The coolant service interval for your car isn’t as cut and dry as other fluid change intervals. Chances are if you’re looking for “coolant service” in your owner’s manual you won’t find any information.
When looking to determine your coolant service interval, the first thing to do is decide if your driving environment and habits qualify for “severe” or “normal” service intervals. If you use your car in harsh environments like extreme heat or cold or very dusty conditions it is recommended you perform regular service more often. Similarly, if you push your vehicle to the limits like towing, hauling, or racing you should perform services more often. Severe service intervals are usually 50% to 75% of the normal service intervals for things like fluids and belts.
The next step when it comes to coolant service is to see if your vehicle uses a special kind of coolant. These days you’ll be hard-pressed to find a vehicle that has standard green antifreeze in the radiator. Coolant these days also comes in pink, red, blue, dark blue, orange, gold, and clear. The types of additives can determine how often the coolant should be serviced in your vehicle and if any other additives are required.
For example, some Subarus require a special cooling system conditioner to keep the engine happy. Similarly, Ford 6.7 types of diesel require periodic checks of a certain chemical in the coolant and their Diesel Supplemental Coolant Additive used if it gets too low. Do some research on your vehicle’s cooling system to ensure you’re using the right coolant and the right additives to keep things working properly.
If you can’t find any other information about your vehicle’s coolant service intervals, we recommend every 60,000 to 100,000 miles for normal service or half that for severe service.
Do I Need a Coolant Flush with every Coolant Service?
Yes.
Simply draining and refilling your coolant still leaves any debris, corrosion or contamination stuck in your system. In most cases, a drain and refill will only get maybe half of your old coolant out of your system. Performing a full coolant flush is the best way to keep your cooling system working great.
When flushing your cooling system, always remember:
- Flush the radiator and heater core forwards and backward with clear water
- Drain the radiator and engine block after flushing the system
- Use BlueDevil Radiator Flush to remove any grease, rust or grime from your system
- After refilling it with coolant, test the freeze point to ensure adequate protection
You can pick up BlueDevil Radiator Flush at one of your local auto parts stores like:
- AutoZone
- Advance Auto Parts
- CarQuest Auto Parts
- NAPA Auto Parts
- O’Reilly Auto Parts
- Pep Boys
- Canadian Tire
- Walmart
BlueDevil Products can be found on Amazon.com or at AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, O’Reilly Auto Parts, NAPA, and other major auto parts retailers.
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