its not widely used i believe because its A) Much more expensive for the manufacturer to use in new cars, not to mention this means that all those wear and tear components don't wear out as well as taking away the service departments money from charging upwards of 100 dollars to undo one plastic bolt and "flushing" the coolant. and B) its kind of a pain in the butt to do the conversion for the average person. You have to flush the system and then make sure its completely dry. The first gen fit is apox 1.5 gallons of coolant and evens becomes ineffective if there is more than 3% water in the system. Which means the maximum amount of water that the system can handle without loosing effectiveness is 5oz.

my opinion.

 

All this is nonsense. This is a new car. There is no need to be screwing around trying to add oil or coolant. If it needs either have dealer check it out as it could be a problem otherwise relax and enjoy.

My two cents worth.

 

I am the only one wondering how you got along without a car for 35 years? I could see this if you lived in say, New York, or a major city in Europe. But the rest of the USA? I'd be interested to hear how your experience has been in your triumphant return to the motoring world. Thanks!

 

What do I know. I'm just a stupid master tech.

 

Very simple read. Explains that if mixing, this is what you should expect or how it will effect your interval. With service interval in mind.... If you are topping off, you likely aren't concerned with the proper service interval.
Universal Coolants

The link below is awesome. A few chemistry terms but nothing over the top. This is the one to read if you only want to read one.
Engine Coolants

Key takeaways are acids ability to react with silicone used in gaskets and the life expectancy of different types.

Correction to what I said earlier about reaction with plastic... It's not breaking the plastic but many gaskets are a solid plastic gasket with a silicone layer that actually does the sealing.

 

kbonus, I did in fact live in Manhattan from 1979 until this June. All of my automotive experience is with rentals for 35 years. I absolutely love having the car to use whenever I want or to leave it when I don't. I am simply clueless about maintenance intervals. Since the manual says check every time you refuel (which even I realize is crazy) I've been figuring once a month. I'm sure Black3sr is absolutely right and I'm totally over-reacting. The oil level is fine, and I can't be sure I'm reading the coolant right. There seems to be a fair amount in there.

 

EXL500: Thanks for the history. Enjoy the FIT. I've sure been happy with mine so far.

 

on my '12, i use mobil1 green cap. for coolant honda type2, i think it was called. it's already mixed, ready to use.

 

on this topic... ken do you know if the first gen fits had green coolant? I can clearly remember (I've had my car since there were 4 miles on the tac) that I've never done a coolant flush or change but my coolant (before i decided to switch to evans) was bright green NOT blue like honda coolant. so A) did my dealership skimp. B) did someone do this while my car was in the shop for something at some point and didn't tell me or C) did honda coolant used to be green? Anyone know?

 

^My first gen had the blue (long life) coolant. That's why we all get 100k mile coolant replacement intervals haha.

 

dang i wonder when my system got flushed with the green one lol