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Subaru Coolant color?

40K views 26 replies 9 participants last post by  gomjabber 
#1 ·
So when subaru coolant is brand new, what color is it?
I just paid to have a coolant flush and fill and the reservior tank is barely filled past the low mark which incidentally is exactly where it was when I took it in.
The color also seems to be the same identical, really dark/dirty green.
Just curious if I got hosed here or what?
 
#2 ·
this car has always been serviced at a dealer? = should be subaru blue long life coolant then.

green won't hurt it, but does not last as long,....if some green was put in on top of some blue once upon a time I guess you could have a mixed color,

but it sounds like they did not actually flush / rinse / then add new blue coolant,...but more like a low tech drain and fill.
 
#3 ·
Well the fluid is so far at the bottom of the tank it is actually hard to tell what color it is but it looked dark green, but it just looks old and used to me.
I am not sure they did anything and yes this was at the dealer I bought it the car from.
Starting to get irritated.
 
#5 ·
when it is flat down to the air temperature open the radiator, and look at the color there with a flash light, and put the cap back on tightly again.

then look down into the overfill jug with a flashlight and compare the colors.

Did you purchase the car new? any subaru 2009 and newer should have come from the factory with the blue.

if anyone be it a owner, or a oil change quick luber put some green in you could get some green in the bottle. The bottle is also home to old coolant solids which are typically difficult to remove (removing the bottle and scrubbing it clean). to get 99% of the old coolant out of the hole system I have seen notations about running the car for 15 minutes on a load of distilled water.

someone else will pop up with a description maybe of what the blue looks like as it ages,...and more on the super long life coolant. I am sticking with the cheap traditional green, just for its cost and my usage requirements.
 
#6 ·
I bought it new.
I have never had to add or service the coolant in any way or have I asked anyone to do it till this visit.
Its a moot point I am sure.
I doubt there is anyway to prove they did or didn't do it.
The reason I hate taking my car to a dealer. I don't trust any of them, at all.
I have a trusted mechanic I use but took it to the dealer this time to have all the headlights changed out (one low was burned out) and turns out one of the brake lights was out too.
Decided on the dealer because I wanted a radiator flush and fill and I wanted it done by the dealer with Subaru fluid.
 
#7 ·
I bought my car new and the factory coolant was very definitely blue. The jug of Subaru long-life coolant I bought from the dealer is also most definitely blue.

Something doesn't seem right given your description and given that the level doesn't seem to have changed since the flush - sounds fishy to me. I added about 1-2 cups soon after I bought the car in June '13 to get it up to the full mark and it has stayed there ever since. The fluid looks blue to me when I look at it through the expansion tank with a flashlight but I've only got about 14,000 miles on it. I too would be royally ticked off if I were in your shoes . . .
 
#8 ·
I replaced the coolant on my Tribeca as part of my first DIY car job. It was quite easy and bleeding air was not that hard, once I located the bleeders.

I actually quite like one of the dealers around, so they are not all the same.

But if I were you, I would go and tell them that I want to see the blue fluid in and complain all the way to the manager, as necessary.

Btw, the fluid does not need to be replaced until after 120,000, right? Like 137,000 or something?

I would not be shocked if dealer charged without replacing...
 
#10 ·
That's how it should be. I just saw the 2014 schedule asks for replacement at 137,500 miles...
 
#12 ·
Cold the expansion tank level is pretty far down, and barely visible. Heated up, the level increases greatly, I was told to go by the level when warmed up by the dealer.

Also, the coolant is pretty dark in the tank and difficult to tell the color without a flashlight..... It should look dark blue as indicated.
 
#13 ·
Today when I checked it, it was less than 3/8" below the full line. But I have topped it off a couple times.

Kind of funny. On two or three occasions I have found the coolant level slightly (never more than 1/2"). So I bought a bottle of the Subaru coolant, and have topped it off. It never takes more than 2 or 3 ounces to top off. Then, later, I have found the coolant slightly high.

Now, before someone says it, I always check coolant level when the car is totally cool, before it has been driven at all for the day. And I always check it in the garage. The garage has a level floor. The car is always parked on the same side of the garage.

Anyway, I've learned not to sweat small variances in the coolant level, any longer.
 
#14 ·
I have never figured it out what makes it drink coolant. It seems to never happen in summer, but I have occasionally, very rarely, added coolant in the winter months (in AZ).

I have not had to add any to the OB in 30,000 miles, which includes a lot of severe use (off-road and high temperatures, with plenty of 110F days on pavement, it is 140-150F under direct sunlight for months).
 
#15 ·
Ok, looked at it again today.
So, upon inspection including removing the radiator cap, it appears dark blue.
Fine.
Also, I noticed that the splash guard down underneath the radiator is fairly clean on one side and salt soaked/stained and filthy on the other side.
The side that is clean is underneath the bottom hose on the radiator.
So it looks like they drained it there?
Also, my expansion tank is now almost completely empty.
It went from "low" to almost nothing.
This I would think would also tell me that some air bubbles were purged and it sucked the rest of the coolant out of the tank?
Does my thinking sound correct?
 
#18 ·
the subaru blue in the gallons comes as pre-mix. there is a smaller quart concentrate,...but I am unfamiliar with what exactly it is. (and wish someone would pipe up and define it,...as even the dealer sites don't describe the differences well).

and you properly use the word Feck,...does that mean you are a import from Erie or the UK?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feck
 
#19 ·
There is a small conditioner bottle, but I am unaware of a small coolant bottle.

The big one is, what, 20-25?

Of course, a qt size bottle would be very convenient to take on trips alongside a qt of oil and ATF.
 
#20 ·
#23 ·
that quart bottle says "concentrate". = so you might need a bottle of distilled water from a grocery / discount store . maybe by the clothing irons.

I posted it for @MiddleAgeSubie and I wonder how far the quart concentrate bottle goes for the money vs. the premixed gallon.

I hope the radiator at least filled up to the neck under the cap?....
 
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