Dexcool ate intake mainfold gaskets" propaganda and promptly installed conventional coolant into their engines upon delivery. Guess what? They still had leak problems. The newest gaskets are now metal and contain a revised torquing sequence to resolve the problem.

Ideally, it'd be great to go the whole nine-yards, but there must be a line set between preventive maintenance and gross overkill.

Yes, it is a calculated risk to forgo replacing the water pump in conjunction with the timing belt. However, how many Honda water pumps fail at 100k? 120k? Of course, YMMV...if the vehicle is 15yrs old/100k miles then definitely replace the pump. But if the vehicle is five-years old w/100k miles, then no. The pump could certainly last much longer. It's on a per situation basis IMO. It's a bit ridiculous IMO to make a blanket recommendation that every car that goes through the shop for a timing belt job needs a new water pump.

And also, I think a new waterpump+labor+coolant in addition to the timing belt job adds about $200 to the total bill. At 200k miles, I would've spent an additional $400 that may've been unneeded and could've been invested elsewhere.

Tensioner? Just like any part, they wear, so of course it won't be as tight as it was when it rolled off the assembly line. Provided that it is OK, why replace it? Yes, it can fail, but how often do they fail? If the inspection reveals a questionable condition, then replace it. Otherwise, it's just overkill.

Btw- you have PM.