Stick with G12 coolant after flush or alternative?

[tricky1090]

I know you shouldn't mix more generic coolants with the G12, but is there an alternative to G12 if you do a complete system flush? PITA to get to the dealers and didn't know if there was a store bought alternative.

[Aureus1]

Stick with G12. Its what our cars were designed for and using other types of coolant can cause issues.

[DaveS4]

Stick with the OEM G12. I've gotten kits from ECS with their fluid in it, and I just give it to my buddies when they need to do a flush in their cars (guys with older VW's mostly who don't really give a damn. If it's pink, they're happy).

[tricky1090]

$38 a litre at the stealership! wtf...they make this sh*t out of unicorn tears? Guess I'll shop online.

[shorterthanrich]

You do not need to stick to G12. There's no reason to do that.

Zerex G-05 coolant works fine with our cars. I've been running it in mine for years now, as have many others in the Boston area. I've never had any issues at all with my coolant system.

Its cheap and available at Napa most of the time, as opposed to expensive, and only at the dealership.

[DiscoPotato]

G12+

[Taloras]

Other kinds of coolant are fine: mixing is the real killer. The original G12 in my car (when I bought it) had been mixed with a LITTLE bit of green stuff at a quick-lube or something, and was a lovely shade of brown with awesome orange and white deposits throughout when I pulled it out.

Whatever you put in, flush thoroughly with water a few times after the old stuff is drained. I'm currently running Dex-Cool because it's readily available on the road if I ever get stuck somewhere needing coolant, and because it's surprisingly similar to G12: silicate/phosphate free, OAT based. Others may regard this as blasphemy, but I've been running it for a few months without issues, and I'm not the first person to do so either.

If you wanna play it safe, G12 is just fine (and usually not too expensive from the VW dealer parts department), but plan on carrying some in your car if you have any kind of cooling system problems, 'cos you'll never find any out-and-about.

[AudiHolicS4]

I know a guy who runs green in his jetta but he flushed the system with water a bunch of times then started fresh with zerex green coolant. He hasnt had a problem and ive seen threads on here about switching im sure its not a problem as long as u dont mix

[shorterthanrich]

Yes, before you switch you must do a good job flushing.

Running crazy expensive, dealership only G12 sucks for when you have a leak, and can't find any when you're broken down. Then pay a crazy amount to refill it.

Sucks for doing any maintenance requiring removal of the front clip, like a timing belt job or stage 3, etc.

IMO, there's no reason not to switch.

[somebody5788]

My local NAPA store carries Pentosin G12

[martin0079]

Advanced auto carries g12 as well I saw it on the self the other day. Dex cool is just as good as it is made for an aluminum block and thats the only real special part of g12.

[BlkdoutS4]

$38 a litre at the stealership! wtf...they make this sh*t out of unicorn tears? Guess I'll shop online.

Huh? I just paid $22 for a gallon of G12 from my local VW dealership...

[Fourplay]

$38 a litre at the stealership! wtf...they make this sh*t out of unicorn tears? Guess I'll shop online.

It's $21-23 a gallon at VW dealerships. Also who says "litre"?

[dubzackvr6]

^ Canadians.

G12++ is what I put into my cars when I get around to flushing them. Febi, Pentosin, and Rowe are companies that I've used for G12++. All are VAG approved. None are cheap..but do you really want to cheap out on coolant?

[Fourplay]

^ Canadians.

G12++ is what I put into my cars when I get around to flushing them. Febi, Pentosin, and Rowe are companies that I've used for G12++. All are VAG approved. None are cheap..but do you really want to cheap out on coolant?

His location was Indiana.

[bps4]

When I bought my car it had the wrong coolant. After I flushed the coolant, my aux pump failed a few weeks later. Coolant is probably the least expensive of an Audi owner's worries.

[dubzackvr6]

His location was Indiana.

Apparently, my joke missed its mark.

