Hello all,
I have a bit of a backstory so I will put the tldr short version here:
If OEM calls for an OAT (Organic Acid Technology) Ethylene Glycol coolant, and I use a plain Ethylene Glycol one, will I cause problems with the engine/radiator?
Kinda long backstory:
I recently bought a 2012 Suzuki Swift with the 1.2L engine.
It looked like it had the original Suzuki OEM coolant, it's a particular green colour which is what they use in the factory.
It has good service history but the last few stamps are from independent garages so I decided to assume the coolant had never been changed and do the fullest and most complete service possible (the car isn't for myself, but for a family member). I have replaced every filter and fluid in the car plus the brake discs and pads - and had an alignment done.
I had planned to use all genuine parts but the local Suzuki dealer told me that the green OEM coolant was no longer in production, but they could sell me a red variety which would require a complete flush as it shouldn't be mixed with the green. I was fine with this but then they also told me they couldn't sell me a 5L container of oil because they buy it in bulk. They recommended I buy non-genuine oil from an independent shop. Because of this, I decided to get everything from a more convenient and reputable parts chain here in the UK, where I normally buy all my filters and fluids for my Toyotas. I would be able to get all the filters, fluids and brake parts from one place so it was more convenient and probably cheaper.
At this shop, I gave them my make and model and got all the filters, fluids and brake parts. They have an in-house brand that has become very popular in independent garages and meets a lot of Ford, VW requirements and ACEA specifications for oil and coolant. They also have Shell, Castrol, Petronas oils. Bosch, Mann, and Fram filters etc. so they are trusted in that sense. Their in-house brand of coolant seems to cover every modern car requirement, they have 3 varieties:
Blue - Ethylene Glycol
Pink - Ethylene Glycol with organic acid technology (this is what goes in my Toyotas as the OEM is also an OAT Ethylene Glycol and happens to be pink/red) (I think this is what is known as the controversial Dexcool in the USA? Not sure if any GM Europe stuff uses it)
Purple - HOAT (hybrid organic acid technology) (not sure if its ethylene glycol but contains silicates? Seems to be for newer VW Audi stuff as it carries the G13 label)
They said I needed the blue one for the Swift.
So I drained and flushed the hoses and radiator with a garden hose, filled with distilled water, went for a drive and repeated a few times till there was no trace of the green stuff in the drained water. I mixed the blue coolant with 50% distilled water and filled it up and called it done.
Now a few weeks later, I'm looking back, I can't find the specs for what the green Suzuki coolant was or who makes it. Ideally, I wanted that green OEM stuff so I could just drain the radiator and fill it back up, the car is fairly new and low miles so it didn't need a full flush, only I didn't want to mix different coolants so I flushed it all out.
I emailed Suzuki customer service and asked for more information and they told me to use Ecstar Long Life Coolant. Frankly, I've never heard of this and I can't find any information on the specification of this coolant and whether its OAT or not but if it's red/pink I'm assuming its OAT.
The owner's manual for the car just says ethylene glycol, there is no mention of OAT but I think this is just an omission for the sake of simplicity as my Toyota one doesn't mention OAT either.
So, should I flush it out and refill with the OAT stuff what? If Suzuki has switched to OAT because they don't make the green stuff anymore, then I'm happy to continue using the non-OAT one but I'm not sure. if it came with non-OAT from the factory, then is there any sense in changing? The main problem is the lack of information, which is something I wasn't prepared for with my Toyota background.
Thanks for reading, apologies for the long story. There seems to be a mis-match in terminology used across USA/Europe, I don't see any American brands classifying their coolants as OAT and non-OAT but that could be my ignorance. Any advice/opinion is appreciated - thanks.
I have a bit of a backstory so I will put the tldr short version here:
If OEM calls for an OAT (Organic Acid Technology) Ethylene Glycol coolant, and I use a plain Ethylene Glycol one, will I cause problems with the engine/radiator?
Kinda long backstory:
I recently bought a 2012 Suzuki Swift with the 1.2L engine.
It looked like it had the original Suzuki OEM coolant, it's a particular green colour which is what they use in the factory.
It has good service history but the last few stamps are from independent garages so I decided to assume the coolant had never been changed and do the fullest and most complete service possible (the car isn't for myself, but for a family member). I have replaced every filter and fluid in the car plus the brake discs and pads - and had an alignment done.
I had planned to use all genuine parts but the local Suzuki dealer told me that the green OEM coolant was no longer in production, but they could sell me a red variety which would require a complete flush as it shouldn't be mixed with the green. I was fine with this but then they also told me they couldn't sell me a 5L container of oil because they buy it in bulk. They recommended I buy non-genuine oil from an independent shop. Because of this, I decided to get everything from a more convenient and reputable parts chain here in the UK, where I normally buy all my filters and fluids for my Toyotas. I would be able to get all the filters, fluids and brake parts from one place so it was more convenient and probably cheaper.
At this shop, I gave them my make and model and got all the filters, fluids and brake parts. They have an in-house brand that has become very popular in independent garages and meets a lot of Ford, VW requirements and ACEA specifications for oil and coolant. They also have Shell, Castrol, Petronas oils. Bosch, Mann, and Fram filters etc. so they are trusted in that sense. Their in-house brand of coolant seems to cover every modern car requirement, they have 3 varieties:
Blue - Ethylene Glycol
Pink - Ethylene Glycol with organic acid technology (this is what goes in my Toyotas as the OEM is also an OAT Ethylene Glycol and happens to be pink/red) (I think this is what is known as the controversial Dexcool in the USA? Not sure if any GM Europe stuff uses it)
Purple - HOAT (hybrid organic acid technology) (not sure if its ethylene glycol but contains silicates? Seems to be for newer VW Audi stuff as it carries the G13 label)
They said I needed the blue one for the Swift.
So I drained and flushed the hoses and radiator with a garden hose, filled with distilled water, went for a drive and repeated a few times till there was no trace of the green stuff in the drained water. I mixed the blue coolant with 50% distilled water and filled it up and called it done.
Now a few weeks later, I'm looking back, I can't find the specs for what the green Suzuki coolant was or who makes it. Ideally, I wanted that green OEM stuff so I could just drain the radiator and fill it back up, the car is fairly new and low miles so it didn't need a full flush, only I didn't want to mix different coolants so I flushed it all out.
I emailed Suzuki customer service and asked for more information and they told me to use Ecstar Long Life Coolant. Frankly, I've never heard of this and I can't find any information on the specification of this coolant and whether its OAT or not but if it's red/pink I'm assuming its OAT.
The owner's manual for the car just says ethylene glycol, there is no mention of OAT but I think this is just an omission for the sake of simplicity as my Toyota one doesn't mention OAT either.
So, should I flush it out and refill with the OAT stuff what? If Suzuki has switched to OAT because they don't make the green stuff anymore, then I'm happy to continue using the non-OAT one but I'm not sure. if it came with non-OAT from the factory, then is there any sense in changing? The main problem is the lack of information, which is something I wasn't prepared for with my Toyota background.
Thanks for reading, apologies for the long story. There seems to be a mis-match in terminology used across USA/Europe, I don't see any American brands classifying their coolants as OAT and non-OAT but that could be my ignorance. Any advice/opinion is appreciated - thanks.