SOS - Can someone quickly educate me on VW coolants?

[Plyphon]

Hello,

Bit of a situation here possibly. Started the car this morning and the "Check Coolant" warning on the MFD came on and the red LED in the temp gauge stayed on solid. I quickly checked the expansion tank and there was about an inch left in there but well below the minimum mark. I kept an eye on the temps the way to work (only 6 miles or so... 10 minutes driving.) and it didn't go over the usual 90/halfway point on the gauge - so I think we're good for now, just needs a top up.

SO - my questions - i'm in work so I can't run down and look at my engine or car manual hence why i'm asking here.

My Roc is a '59 plate 2.0 TSI.

- What original coolant would be in there? Some form of G12 I guess.
- VW only sells G13 now, can I mix/top up with this without having to flush?
- What type of water do I need to mix it with? I have a bottle of drinking water in the car lol.

Going to pop to my local VW garage about 10 minutes away at lunch and chuck something in there and then will keep an eye on it.

[blower]

G13 Coolant is compatible with G12++. Your car will either already have G13 or will be using at least G12++

You should only add/mix with at least distilled water, but deionised water is better - tescos, asda etc will sell this for peanuts.

Having said all this i would check why your coolant has gone down in the first place - there is usually a reason, it might have been something as simple as the cap wasn't on tight and its been slowly evaporating.
However i notice you have a 2.0 TSI - the same engine as the Golf GTI Mk6 of which is famed for faulty water pumps leaking, some people have gone through 3 or 4 of them during their ownership!

[Plyphon]

Thanks blower.

Please don't scare me with water pump stories!

[skippy]

Yes - blower could be correct I'm afraid, I had a water pump issue a few years back, please see below a comment of mine, but I hope for your sake it is not the pump as you will be out of warranty.

My car needed a replacement water pump when it was much newer. Mine is a 2009 and I started getting the 'low coolant' message on the MFD.

The leak was so slow I could not locate the source, but I did detect an accumulation of anti freeze gathering on the undertray.

I took it to the dealer (this was back in 2010) who pressure tested it and confirmed the problem.

Luckily the car was under warranty so they replaced the pump and associated hoses for me.

Good luck with it, my bet is that it's the same thing.

[Plyphon]

Yeah - I'm going to get it pressure tested as soon as I can. I've not checked it yet this morning but it wasn't visibly leaking last night...

[skippy]

Yeah - I'm going to get it pressure tested as soon as I can. I've not checked it yet this morning but it wasn't visibly leaking last night...

Yes - that's what confused me at the time, I could not see a visible leak, yet every couple of months or so I would get the 'low coolant' message. Eventually I needed a torch to see the leaking coolant on the undertray, but a pressure test by the dealer (won't take long at all) will confirm.

[Plyphon]

If it's the pump I'm hoping VW might do some goodwill if it's the pump as its all over the internet that they're a bit crap!

[skippy]

If it's the pump I'm hoping VW might do some goodwill if it's the pump as its all over the internet that they're a bit crap!

Yes - If you have full VW service history you should be entitled to some goodwill towards the cost as there is a history of the pump leaking, especially on early models like yours and mine! At 6 years old though I would not expect there to be that much of goodwill on offer, unless it is exceptionally low mileage.

[Plyphon]

Yeah, fingers crossed. One minor service out of the lot was done by a 3rd party - rest is VW.


Thanks for your help, I'll update the thread in a week or so when I'm back from my holiday...!

[skippy]

Yeah, fingers crossed. One minor service out of the lot was done by a 3rd party - rest is VW.


Thanks for your help, I'll update the thread in a week or so when I'm back from my holiday...!

No worries, good luck with it and enjoy your holiday!