Coolant top up

[Jaspwieser]

Hi guys. My dash shows I need to top up the coolant level. I bought some more coolant but the bottle says replace it all. Should I, if so how much coolant does a C5 2.2hdi need


Richard

[Old-Guy]

You first questions should be "How much coolant has it lost and how quickly?" (Is the sensor telling lies?) "Where has it all gone?" There's not much point in changing the coolant if you're going to have to open the cooling system to fix a leak. Check for damp front carpets (do the windows mist up badly whenever the car is left standing?) from a leaking heater.

I can't tell you the exact capacity, but very roughly somewhere around 10L - so at a 50/50 mix, you're going to need around 5L of anti-freeze. You'll probably find that a 5L can from a motor factor is a great deal cheaper than 4 x 1L bottles from Halfrauds or a forecourt shop. I don't know if cheap non-glycol anti-freezes are still on the market - if so, avoid like the plague.

Personally, living in a hard water area, I always make up anti-freeze using rain water.

Hopefully someone will be along soon with the definitive answer on cooling capacity.