Alternative to BMW brand coolant?

[Johnmadd]

Does anyone run anything other than dealer anti-freeze?

[danewilson77]

BMW blue baby. That's all you'll hear from me.

[gr330zhp]

Only BMW Coolant here :)

[Mtnman]

bmw blue is it. for $20 at dealer, its not toooo bad.

[Johnmadd]

Distilled water ok to top off with?

[danewilson77]

Distilled water ok to top off with?

Dude... I have gallon in my shop. Come get eeeeeeeet.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[telijah]

If you're just running a bit low, then yeah, top it off with distilled water. When empty, should be almost exactly one gallon each of antifreeze and distilled water.

[Newjack]

BMW blue baby. That's all you'll hear from me.

Mountain Dew?

[Johnmadd]

Dude... I have gallon in my shop. Come get eeeeeeeet.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

Im in Richmond and light came on this morning, I probably should not risk driving it all the way back. Thanks.


If you're just running a bit low, then yeah, top it off with distilled water. When empty, should be almost exactly one gallon each of antifreeze and distilled water.

The whole system or just the expansion tank?

[spencers]

The whole system or just the expansion tank?
The entire system has 2 gal capacity.

[Stu]

Xerex G05 is a safe alternative to BMW coolant. It is cheaper, but BMW coolant is excellent.

[Johnmadd]

^ha, yeah that was my assumption after the topoff.

[Johnmadd]

Xerex G05 is a safe alternative to BMW coolant. It is cheaper, but BMW coolant is excellent.

That's what I use in my e30, and was hoping someone would proudly endorse it. Sounds like you prefer the bmw brand like everyone else so ill go with the majority.

[Stu]

That's what I use in my e30, and was hoping someone would proudly endorse it. Sounds like you prefer the bmw brand like everyone else so ill go with the majority.

;) I like to stay as OEM as possible. I wouldn't take my opinion totally for it. I'm sure I waste tons of money on staying OEM, but I am always paranoid of something not OEM breaking and causing more problems :shifty. I can almost guarantee you that Xerex will work just fine :biggrin

[Smolck]

I have used both and I can tell you nobody has ever shown PROOF that the green stuff won't work. I ran it in my 323 for 254k miles and she was still running strong when I sold it. I don't think it matters, however, if you have a dealer close by, why not get the BMW brand? It is only $5 more than the cheap stuff. And let's just face it, blue coolant looks better than green, it's unique.

[SoarinZHP]

I heard that the worse thing you could do was put something OTHER than distilled water in the mixture... I think the $5.00 difference for the blue juice is worth it for the peace of mind.

[Mike V]

Xerex G05 is a safe alternative to BMW coolant. It is cheaper, but BMW coolant is excellent.

I run the Zerex G05 in my E36 M3s. I'm not near a dealership, so the G05 is best for me since it's available at the local NAPA. I also buy the 50/50 premix to ensure quality. I'm not sure if I trust the distilled water from the local grocery store. That's probably a bit ridiculous but the peace of mind is worth it for me.

[telijah]

The blue stuff is simply a higher quality coolant. It doesn't mean other coolants won't work. However, I always have a jug of the blue stuff in the trunk.

[Smolck]

The blue stuff is simply a higher quality coolant.

BMW doesn't make coolant, so they get somebody to make it for them. Have you ever seen undisputed PROOF that the BMW branded kool aid is in fact "higher quality"? I haven't, and I have looked. Again, I agree, blue is probably best as it is manufacturer recommended, but to say it is higher quality is just an assumption.

[Whitexi]

My cars had prestone all makes all modles in it for the last 130k or so. It's been perfect and that's about 6 years.

[kayger12]

BMW doesn't make coolant, so they get somebody to make it for them. Have you ever seen undisputed PROOF that the BMW branded kool aid is in fact "higher quality"? I haven't, and I have looked. Again, I agree, blue is probably best as it is manufacturer recommended, but to say it is higher quality is just an assumption.

What I think we know: BMW coolant is made by Pentosin. It is amine, phosphate, and nitrate free. It has low evaporation loss.

I believe it is the same as Pentosin G11 (which is available via Amazon).

I have read that the chemical properties of the OE fluid are more about retarding the breakdown of the various plastics in the cooling system (thermostat housing, exp tank) and seals than it is about the metals in the system.

So I would say that you COULD put any amine, phospate, and nitrate-free coolant in your car and get similar (if not necessarily identical) results.

But...

What I'm SURE I know is that Mike Miller recommends, without exception, using ONLY the BMW coolant.

And that's enough for me.

[Smolck]

What I'm SURE I know is that Mike Miller recommends, without exception, using ONLY the BMW coolant.

And that's enough for me.

Please know that Mike Miller isn't the messiah of BMW. More than one person has come to me with problems he has "misdiagnosed". EVERYONE, myself included, is fallible.

[kayger12]

Please know that Mike Miller isn't the messiah of BMW. EVERYONE, myself included, is fallible.

Um, yeah, I think that's fairly obvious. Just said that what he recommends is good enough for me.

[zj96sc]

so, according to ian sanderson on E46F, who at some point ingested some coolant from a burst hose, called the poison control number on the back of the jug, and had the phone answered by none other than valvoline,

"BMW's coolant is manufactured by Valvoline and in fact a slightly varied formulation of Valvoline's Zerex G-05."

[danewilson77]

so, according to ian sanderson on E46F, who at some point ingested some coolant from a burst hose, called the poison control number on the back of the jug, and had the phone answered by none other than valvoline,

"BMW's coolant is manufactured by Valvoline and in fact a slightly varied formulation of Valvoline's Zerex G-05."

