Anti-freeze

[dibble1]

I have been running pink anti-freeze in my bmw mini, when they came to replace my water pump (product recall), they told me I should not have pink anti-freeze in it as acidic, therefore they had to change it and bmw suprise suprise are charging me 70 quid. Are they bullsh#tting me? I was assured there was no difference.

[TWR]

Look at your Service record, was it serviced by BMW dealer if so, show the book to the Garage & let them sort it out. how old is your car?

[gingejbee]

Pink anti-freeze acidic? I've had pink coolant in both cars since new and no trouble at all - not Minis, btw.

[TWR]

BMW are looking for a way out of paying Ging, the car I presume is still under warranty.

[gingejbee]

TWR: that was my initial thought - if it was due to a recall, shouldn't BMW be footing the whole bill?

[TWR]

This is where I differ from a lot of people Ging, I will fight my corner on these type of things, I have not looked but is Dibble Female? with respect to the other sex, some garages DO TRY IT ON it's up to Dibble to stand her ground.

[TWR]

Male, stand HIS ground.

[New Judge]

Why on earth would an anti-freeze with damaging qualities be produced?

[TWR]

If it shows up that the car has been serviced by BMW, Dibble will have nothing to pay, it their problem.

[gingejbee]

I hope he takes this onboard and argues the case.

[TWR]

They are trying it on Judge. ( BMW)

[ChuckFickens]

Errrm, you can't tell what formula of anti freeze any of them are by the colour, the colour is a dye that's added so it doesn't look like water and there is no standard for it.

[TWR]

My service book states Use only Factory approved long life antifreeze and corrosion inhibitors containing no nitrites or amino compounds. BMW service points are familiar with these, I still say that the garage is trying to take the izzzz.

[EDDIE51]

Anti freeze is normally Ethylene Glycol which is an organic liquid miscible with water. It is not acidic. However combustion products from an engine are acidic and they are Absorbed by the anti freeze which will become acidic . I think the garage means that the anti freeze has become acidic and needs to be changed . But £70 is a ludicrous price to charge for refilling the radiator with new anti freeze.

[Hopkirk]

Seventy quid for anti-freeze?

They are having a laugh.

I would demand to speak to the top man, and refuse to pay.

[Toureman]

Anti freeze is not made with damaging qualities!

pink antifreeze is not acidic, no other antifreeze is acidic!

certain anti freezes are for certain cars , if the correct one is not put in your car then due to the materials in your coolant system your coolant will get acidic so damaging your engine!


http://www.popularmec...w-to/products/1272436

If you use the wrong antifreeze you cannot blame the garage that tells you you have the wrong antifreeze in.

[EDDIE51]

The color of antifreeze is no indication of the quality or of what it is made from . Some brands are pink, some green, some blue the basic ingredient is colourless the colour is just a 'brand marker' remember the old paraffin ? there was Green, blue and pink but it was all the same stuff just a diffrent dye. antifreeze is the same the colour is just a dye .
If you want to be really safe you need to test the pH of antifreeze to see when it has turned acidic. ( pH is a scale of acidity ,1 is very alkaline 14 is very acid and 7 is neutral, pure water is 7pH , water in rivers lakes etc is from 6 to 8 pH) New antifreeze solution would be 6 to 8pH if the pH went above 9 then I would say it is time to change it. The pH of antifreeze (as I said) rises due to the absorption of acidic exhaust gas a pH of 9 to 10 is the point where the anitfreeze is starting to be so acidic that it may damage the engine and it should be changed. I actually find it hard to belive that a modern car like BMW mini has acidic anti freeze unless it has done over 100,000 miles without the radiator being drained and refilled with new antifreeze. It is normally recomended to drain and refill the radiator every 75,000 miles or so.

[DTCwordfan]

agree with Eddie....word with the manager and threaten to contact BMW Management though their MD was pizzed off when my bro in law contacted him directly, having had a string of (ridiculous) faults with his X5.....Not good service for someone who has had 4 in a row and now thinking about other brands.

[Andyvon]

Owners of older cars are strongly advised never to use pink antifreeze - only blue (ethylene glycol). Pink antifreeze is acidic and it has been developed for use in modern engines with the intention that it remain in the system for several years. Blue antifreeze must be changed every two years. When pink is used in older vehicles, over time it attacks the lead and other metals in the alloy of engines and cooling systems. Many owners of older cars have had to deal with the effects of pink antifreeze including leaks, weakened hoses, thermostat housings, coreplugs, cooling jackets etc.

The industry say there's no difference between pink and blue because they want to sell pink antifreeze. It's more expensive and they charge a considerable amount for installing it in newer cars. The advice for older cars is to alwasy use blue antifreeze like before.

[dibble1]

Thanks all

[WobblyBobbly1940]

You don't say what year/mileage/model/engine size Mini you have but as a rule of thumb, Mini's from 2001 should use a "green (looks blue), Glysantin based" coolant mixture which should be replaced every three years. They are correct in saying that a pink/red coolant is wrong for this type of engine and will ultimately cause expensive damage. These coolants should not be mixed as this will cause sludging and eventual blockages in the cooling system. £70 aint a bad deal either. And be warned the old Ethylene Glycol anti-freeze is no good either.