Coolants low all of the sudden. I'm in South Florida and rarely see sub 32 degree temps. I bought regular Prestone 50/50 but while I wait for car to cool down I figured I would check to make sure there wasn't some magical and required coolant before I drained a bottle in my engine.

 

You need to use an 50% mixture of water and antifreeze, specification WSS M97B44 (coloured orange) Extended Life Coolant.

Do not use the Prestone from the local auto supply.

If it is just a minor top up, use distilled water. If the level goes down again, get it serviced at the dealer under warranty. You should not be losing coolant.

 

Go in anyway i bet your water pump is leaking

 

That's what I got actually. So I am good. I'll measure how much is left after I pour it in and see if it's a pronounced amount... Because I'm less than 10k miles and you're right I should not need to top it off.

Thanks!

 

+1 on WhiteXKR's comment about using WSS M97B44 Orange, or distilled water (for topping off only). Don't use conventional coolant.

When you say the coolant is suddenly low, just how low is it? Even if a "Low Coolant" message is triggered in your display, the indicator marks on the outside of your coolant expansion tank may still only show a coolant level at or just below the "Min" level. If that is the case, you need only top it off. OTOH, if your expansion tank has suddenly emptied, you have another issue altogether, e.g., leaking tank, water pump, hose, heater core, etc. If this is the case, you'll see or soon see water on the ground or possibly smell coolant inside the car. Loss of coolant in large amounts is usually noticeable. The only exception might be an internal head gasket leakage where the coolant goes into the oil pan.

Living in South Florida and having around 10K miles, I'm betting you need only top off. Just watch it closely and keep us posted. If in doubt, take it in to be safe.

 

I'm taking my car in tomorrow. I poured over half a jug of coolant in... It was dangerously low. It just came on out of nowhere this time last week. I haven't noticed any leak spots or anything like that.

I turn 10k miles soon... So I'll get a full work up.

 

10K miles is certainly sufficient miles in many vehicles to see some small amount of coolant loss as I thought that that might be the case with you; but, "half a jug" is certainly more than a small amount! Good you're bringing it in. Do keep us posted.

 

What will happen if you top with regular green antifreeze, like maybe 1/2 pint? should i change it all again?

 

DO NOT mix coolant types or radiator and heater core blockages are the result. If coolant types are mixed, the system must be flushed and refilled with the correct coolant.

Use only coolant that meets JLR specifications.

 

If there is a loss of coolant, the cause must be found and corrected to avoid catastrophic engine damage through overheating.

 

I bought a bottle of the Pentosin brand Pentofrost SF coolant to have on hand for my 2021 F Type in case it needed any top off. Be aware that it needs to be mixed 60% (distilled) water and 40% coolant before adding it. It is JLR approved.
I forget the cost but it was expensive. It only comes in one quart bottles. I got it from Advanced Auto, that was the only major chain in my area that carried it.

 

I am not sure if this is the case for your MY but my 2017 is a lot of Ford parts still and the coolant must meet the Ford Spec WSS-M97B44. The only stuff I was able to find pretty regularly was Zerex DEX-Cool Organic Acid Technology. Ford of course has their own brand (Motorcraft) but I could not find it at the standard auto parts stores near me.

 

STJLR.651.5003 replaces Ford's WSS M97B44-D. It's the spec listed for newer MY's (such as my MY17 F-Pace S with the same 3.0L engine as my F-Type S.

 

As an aside to my post above regarding the Pentosin Pentofrost SF coolant:

The manufacturer claims it is approved for JLR vehicles from 1997 and beyond and the distilled water/antifreeze mix is given at 50/50. However, the owners manual for my 2021 F Type R says this:

Engine coolant fluid All vehicles
Mixture of 60% water and 40% antifreeze meeting Jaguar Land Rover specification STJLR.651.5003. Cold climate markets*: Mixture of 50% water and 50% antifreeze meeting Jaguar Land Rover specification STJLR.651.5003.
The asterisk for Cold Climate Markets says "Canada" so being that I am in the Southern California mountains where the temperature seldom dips below 20 degrees F, I went with the 60% water/40% antifreeze mix.

It is available online from vendors like FCP Euro and others if you can't find it at your local auto parts store.

 

I know people really get wrapped around the axle with regard to antifreeze. The fact is, all modern coolant is Ethylene Glycol based. The difference being the inorganic additives (older green stuff) or organic acid additive packages (newer tech)

What's interesting is that modern coolants (orange/red/purple/pink) with organic acids are not necessarily better (Dex Cool technology), and there are a great many instances of unnecessary problems. For example: Orig Dex Cool attacked GM intake manifold gaskets, leading to water in the oil and ruined engines.

I've been in the habit of flushing out Dex Cool and it's cousins, and using regular old silicate free Prestone 70-30 water/coolant (all vehicle formula) . When it's time for a coolant change.

It's good to note that today's Prestone has sufficient additive tech to last 10 years or 300K miles (so they say) which is far better than yesterday's green coolant that was good for about 1 year.


Prestone calls their additive package Cor-Guard and it is, I believe, an variant of OAT (organic acid tech) so it is newer tech stuff, but engineered NOT to attack nylon parts like the old Dex Cool stuff. It works great!