mistertonyn

Thought the manual says replace at 150K or 15 years?
Why is my dealer recommending coolant flush at 40K and 4 years?
Besides them wanting to make money....is this NOW recommended?

steveb9771

Looks like your dealer is looking for additional profit. I just checked the maintenance manual for MY2011, and it still calls out for replacement ate 150K/15Yr EXCEPT for V12 engines.

The V12 engines require replacement for the "main circuit" every 30K/3Yr and for the "low temperature circuit" every 150K/15Yr

Current maintenance requirements for all vehicles is available at http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/servic...enance_manuals

Unless your dealer can show you something in writing from Mercedes that calls for this flush, I would seriously consider not using them in the future.

mistertonyn

Thanks for the confirmation. Just wanted to make sure it was not another one of those " lifetime transmission fluid" claim.

listerone

We pay 60....80...100K for an automobile and we quibble about a cooling system flush? I'm doubling up on all recommended maintenence and I've started with oil changes....every 6 months/5K miles.

However,the less time you plan to keep the car (a 2 or 3 year lease,for example) the better the argument for sticking to recommendations.

I plan to put *at least* 100K miles on my Bluetec...if not more.

Just my 2 cents' worth.

V12-CL600

MINE is a little low, what brand do i use to top it off??

mistertonyn

If it is only slightly low...I would just add water.
Otherwise, use OEM coolant.

T0ked

Just to be safe, use distilled water. I've done all the fluids on my car already. Probably overkill, but as someone said, I bought to keep so spending several hundred on a nearly $100k car, I don't mind. I learned my lesson with a 2001 S500. "Lifetime fill" is for fools.

cool_lagoon

that is a proper attitude cause preventive maintenance is what makes the car last longer, only a fool would not want to spend that little loose change for preventive maintenance

cool_lagoon

Totally agree

cool_lagoon

flushing the radiator at a short interval is a good practice (40 Kilometer) is right. it prolongs the life of your water pump and cleans the internal water lines, coolant fluid looses its effectiveness after a while so don;t expect those coolants to be for lifetime.

Nickthegreek

With the HOAT coolants I think its usually every 150k OR 5 years, whichever comes first. Most people don't drive their cars 30k a year so every 5 years or even alittle earlier is a safe bet. For example I'm going to change my coolant and I have an 09 s550 w221 with 67k miles on it. Since it's 2014 its been 5 years. Most people would wait until it reaches 150k but you're really supposed to change it every 5 years

bha

My GL specifies 150k or 15 years (not 150k/5 years) in the service manual.


Just hit 150k (truck is 7 years old) so I changed it.


I wouldn't pay the dealer to do it, as it's additional profit.


At 150k/15 yrs either pay the dealer to do it, or do it on your own (car won't have a huge value after that mileage and time, so you're probably safe working on any 15yr old mb without worrying about damaging a $100k car....)

Nickthegreek

15 years seems way too long. Just like the "Lifetime fill" transmission fluid

bha

It does seem long, but realize that some of the silicates in the coolant wear out and that's what requires a coolant flush.


Mercedes installs a silica gel pack in the reservoir when they build the truck, and that releases silicates slowly over the years.


So no need to change the coolant. This has been going on for a while now, and I haven't actually heard of an *increase* in cooling sytem related parts being replaced. So I think we can safely assume it works.


Biggest problem is when people flush the system and use the wrong (ie. green) coolant.


The difference with lifetime transmission fluid (for example) was that the fluid instantly became "lifetime". The fluid didn't change, nor did the transmission. The year before, you had to flush regularly. Then it became "lifetime" and nothing changed.


In that case I'd follow the old schedule and flush as required before.


But I'm pretty much OK with the new coolant timelines.. Yes it seems long, but 3000 miles on oil used to seem way too long and now look at the oil service requirements!

Nickthegreek

I still think that leaving a system for that long is a bad idea. It's a closed system, but over time you can still get other contaminants from things that can start to deteriorate before 15 years such as seals/hoses etc. That might begin to let in dirt. You can catch things like that by doing shorter intervals as opposed to finding it out when it's too late

bha

Agreed. Again, it is a cost/benefit thing.. the cost is pretty minimal so probably doesn't hurt to change it.


My W220 transmission was 'sealed for life' and I was thinking about changing the fluid. The guy I know that owns an indy shop said to me "$200 to change the fluid, $3k for a transmission... .you'll probably only change it once or twice in your lifetime.. even if not required, isn't it worth it?"


Car had over 100k miles at the time, so I think what he was saying made sense. Best $200 I ever spent.. yes, I may have been able to get away without changing it, but for $200 it was not worth the risk!


I feel the same way about ABC fluid.. it's relatively cheap compared to what can go wrong.. why not change it every few years?


I did my coolant with the truck 7 yrs old because it hit the 150,000 miles in that time. I probably would have changed it somewhere between year 8-9 if I drove it a lot less.


I actually didn't do a full flush, since a huge percentage of the coolant drains out of the system when you drain the radiator. Yes, there is still some in the engine but not much.


So I drained the radiator (with the overflow bottle open), then refilled with 50/50 Zerex G05 (identical to MB coolant).


Takes 1/2 hour and I can do it again next year for under $20.


I'd rather do a flush every 2 years from now on the way I did, then go through the cost/effort of draining the block and doing a full flush. Easier, cheaper, etc.


I do power steering the same way. Suck it out of the reservoir (which I imagine gets 50% of the fluid out) and it takes 2 seconds to suck out/refill. Then I do it again every 6 months or 1yr and always have fresh clean fluid.

Nickthegreek

On another note, I paid $20 for the original blue stuff at the dealership and .99 for distilled water. Changing the coolant was very straightforward and easy. If anyone wants a DIY on doing it lemme know.

Nickthegreek

Agreed.

Zerocarpileup

Has anyone done a coolant flush themselves at home? I can't find any information or any DIY. I see the thermostat itself doesn't seem to come out of its housing. I imagine that would be a problem. Also can't fine a radiator drain plug anywhere.

bha

I haven't done a flush, but a drain and refill is quite easy.

It gets a good portion of the coolant out. Coolant is cheap and mine hadn't been done in a long time. So I did a drain/refill then did another one a year later.

Thermostat is built into the housing and it doesn't come apart. If you need to replace the thermostat, it comes with the housing all as one piece.

Look under the radiator on the drivers side and you'll see a small plug with a slot for a screwdriver. Put a screwdriver in and unscrew, and it will start to drain. Put a pan underneath and make sure you have the coolant cap open (on the reservoir) so it all drains. You'll need two pans as there is a lot of coolant (8-10 quarts I think).

Pour a jug of water into the coolant tank while everything is open, just to flush it out.

Go to walmart and get zerex g-05. Premixed (50/50) is more expensive so get the full strength and mix it yourself if possible. Premixed is easier though.

Just pour the coolant in until it's full and you are ready to go. I always start and run the engine with the cap open just to 'burp' it.

Next morning before you start the car, make sure to recheck the coolant level while it's cold to make sure it is accurate.

Takes no more than 15 mins if you have a screwdriver, rags, drain pan and some coolant ready. I could probably do it without even putting the car on ramps now (just raise the airmatic) now that I have done it once and know where everything ins.

Sumit Bhasin

For the w221, while doing a coolant flush, can you tell me how many gallons of Original Merc coolant and water to mix in the final top-up?