I read in the manual that our TL use type 2 honda coolant, but is it ok to use a regular coolant from autozone since honda coolant are kinda expensive?

 

Per owners manual:

Always use Honda Long-life Antifreeze/
Coolant Type 2. This coolant
is pre-mixed with 50 percent
antifreeze and 50 percent water.
Never add straight antifreeze or
plain water.

If Honda antifreeze/coolant is not
available, you may use another
major-brand non-silicate coolant as a
temporary replacement. Make sure it
is a high-quality coolant
recommended for aluminum engines.
Continued use of any non-Honda
coolant can result in corrosion,
causing the cooling system to
malfunction or fail. Have the cooling
system flushed and refilled with
Honda antifreeze/coolant as soon as
possible.
If the coolant level in the reserve
tank is at or below the MIN line, add
coolant to bring it up to the MAX line.
Inspect the cooling system for leaks.

 

the honda coolant is cheaper at honda or import parts stores, it is a 50/50 premix ready to use for top off or flushing-replacement

It- like the ps fluid- contains secret sauce that the system loves
On my gen2 after 6 years/80k miles the radiator was sparkling and spotless inside, coolant looked good but was changed based on age without testing.

After 5 years the additives in most coolants break down and turn acidic-
.. in an aluminum environment~
I used a name brand pure coolant that specifically said approved for acura and distilled water from the grocery store to make my own 50/50 and it works fine as far ~as I can tell, temp runs fine but is the water pump being lubricated as well????

 

thanks for the info guys. The coolant level is below the min level and the car has 70k. I don't think it's ever been flushed since i'm the 2nd owner. I'll try to flush it and refill it and check for leaks. Thank you!

 

Min level in the overflow?

 

borrow the pressure tester at parts store and find if there is a leak before you play with the system--check the cap too,, has it run hot recently?? find out why its low

read and follow the owner book for exact air burping procedure after refill
Drain the engine block too- important! remove passenger front wheel for easy access from side to drain bolt (based on gen2, guessing same on 3)

 

You can use any coolant that is Silicate free, borate free, and phosphate free. It's marketed as an "All Vehicle Formula".

The reason Honda (and other Japanese car companies) are like this, is because most domestic companies only use phosphate free coolant, which is what the original green coolant was.

Japanese companies use waterpumps which require borate free coolant, (IIRC) cuz otherwise the seals would corrode/fail.

GM then came up with a long life coolant made for aluminum components, called Dexcool, but this was utter crap, but that's another thread.

This coolant was silicate free, because of the increased usage of aluminum in the engine and cooling system... Silicates in the coolant oxidizes aluminum, that's why it's critical to use silicate free coolant in aluminum engines/radiators/etc.

Several years later, Peak came out with an "All Vehicle Formula" long life coolant, that was borate, phosphate, and silicate free. It was tested in a lab to be nearly identicle to Toyota Coolant, (known as Toyota Red Coolant), which was shown to be identicle to all the other japanese OEM coolants.

So now there are a few brands of coolants, such as Prestone, which now sell this same formula, also marketed as an "All Vehicle Formula", approved for use in all vehicles. This coolant is perfectly fine to use in your honda... It's still green, tho a little more yellowish than the original green coolant. Personally, they should've changed the color, cuz this stuff is completely unrelated to the traditional green stuff...

For the longest time, over the counter coolants in the US were only phosphate free, then eventually silicate free. But only this All Vehicle formula is also borate free.

But anyways, back to your regularly scheduled programming....

 

So anyone use Prestone 50/50 that is Silicate free, borate free, and phosphate free in his/her TL? Any detrimental effect to the engine?

 

is it fine to top off w/ a prestone 50/50 mix even without flushing out the type 2 honda coolant?

 

i did it about 60,000 miles ago and have had no problems. go for it

 

thanks! guess ill have greenish red coolant now

 

yours is red? my prestone was green. im not sure if the colors matter. wait for someone else with more knowledge to chime in. i dont want you to mess something up

 

should you top off the overflow reservoir when the engine is cold or up to temp?

 

Color is just a dye added by the manufacturer. I've never seen red prestone. Only Green, Yellow/Green, and Orange.

 

green+red=brown

 

i topped off my reserve tank with the prestone 50/50 premix and have no issues.

 

^did you check the radiator? the manual says that should also be full to the bottom of the neck.

 

yup. my overflow tank cover was broken and i had to momentarily fill it until acura had replaced the cover under warranty. they re-checked the coolant level in both and sent me on my way.

 

this is the second time in 4 years I've had to add about 10 oz. to my overflow. It bothers me but I wouldn't say it constitutes a leak.