[Prohidium]

My 2013 is just a few weeks from being 5 years old. I have about 32,000 miles on it and am about 93% electric. I am in the north so in winter I do have ERDTT happening from Mid-Dec to Mid-Mar which is also when I burn most of my gas which is about 3 to 4 tanks a season. The rest of the year is pretty much all electric.

The ICE only has about 5,000 equivalent miles (fairly accurate guesstimate) and our summers are not overly hot and I park underground during the day through the week.

Does the 5 year fluid replacement drain out both the ICE and the High Voltage Battery coolant or is it just the ICE part?

Who has had this done and how much did it cost? In Canada, I am sure I will pay double what anyone in the USA pays. If it is relatively inexpensive it is no big deal but I expect the dealer here will want a lot. My guess is it will be $500 to have it done.

Thanks everyone in advance for your advice.

 

[Upper5Percent]

My 2013 is just a few weeks from being 5 years old. I have about 32,000 miles on it and am about 93% electric. I am in the north so in winter I do have ERDTT happening from Mid-Dec to Mid-Mar which is also when I burn most of my gas which is about 3 to 4 tanks a season. The rest of the year is pretty much all electric.

The ICE only has about 5,000 equivalent miles (fairly accurate guesstimate) and our summers are not overly hot and I park underground during the day through the week.

Does the 5 year fluid replacement drain out both the ICE and the High Voltage Battery coolant or is it just the ICE part?

Who has had this done and how much did it cost? In Canada, I am sure I will pay double what anyone in the USA pays. If it is relatively inexpensive it is no big deal but I expect the dealer here will want a lot. My guess is it will be $500 to have it done.

Thanks everyone in advance for your advice.

In your 2013 Owner's Manual

Page 11-6
Every 240,000 km/150,000 mi
Drain, flush and fill engine, power electronics and high voltage battery cooling systems (But there is a footnote... )

Page 11-7 footnote
Or every five years, whichever comes first. See Cooling System
(Engine) on page 10‐14 or Cooling System (High Voltage Battery) on page 10‐15 or Cooling System (Power Electronics and Charger
Modules) on page 10‐16.

 

[rdunniii]

The power electronics and ICE cooling circuits are entirely separate.

I had the famous "road debris struck the hybrid electronics radiator" leak so the coolant was replaced with the radiator changeout about 2 months ago on my 2012 so that one is taken care of.

 

[voltecfan]

I am in the same situation. I drive a MY2013 which was produced in August 2012. It was not put on the road until May of 2013.
It was used as a company car until sometime around Sept 2014. The dealer I bought it from had it on the lot as a used car from Dec2014 until I bought it in Feb of 2016. The car when I bought it had less than 28,000 km on it and now has just over 34,000 km on it.
It is not driven in the winter and the lifetime fuel consumption shows as 4.08 li/100 km.
Except for the calendar time, it certainly has not strained the coolant in any way.

 

[volt spain]

Has been said, that you could loose the 8 yrs Voltec warranty, if you avoid the change of fluids..I fully understand your hesitation, since each time I go to a GM dealership I get the feeling that no one really knows to much about VOLTS...just a feeling!!!.

 

[hellsop]

Does the 5 year fluid replacement drain out both the ICE and the High Voltage Battery coolant or is it just the ICE part?

All three tanks.

Who has had this done and how much did it cost? In Canada, I am sure I will pay double what anyone in the USA pays. If it is relatively inexpensive it is no big deal but I expect the dealer here will want a lot. My guess is it will be $500 to have it done.

Even if it costs $500, that's what? Ten oil changes? You've done two and are halfway to your third, while a normal ICE would have had 15 or 20 by now. There's three coolant systems to take care of but, again, normal car, you'd be looking at getting the fifth one done now. I'd say you're still way ahead of the game.

 

[obermd]

Dexcool degrades over time so yes, you need to do a coolant swap.

 

[Steverino]

Follow the owner's manual maintenance schedule. So 5 years.