[S4 00 2.7]

Definitely flush well if using alternative.

[tricky1090]

Thanks for the replies. I'll go with the Zerex G-05 after flush.

It's $21-23 a gallon at VW dealerships. Also who says "litre"?

...it's the Queen's English.

[dubzackvr6]

Boom.

[julex]

The cool part about g2 is that is self seals small leaks. Other say that and I had first hand experience when I screwed up on replacing banjo bolt on a turbo. I know I either overtightened one bolt or something cause the seal not to 100% hold as I would occasionally lose a tiny bit of coolant which would amount to visible difference in tank level after few days. After about 4 weeks it all stopped. After inspecting the bolt again, I found visible crustations around the crush seal which indicate that the coolant eventually clogged the leak.

Others had similar experiences around different parts of cooling system... it is just designed to go beyond green crap from walmart.

Before everyone cries foul here, it holds for over a year now and the bolt is a complete pita to replace. That's why I have not fixed it yet since it holds just fine. I am pulling engine soon for power upgrades so the problem will be addressed when turbos are swapped.

Something to think about beyond the price tag. And the coolant can be drained and reused in almost all its entirety when front needs to be pulled.

[Fourplay]

Thanks for the replies. I'll go with the Zerex G-05 after flush.



...it's the Queen's English.

Wasn't aware we were still a colony

[waB5S4]

G12 really isn't that expensive.. look at the price of all of the other fluids that are supposed to be used in these cars and G12 is pretty spot on.

I can see a leak causing some headache, but what leak do you have that you're not gonna source the problem after having to top up even once? Previous one off example aside, anytime you have a leak you shouldn't really go through more than a fill/top up before the leak is fixed.. that's just no good. I've caught and reused my coolant both times the front clip as been off, no issues, don't see why you wouldn't do that.

[mikehawk666]

napa has concentrated G12 for around ~$20

[sweets4style]

GM dexcool is 12 dollars and makes 2 gallons at walmart. Its orange. It mixed nicely with g12 with no issues and you can run it straight. Cheapest and best solution out their for our motor's metallurgy unless you love throwing away hundreds on coolant if yoru car leaks consistently.

[Turbo Nerd]

I get that pink shit for free.

G12 and the other pink stuff

[Yuckie]

Hey guys premium unleaded is too expensive, can I run water instead? Preferably hose water from my neighbors house, I'm on a budget.

Seriously though, if the cost of G12 is such a big deal then find another mode of transportation.

[somebody5788]

GM dexcool is 12 dollars and makes 2 gallons at walmart. Its orange. It mixed nicely with g12 with no issues and you can run it straight. Cheapest and best solution out their for our motor's metallurgy unless you love throwing away hundreds on coolant if yoru car leaks consistently.

This is just a bad idea....

[Taloras]

Hey guys premium unleaded is too expensive, can I run water instead? Preferably hose water from my neighbors house, I'm on a budget.

Seriously though, if the cost of G12 is such a big deal then find another mode of transportation.

Our engines are made of iron, aluminum, and a host of other alloys and synthetics, not myrrh and fairy dust. While one shouldn't go for the cheapest option for everything, opting to save a bit on a still-effective coolant that's been used successfully by other Audi/VW owners and that also has widespread availability is perfectly reasonable. Just don't be dumb about it (like mixing coolants and causing the disparate corrosion inhibitors and additive packages to combine in to a lovely radiator-clogging sludge) and it'll be fine.

[shorterthanrich]

Hey guys premium unleaded is too expensive, can I run water instead? Preferably hose water from my neighbors house, I'm on a budget.

Seriously though, if the cost of G12 is such a big deal then find another mode of transportation.

If everyone used your mindset for the S4 it would still cost $8,000 for K04s, tuning, and fueling.

Being smart about finding lower cost, high quality alternatives is good for the platform.

As Taloras said, our engine's aren't mystical things that require completely unique fluids, nuts, and bolts to hold together.