[volt spain]

The gen 1 Volts are getting old,,,,must be quite a few that have replaced the Main Battery COOLANT at GM DEALER. HOW was your experience ?. What about the price of the change?. Any problems with the car that have the WOT default sensor?...Any problems after the coolant change ?.

 

[SirSpammenot]

Good question, I'm a little over 4 years and 93000 miles into my Gen one. Will know soon enough.

 

[Fyodor]

I'm coming up on 5 years, and the 2012 maintenance schedule calls for 5 yrs or 150,000 miles. I notice that later MY Gen1 Volts only require coolant replacement at 150,000 miles, no time constraint. I wonder if I can follow the later MY schedule? Does anybody know?

 

[tjkersc]

I just checked the MY2013 manual and it has a footnote that says change at 5 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first.

 

[2VoltFamily]

I wonder if the coolant really breaks down after 5 years? When I look in the bottle it still looks wet. And if you buy one of those old fashion testers, you can test if you still have freeze/boil over protection.

 

[ampera_jed]

The coolant in the battery and inverter circuits is probably BETTER looked after and kept at a more controlled temperature than the coolant sitting in bottles on the shelf that are used to replace it.

How long have those bottles been there?

I suspect it is a total waste of time, effort, resources and the environment to change these fluids more than one a decade.

Change the engine/HVAC loop coolant for sure, unless you have never used the engine or HVAC system. In fact, you are probably better swapping that out every 3 years if you use the engine a lot.

 

[Jetdrive]

I guessing but I'd think you would need to change the coolant at 5/150,000 to maintain the 8/100,000 Voltec warranty. So if you are significantly below 100,000 miles it would probably be smart to have it done.

 

[freshcut]

Exactly. A lot of people say "well, it's past the mileage, but it says I can go X amount of time, so I'll do that instead" not realizing it's not a choice on which you do, but rather which ever comes first. The last thing I or anyone should do is forego scheduled maintenance on something that is covered under warranty. Especially when most warranty plans include some type of clause that allows lack of scheduled maintenance to automatically void any remaining coverage.

 

[somms]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_dielectric

I suspect that after 5yrs the liquid dielectric properties within the 50/50 Dex-Cool premix may begin breaking down which could manifest as possible electrical issues with the Li-ion battery pack down the road..

 

[ampera_jed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_dielectric

I suspect that after 5yrs the liquid dielectric properties within the 50/50 Dex-Cool premix may begin breaking down which could manifest as possible electrical issues with the Li-ion battery pack down the road..

Is that 5 years from the time the bottle is put on the shelf, or when it goes into the car?

If so, do the dealers tell you the manufacturing dates of the fluids they use?

If it was THAT unstable in the battery/inverter loops at 9 to 25C, then it is surely going to need changing far more often than 5 years circulating around a combustion engine at >100C!?

What's that rule of thumb? Double rate for every 10C? That should mean you replace the engine coolant every 2 years then wouldn't that mean you should replace the battery/inverter coolant every 100 years?

 

[canehdian]

Is that 5 years from the time the bottle is put on the shelf, or when it goes into the car?

If so, do the dealers tell you the manufacturing dates of the fluids they use?

If it was THAT unstable in the battery/inverter loops at 9 to 25C, then it is surely going to need changing far more often than 5 years circulating around a combustion engine at >100C!?

What's that rule of thumb? Double rate for every 10C? That should mean you replace the engine coolant every 2 years then wouldn't that mean you should replace the battery/inverter coolant every 100 years?

The engine coolant doesn't care for electrical properties. The battery is highly sensitive to that. The engine coolant just needs to absorb and release heat, while not damaging the engine. The battery coolant needs to do all that, and also not conduct any electricity.
You're welcome to not replace it, but if it's under warranty and you need a claim, you have forfeited that.
Is it worth it? Up to you.

Just like my engine oil looking brand new after 2 years. Did it absolutely need replacing? Probably not. But to maintain warranty, you have it changed every 2 years. When the warranty is done, go wild. You're paying for any repairs anyway, so do what you feel is best.

 

[ampera_jed]

The engine coolant doesn't care for electrical properties. The battery is highly sensitive to that. The engine coolant just needs to absorb and release heat, while not damaging the engine. The battery coolant needs to do all that, and also not conduct any electricity.
You're welcome to not replace it, but if it's under warranty and you need a claim, you have forfeited that.
Is it worth it? Up to you.

Just like my engine oil looking brand new after 2 years. Did it absolutely need replacing? Probably not. But to maintain warranty, you have it changed every 2 years. When the warranty is done, go wild. You're paying for any repairs anyway, so do what you feel is best.

You've missed the point very well.

I can see the change in the engine/HVAC coolant, I can see how it has degraded. The battery and inverter coolants do indeed look like new.

And yet, both get changed at 5 years.

Why are they the same?

So someone has suggested there is some time based break down.

OK, so therefore it needs to be fresh coolant ONLY to be used. It can't have sat on a shelf for. any time at all. Correct?

 

[canehdian]

It's not 5 years in contact with the (plastic) bottle, it's 5 years in contact with metals in the cooling system.
As ions are slowly released into the coolant over years, its electrical properties change.

 

[firehawk72]

Surely someone has had this done and would know the costs and the details. Maybe *** can chime in. There are lots of 2011s that should have had this done by now.

 

[Jefferios]

I'm interested in the costs people have paid for this service as well.

 

[Steverino]

I'm interested in the costs people have paid for this service as well.

Had mine done end of March. $165.65

 

[Fred_B]

Had mine done end of March. $165.65

Sounds pretty reasonable, averages out to about $35 per year. Just put your loose change in a jar every day and in 5 years it should cover the cost.

If that still seems too expensive, consider the dealer has been standing by like the Maytag repairman with all their expensive Volt-specific tools and equipment just WAITING for someone to come in.

 

[volt spain]

Had mine done end of March. $165.65

STEVERINO, Do they gave you any trouble with the WOT water level sensor default?...Did you educate the technician about "do not touch or remove", prior the coolant exchange?.

 

[2VoltFamily]

STEVERINO, Do they gave you any trouble with the WOT water level sensor default?...Did you educate the technician about "do not touch or remove", prior the coolant exchange?.

Good question. I would be curious.

 

[turboguy327]

I wonder if the coolant really breaks down after 5 years? When I look in the bottle it still looks wet. And if you buy one of those old fashion testers, you can test if you still have freeze/boil over protection.

It's not the boil over protection that makes a coolant change required. It's the additives that resist rusting a contamination caused by dissimilarities in metals and just junk that accumulates that don't belong in a cooling system.