Bought a new fit (09). Dealer said oil changes should be around every 5k . Anyone have a general mileage estimate for the coolant? I would prefer to have a professional touching the car, as I am completely inadequate with them in general and anxious about causing any damage.

my mileage is around about 2100 -2300 right now. I want to take a trip to vegas by tommorow, but need to know if I should be worried about the coolant and should have it brought into the dealer right away.

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Another strange thing keeps happening. I'm just going to be describing it because I'm not very good with car lingo.

A blue light keeps lighting up behind the dashboard. It's a blue "C" with what looks like a tiny wave under it. Sometimes this stays there for up to 30 seconds. While in park, it doesn't seem to want to go away for a long time....but it goes away afterawhile while driving.

Can anyone tell me what that means? I'm suspecting it has something to do with the coolant, but then keep wondering why it eventually goes away in drive. Already been looking through the manuel, no answers.

 

the C means the engine is cold.

as long as you dont red line the the engine in the first 30 seconds of driving you have nothing to worry about.

 

You don't have to worry about the coolant yet. Just make sure the coolant level in the reservoir is between the FULL and ADD marks when the engine is cold before going on your trip. Also, suggest checking the tire pressures, incl. the spare.

 

typically i use the same coolant for 4-5yrs unless it turns brown and needs to be flushed.

 

I think most recommend a coolant change every two years. You can check the maintenance section of the owners manual and it should give a mileage requirement. Maybe 24k miles.

 

With the newer extended life coolants, 100,000 miles is not totally out of the question. I'd go with the recommended intervals in the manual. 5k miles is a decent time between oil changes, and the Fit has a oil life monitor on the dash.

 

My Fit is 3 years old, with 55K miles. The MM has not coded for a coolant change yet.

 

And that, while the pat answer, is correct. Speaking as someone who has worked on cars for the last 35 years, I found much useful information in the manual. I've driven more miles in the last ten years than many people do in a lifetime, and still found things that I didn't know about in the owners' manual. You never stop learning.

Moral of the story: RTFM!

 

The Helms manual said something crazy like 10 years 100k. Then every 2 years.