Do I really need to buy Honda 50/50 antifreeze? The manual says something like other antifreezes may damage the cooling system.

Is this just a way for Honda to get more money out of me or?

Thanks.

2008 Honda Fit Sport
Automatic

 

It is not that expensive. When it comes to antifreeze the magic seems a little more mystical than deciding what oil to use. There seem to be so many formulations from the different manufactures that I don't really trust a one mixture fits all kinda formula. Unlike oil where there are third parties that set standards for oil, I don't believe the same exists for antifreeze.

 

Here is what Honda says about the coolant. http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/p...505O00184A.pdf

Here is more info from this site. antifreeze - Unofficial Honda FIT Forums - Threads Tagged with antifreeze

 

Thanks for the info! Would rather use what will make the engine last longer than not.

 

I have used different antifreeze in a different car and had issues. Even in my new truck at work we have red anti freeze from the factory and have been adding the green stuff and the engine now runs hotter which will shorten the life of the engine but not my problem.

 

Use coolant that is marked safe for aluminum.

Honda has not changed their formula for years, and they have ALWAYS stated use the Honda stuff. I have NEVER used the Honda stuff. Supertech or Peaks, 40% coolant, 60% distilled water ($1 a gallon at walmart)

Never had problems. Even on the civic I took from 87k miles to 340k miles

 

I suggest following the Honda guidelines which state to use a high quality non-silicate coolant.

Silicates in the coolant have been known to cause problems on systems not designed to use them. Sometimes the silicates will cause water pump failure or even may not have enough heat transfer when added to engine not designed for them.

There is actually a science involved in the choice of coolants and the different formulas work differently. Some coolants, like phosphate/silicate based coolants work by leaving a layer of corrosion protection on the metal while other types, such as OAT(organic additive technology) use an actual chemical reaction with the metal to inhibit corrosion. Since the OAT coolant's chemical reaction with the metal takes place as long as the coolant is touching the metal then it will have an extended life cycle because its always touching the metal as long as its full. There is nothing to deplete in OAT based coolant. The phos/sil based coolants insulate the metal from the coolant with a physical barrier layer and when that barrier layer depletes corrosion starts. The problem with phos/sil based coolants is the breakdown of that barrier over time and that is why the life is shorter.

I worked for a company that had 10 service centers and we went through a huge amount of coolant. Our service centers carried most OEM coolants in stock and were paying up to $22 a gallon depending on the product. I spent a fair amount of time researching coolant differences and we ended up stocking a bulk universal OAT coolant that covered over 95% of the vehicles on the road today and was only $3.55 a gallon in bulk quantities. The chemist who designed the coolant blend met with me in person and we discussed coolant differences and reviewed what each manufacturer's OEM coolants were based on. In the end, their OAT based coolant was guaranteed to cover 95% of the vehicles but unofficially met 100% of the requirements. They offered a guarantee against corrosion and they would cover the cost of the repairs if a failure occurred. That was a pretty bold guarantee and we used their product for years and never had a problem on any vehicle except one. They supplied me with a test kit and I collected a sample for their analysis. It ended up the coolant that failed was contaminated by coolant the customer added and caused mass corrosion in the system.

I don't want to bore you with even more in depth technical differences of coolants so to simplify things I suggest following manufacturers specs or using an OAT based coolant. There is plenty of information on OAT coolants available online if you search for it and want to use a non OEM coolant choice.

I hope that helps uncover some of the mysteries of coolant types so you can now base your choice on the actual science.

 

Thanks for that information. That was something I never knew.

 

@2010FitSport: Just to be clear: Is the Honda coolant OAT? Is that what you are saying?

Thanks.

 

I was not saying Honda coolant is OAT but that I suggest either Honda OEM or an OAT coolant would be a good choice if it was to be changed.