LOL.....I swear. Info comes in all forms....

Thanks for the data.

[telijah]

BMW doesn't make coolant, so they get somebody to make it for them. Have you ever seen undisputed PROOF that the BMW branded kool aid is in fact "higher quality"? I haven't, and I have looked. Again, I agree, blue is probably best as it is manufacturer recommended, but to say it is higher quality is just an assumption.

I did not say it was made by BMW, it's pretty well known it is not made by them. As "undisputed proof"... well of course not. many mechanics I have dealt with though agree that the coolant BMW sells is of higher quality than the standard green stuff commonly found on shelves. I am certainly not a BMW fanboy in that sense, and regularly stray from OEM, or "OEM", products. The coolant BMW sells though I find perfectly acceptable to spend the few extra bucks for it.

[kayger12]

I did not say it was made by BMW, it's pretty well known it is not made by them. As "undisputed proof"... well of course not. many mechanics I have dealt with though agree that the coolant BMW sells is of higher quality than the standard green stuff commonly found on shelves. I am certainly not a BMW fanboy in that sense, and regularly stray from OEM, or "OEM", products. The coolant BMW sells though I find perfectly acceptable to spend the few extra bucks for it.

No need to defend your statement.

Smolck has left the building to go sow discontent on other BMW boards.

He's no longer permitted to do it here.

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

[telijah]

Oh, too bad :) Better than some purists I guess...

[JG330i]

So, not trying to bump this old thread but my coolant light came on today when I had the heat on and then went away. I havent had a chance to check levels, but I'm just curious as to what the reasoning is behind the 50/50 mix?

I'm no expert by any means. Just know that if the plastic piece is low, coolant is low. So, I will add to make it rise back up to be even with the cap.

Anyway, just curious. I plan on picking up some coolant tomorrow when I have a chance and top off.

From what I gather, add some good ol' BMW blue then distilled, correct? Not sure if its just a bit low or completely low.

Thanks in advance!

~Jon

[JKO_ZHP]

"Remember that it's the distilled water that is doing the "cooling". Antifreeze (otherwise known as coolant, which is a bit of a misnomer) is there to keep the water from freezing and add a bit of lubrication to the water pump. If you top off with coolant, your car will have a bit better freezing protection (down to like, say, -40F whereas it'd normally be -35F) but will "cool" the car a bit less. Top off with distilled water and your freezing protection gets worse (-30F?) but will "cool" a bit better. The decision is yours - if you already have coolant and distilled water, then absolutely mix them and use that to top off.... but if you don't already have BMW coolant sitting around, I'd just be topping off with distilled water myself. "

-KrisL from Bimmerfest.

I had the light come on and off before, ignored it. Eventually it would stay on all the way. At that point, I picked up some BMW coolant, mixed it 50/50 with some distilled water, and poured.
The light never came back on since.

[JG330i]

Awesome!

Thanks man for the tip!

I'll go ahead and get some 50/50 mix shortly. I probably will just top it off with some distilled water for now.

~Jon

[danewilson77]

I think mixing said amount prior to adding is preferred.

[JG330i]

I think mixing said amount prior to adding is preferred.

Will do!

I'm doing this tomorrow and am also going to try and see if there might possibly be a leak :crossing fingers there isnt: or the sensor has gone bad.

[BCS_ZHP]

Searching for leaks, take the tension off your serpentine belt and try to wiggle the pulley on the water pump, there should be no play. If there is, leak is probably from the weep hole on the bottom side of the WP. Also look at the o-rings on the expansion tank cap. If they're not plump and protruding, you may be losing some vapor right there and it leaves no sign of a leak. This latter situation was the case for my wife's car. And while you have the cap off, look at the coolant level thing, it looks like a bobbing thermometer. A tech told me it should be dark red in color, if it's faded to pink or white then it's time to replace the expansion tank at a minimum and maybe a whole cooling system refresh.

[JG330i]

Searching for leaks, take the tension off your serpentine belt and try to wiggle the pulley on the water pump, there should be no play. If there is, leak is probably from the weep hole on the bottom side of the WP. Also look at the o-rings on the expansion tank cap. If they're not plump and protruding, you may be losing some vapor right there and it leaves no sign of a leak. This latter situation was the case for my wife's car. And while you have the cap off, look at the coolant level thing, it looks like a bobbing thermometer. A tech told me it should be dark red in color, if it's faded to pink or white then it's time to replace the expansion tank at a minimum and maybe a whole cooling system refresh.

Good to know! I checked all of the above and all seems fine. I think its simply a sensor and that is about it. My indy mechanic is gonna look more into it sometime in the next week.

[BCS_ZHP]

The coolant temp sensor is plugged into the lower radiator hose. Not that expensive and it has an o-ring on it to make the seal. Possibly that o-ring is not plump and protruding and you're losing a little bit every time you drive. If you pull that sensor, have someone nearby to stick their finger in the hole while you get the new one to install.

[JG330i]

The coolant temp sensor is plugged into the lower radiator hose. Not that expensive and it has an o-ring on it to make the seal. Possibly that o-ring is not plump and protruding and you're losing a little bit every time you drive. If you pull that sensor, have someone nearby to stick their finger in the hole while you get the new one to install.

Cool! Thanks for the tip!

I'll probably get this fixed in the next week or so. My car has been heating up nicely lately, but the air has been blowing way too hot...I think maybe this might be the cause?

71 feels like 90!

[Jesse M]

Prestone baby!

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3