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BMW M5 F90 (2018+) General Forums Mechanical Maintenance: Break-in | Oil & Fluids | Servicing | TSB | Recalls    Wrong Coolant Top Up - HELP!

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      01-07-2022, 09:51 AM   #1
jonoaskew
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Wrong Coolant Top Up - HELP!

Hi all,

I made a bit of a catastrophic (potentially) error today where I topped up my coolant with the "wrong" coolant.

I saw a warning come on this morning about low coolant on the dash, so just used a VW coolant that was in the garage (from my Golf R). It wasn't until I'd done it that I realised that not all coolants were made equal.

This is the coolant that I used: VW Original G13

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Volkswagen-...66881202&psc=1

I added about 300ml (1.5 cups) I reckon in total.

Is this very bad or will it be ok? If bad, what should my next steps be?

FYI it's a 2018 plate and out of warranty.

Cheers
Jono
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      01-07-2022, 10:33 AM   #2
pbonsalb
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I would not worry about 12 ounces of the wrong coolant among the roughly 372 ounce of coolant. VW G13 is the same spec as Zerex G05 and G05 is very close to BMW spec. Zerex G48 s the same spec as BMW, so if you have OCD and want to research further, compare Zerex G05 to G48. I think G48 is sort of a longer change interval version of G05.
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      01-09-2022, 12:18 AM   #3
brava09
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What I know is if it has the same colour then you're fine.
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      01-25-2022, 11:07 AM   #4
shawnhayes
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brava09 View Post
What I know is if it has the same colour then you're fine.
In general, this is absolutely true. OP if you're terribly OCD, drain and refill. Solved.

Shawn
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      01-25-2022, 12:46 PM   #5
pbonsalb
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The OP mixed some orange into his blue coolant. The question is how wrong that is. For the respective quantities, it is not an issue. And even if he filled the entire system with VW orange instead of BMW blue, I doubt there would be any consequences as long as he changed the coolant again within a few years or 50k miles.
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      12-29-2023, 09:13 AM   #6
Rattlesnake86
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hello, did the same today; topped up 500ml of orange G13 instead of blue G11
What did you do? Did you drain it?

Thanks
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      12-29-2023, 12:25 PM   #7
pbonsalb
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5% orange with 95% blue might give a little brown color. Technically corrosion protection could be minimally less. I would not worry, but if you are under warranty, BMW could hold the mixing against you. Any plans to change the coolant as preventative maintenance at some point? Can you sleep at night until then? If this is really going to make you anxious, then change it.
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