Antifreeze ? Color ?

The Nissan literature calls for blue Nissan antifreeze .

I bought a gallon of antifreeze at Walmart , labeled for all Asian cars .

Went to top off one of the reservoirs , concentrating on not spilling antifreeze . And low and behold , it is not blue . Kind of pink , but not orange like Dexcool .

Have I messed up ?

God bless
Wyr

WyrTwister said:

Have I messed up ?

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Did you actually pour the anti-freeze into the reservoir, after noticing the color difference?

I would make sure what you have is compatible before charging or driving the vehicle. If not, drain the reservoir and fill it with the correct anti-freeze.

Nissan Blue anti-freeze is an extended life non-silicate formula. It comes in concentrate or a 50/50 mix already diluted with water.

Some . No more than a cup .

This is my first Asian car . What is the difference ( if any ) between " Asian car " antifreeze and Nissan blue antifreeze ?

The antifreeze I purchased at Walmart was a name brand , Valvoline ZEREX , maybe ? Can not remember ? Not generic . I guess I need to check when I get home .

Best I remember there were 3 reservoirs for antifreeze ? Only 1 looked like it needed replenishing .

Thanks ,
Wyr
God bless

Just so you know the coolant in the Leaf is actually a special kind of coolant that is resistant to high voltages, and specifically made for the electronic components in the car as the coolant runs through the electric motor, inverter, and the electric heater. The Leaf components run at much different temperatures, and the coolant for the car is optimized for that. The regular car coolant is optimized for combustion engine operating temperatures. I would flush the reservoir and put the right stuff in there if you actually added some. In 4 and a half years I have never had to add coolant to mine, and I check it all at least once a month. I would be concerned you might have a leak somewhere potentially.

If not too late to the discussion ........

Nissan Long-life (blue) coolant and Zerex/Valvoline multi-vehicle Asian formula (red) are both silicate, borates and amines free.

There may be a difference in the presence or absence, or amount, of nitrates and nitrites and maybe even phosphates.

The multi-vehicle formula obviously tries to have all the bases covered in terms of not having any potentially harmful ingredients to any one make/model but may through necessity miss out on having something that one automaker considers desirable for their vehicle's cooling systems.

From the color they chose, and being aware of North American market penetration, I would expect the Zerex Asian formula to be closer (or identical) to Toyota's requirements than to Nissan's.

The main reasons for not using a multi-vehicle coolant I suggest are:
1. it may have the effect of reducing the useful life of your original fill by a few years
2. it may turn the original blue color into something that doesn't look like any known coolant which could impact future service decisions

The Leaf uses the same Nissan blue long-life pre-mixed coolant that other current Nissans use. There is not a special coolant for the Leaf.

Re. the 3 coolant caps under the hood in the 2011/12 years:
- two of them are pressurized tank caps and one is a non-pressurized reservoir (recommended one to use for filling or topping-off)
- the other two caps are mainly for excess pressure venting but also can be used for confirming level
- the Owner's Manual gives the capacity for the heater system separately but am not sure how you would fill this in isolation
- filling/topping off at the frontmost reservoir cap should bring the main cooling system and the cabin heater system up to snuff

For a DIY drain and fill, be aware that flushing the system out with water (preferably distilled) will mean that some water remains in the system. When using a pre-mix coolant this does present a problem in achieving the required 50/50 proportion.

Thanks ,

God bless
Wyr