Mazda 3 - What coolant should I be using?

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sir slack-a-lot

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Hi Folks,

It's coming up to the time to replace my coolant. However, I'm unsure what I should be using. The factory coolant is a deep green colour - it looks darker than the regular old green stuff, so I'm guessing it's not the same thing.

I'm open to using G-05 or any of the Japanese coolants, or shall I stick to whatever stuff Mazda is selling? What would you suggest? The car is still under warranty, so this could be a consideration.

Thanks,
Mike
 
I have a Mazda6, and my coolant color looks like pink. I think it's supposed to be Dexcool. When the time comes i'm going to replace mine with G-05. I've read many good things about it.
 
First, contact a Mazda dealership's parts department and find out what they sell. Unless there really is a specific Mazda formulation, then G-05 should be fine - I'm coming to the conclusion G-05 is as close to a "universal" coolant formulation as we have currently. DEX-COOL(tm) or a dexclone* would be my close second choice.

*which I personally use - WallyWorld's SuperTech "All Makes" provided by Prestone Division of Honeywell
 
I'll give my local dealer a call. Hopefully they will actually know - I gather from what I've read on a few forums that the dealers have no idea what they are selling, and are just spouting off "use genuine Mazda coolant" and are not disclosing what the heck it actually is or what camp it falls under. In the owners manual (not exactly the greatest source, I know) it states to use genuine Mazda coolant as well. If they don't know what it is, and the cost of the stuff from the dealer isn't exorbitant, I'll just buy that I guess for at least the warranty period.

Cheers,
Mike
 
If you get a chance to inspect a jug of the genuine Mazda antifreeze and it happens to list the ingredients, silicates and OAT (sodium benzoate, sodium tetraborate, or sodium 2-ethyl hexanoate, or the potassium variants of any of those, it would be in the general G-05 class. If OAT and phosphate, it would be one more clone among the Honda-Nissan-Toyota long-life antifreeze chemistries. (Since Mazda's Japanese, but closely allied with Ford at the corporate level, I have no idea which antifreeze camp they're in these days.) Like you imply, if the car's under warranty, you're probably safer from a warranty claim protection standpoint to remain with the genuine Mazda antifreeze (and save your receipt). Once out of warranty, you're free to use any long-life chemistry as long as you do a complete flush, first. They all protect effectively in properly maintained and routinely inspected cooling systems.
 
Thanks for your help! I'll go and see if I can have a look at a bottle of the Mazda stuff - I went and had a search through various Mazda forums today and it seems that most people have evidence and suspect that it is a dexcool type antifreeze. I'll see if I can find hard facts to back this up!

Cheers,
Mike
 
Hi, I just changed the coolant in my 04 mazda 3. The owners manual on page 8-16 says to only use ethylene-glycol based coolant. I used Texaco which is a blueish green color similar to the factory fill.
 
Unfortunately, just because the manual says use an ethylene-glycol based coolant means jack. All the major automotive coolants (as far as I know) are all ethylene-glycol based. The difference is in the chemistries of the different types.

I don't think colour is an accurate way of determining what coolant is in the vehicle. Mazda should have been straight-up in the manual and just laid out what was required instead of cr_apping around the subject!

Mike
 
quote:
Originally posted by sir slack-a-lot:
...(as far as I know) are all ethylene-glycol based. The difference is in the chemistries of the different types...
Click to expand...
Specifically, the corrosion protection chemistry. ALL antifreeze concentrates are ~95% glycol by volume. Hard to believe that our cooling systems' health hangs by a 3.2 oz. "thread" per gallon of mixed coolant, huh? (and some still insist on cutting the corrosion protection during summer driving by over-diluting the antifreeze/coolant concentrate...)
 
Ray,

Wow, I had no idea that 3.2 oz. per gallon is all that the corrosion protection chemistry consists of! Seems sort of crazy that we sweat about it so much!

I find it hard to believe that some folks over dilute their mix in the summer just to run perhaps a bit cooler at the risk of developing corrosion problems. Seems in the long run they risk causing corrosion problems, which ironically, will probably cause the system to run less efficiently and cause potential for overheating!

I've decided since I still have a few more years under warranty that I should just stick with the Mazda branded coolant. I'll post on here what I manage to find out about it - hopefully some useful ingredient information is listed on the bottle.

Cheers,
Mike
 
BTW, Ray, from all your posts in the antifreeze forum you're pretty much the appointed expert around here it seems! How did you become interested in antifreeze as an issue? Past experience deciding in what to put in your vehicle too?

Cheers,
Mike
 
Ah, found this somewhere else - not in my particular manual, but apparently this is in some shop manuals for the Mazda 6

"DO NOT USE or MIX coolants containing Alcohol, Methanol, Borate or
Silicate. This could damage the cooling system."

I wonder if this somewhat confirms that it is the Japanese camp (Mazda 3's are manufactured in Japan).
 
quote:
Originally posted by sir slack-a-lot:
BTW, Ray, from all your posts in the antifreeze forum you're pretty much the appointed expert around here it seems! How did you become interested in antifreeze as an issue? Past experience deciding in what to put in your vehicle too?
Click to expand...
You force me into some embarassing admissions... Basically I just started running down any online leads I happened onto regarding antifreeze chemistry and associated problems. I think I have a reasonable handle on the facts now (though I posted some pretty bonehead comments early on), but I'm by no means an antifreeze guru. Thanks, but I'll demur on the "Annointed One" characterization, though.

quote:
DO NOT USE or MIX coolants containing Alcohol, Methanol, Borate or
Silicate. This could damage the cooling system.
Click to expand...
That still leaves open the possibility of DEX-COOL(tm) or a dexclone since those are borate, silicate, alcohol, and methanol-free. (at least post warranty)

[ June 15, 2006, 11:35 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]
 
quote:
Originally posted by EricZoom:
I have a Mazda6, and my coolant color looks like pink. I think it's supposed to be Dexcool. When the time comes i'm going to replace mine with G-05. I've read many good things about it.
Click to expand...
Your Mazda6 is probably filled with the Ford version of the G-05 coolant.
The 6 is being build alongside with the Ford Mustang at the Ford/Mazda joint plant in Flat Rock, Michigan.
As we know Ford uses G-05. I would be highly surpised if the plant utilizes 2 completely different recipes to fill up the cars.
BTW, The Mazda3 is build in Japan.
I don't know what they put in it.

[ June 18, 2006, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: vad ]
 
quote:
Originally posted by sir slack-a-lot:
Ah, found this somewhere else - not in my particular manual, but apparently this is in some shop manuals for the Mazda6

"DO NOT USE or MIX coolants containing Alcohol, Methanol, Borate or
Silicate. This could damage the cooling system."
Click to expand...
This wording is really present in Mazda6 manual. Besides, it's also recommended to use FL22 type coolant.

I asked our general importer in Ukraine, as well as one of the biggest distributors in Russia about an additional info, but nobody could give a clear answer. Warranty engineers in Kiev even said I may use a blue-green coolant, but I replied that they are fully ignorant about their product and green coolants may be organic, non-organic and hybrid type. Finally, to top up I used Honda green.
 
sdude2k2000,
Have you been told or have you saw this in the manual ? May be we shall have a chance to see it's copy here ?

As for EC, UK and Japan, the manual dd. March 2005 states just FL22 type coolant, but given its blue-green color and the wording not to use coolants containing Alcohol, Methanol, Borate or Silicate, it's most likely an organic type, but with 1 organic inhibitor and phosphate instead of 2 inhibitors and no phoshpate in Dex-Cool. The second inhibitor used in Dex-Cool is 2-EHA and usually such coolants are not used by japanese car makers.
 
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