 

[freshcut]

I have to agree with the consensus. Just because you may not have reached the mileage requirements, fluids, especially those that protect and have an important job in maintaining the various system do degrade over time and lose their efficacy. Fluid changes are always cheap insurance against more costly repairs down the road. I'm nearly due to coolant changes in my '13 as well and should make an appointment to have those done and might as well do the transmission fluid while they're at it since I'm between the "severe" and "normal" ranges for getting that changed.

 

[llninja]

The power electronics and ICE cooling circuits are entirely separate.

I had the famous "road debris struck the hybrid electronics radiator" leak so the coolant was replaced with the radiator changeout about 2 months ago on my 2012 so that one is taken care of.

So did you go get yourself a voltscreen? If you didn't go get one.

 

[alfon]

In today's world most coolant, and fluids, for your car, of course not taking into consideration here motor oil which also has improved over time, are formulated for long life, some are lifetime fills as well. My 2003 VW Jetta TDI with the 5 speed manual, had, at that time a lifetime fill of transmission oil, which never needed to be changed. Tesla also has basically a lifetime fluid fill, for one of their components as well.

 

[viking79]

You can probably test the effectiveness of the coolant. I personally won't change it until at least 8 years, but that is me.

 

[wizard_of-ahs]

In today's world most coolant, and fluids, for your car, of course not taking into consideration here motor oil which also has improved over time, are formulated for long life, some are lifetime fills as well. My 2003 VW Jetta TDI with the 5 speed manual, had, at that time a lifetime fill of transmission oil, which never needed to be changed. Tesla also has basically a lifetime fluid fill, for one of their components as well.

My smart came with a "lifetime" tranny fill, which I changed at 50,000 and 100,000 miles and each time there were metal flakes in the oil....now at 135,000 and will do it again at 150,000 miles. Each to their own

 

[obermd]

In today's world most coolant, and fluids, for your car, of course not taking into consideration here motor oil which also has improved over time, are formulated for long life, some are lifetime fills as well. My 2003 VW Jetta TDI with the 5 speed manual, had, at that time a lifetime fill of transmission oil, which never needed to be changed. Tesla also has basically a lifetime fluid fill, for one of their components as well.

I wouldn't trust "lifetime" fill to last past the longest warranty on the vehicle. Physics and Chemistry are lifetime, and they both state that everything degrades over time.

 

[canehdian]

This might help with the cost

https://summerdrives.ca/

Entering gives you min $10 off service, and you could win $2500 service credits. Good for a lifetime of volt service, basically.

 

[rdunniii]

I wouldn't trust "lifetime" fill to last past the longest warranty on the vehicle. Physics and Chemistry are lifetime, and they both state that everything degrades over time.

Correct, whether or not you change the fluid.

 

[freshcut]

I agree, I don't particularly trust "lifetime" fluids. Living in a generally hot and dusty environment, contamination of any fluid is likely, even those that are lifetime rated. No major automotive component is sealed so well as to prevent contamination from the outside and any wear type item will always produce it's own contamination.

I think a lot of these manufacturers who abide by a lifetime fluid is under the assumption that by the time the fluid is degraded or contaminated sufficiently then the part itself needs to be rebuilt or replaced. Unfortunately many times that contamination is the cause of failure.

 

[tjkersc]

I had my coolant changed on my 2012 by the dealer last month. The standard price at the dealerships in Albuquerque is $149 for most vehicles including the volt. There was a $30 off dealer special for a coolant change so my total with tax and a $7.50 disposal fee was $136.77.

 

[TSquare]

I had my coolant changed on my 2012 by the dealer last month. The standard price at the dealerships in Albuquerque is $149 for most vehicles including the volt. There was a $30 off dealer special for a coolant change so my total with tax and a $7.50 disposal fee was $136.77.

And was that for all three coolant systems?

 

[tjkersc]

I asked the service advisor, who owns a volt, and he said all three were done. The invoice showed two gallons of concentrate and that is about the correct amount. The old fluid looked pristine, not like some 5 year old Dex-cool I had seen in GM vehicles years ago that had a gelled appearance in the overflow bottle.