Coolant

[pineapples]

Should coolant be measured when the car is hot or cold? When cold it is below the minimum should I top it up?

[Maverick]

Should coolant be measured when the car is hot or cold? When cold it is below the minimum should I top it up?

What does it say in the manual? Follow those instructions and you'll be right. (the manual is located in the glovebox)

You could also do a search as this has been covered before a number of times.

[Pepe]

Firsly, pineapples, welcome to the forum! :)

Secondly, for a less condescending answer... a quick google search reveals the following:


If you check your coolant level when the engine is cold, the coolant should be at or above the "minimum" or "fill" line on the transparent refill container. If you check your coolant level when the engine is hot, the coolant should be at or just below the "max" line.

Hope that helps.

[Corey_R]

Pepe. I think the best advice is to follow the manual statement. The reason being, in my Golf R at least, if you have the coolant "in the middle of the Min and Max lines" when the engine is cold, then when the engine is "hot" the level can be far above the Max line. Which is why there is a max line - to allow for expansion without coolant spilling everywhere.

Thus, if you followed that google advice and checked whilst the engine was hot and it was only up to the Max line, when cold it could be below the Min line!
You should NEVER fill the coolant whilst the engine is hot - it's an accident and lengthy hospital visit for severe burns waiting to happen...

Thus, check your owners manual :)

[Pepe]

I think the point of the OP is that the coolant dips below the MIN line at some point during operation... despite advice given, I haven't RTFM either, but making a simplistic observation, the MIN and MAX lines should be the absolute lower and upper limits of coolant levels during all forms of operation, without needing more specialist equipment than a working set of eyeballs to judge whether you have enough or not.

Hence, google also wins! :D (and yes, I'm sure it's in the manual somewhere)

Just my 2c.

[Maverick]

I think the point of the OP is that the coolant dips below the MIN line at some point during operation... despite advice given, I haven't RTFM either, but making a simplistic observation, the MIN and MAX lines should be the absolute lower and upper limits of coolant levels during all forms of operation, without needing more specialist equipment than a working set of eyeballs to judge whether you have enough or not.

Hence, google also wins! :D (and yes, I'm sure it's in the manual somewhere)

Just my 2c.

Time taken to join forum and post question: 18 minutes and 4 seconds.
Time to open glove box and check manual: 16 seconds

One of these will also give the accurate information along with safety tips. The manual is there for a reason and should be referred to before you undertake any task that might injure yourself or damage the car. As Corey_R pointed out it's not as simple as throwing some coolant in.

[Corey_R]

I haven't RTFM either, but making a simplistic observation, the MIN and MAX lines should be the absolute lower and upper limits of coolant levels during all forms of operation

Well again, maybe you should RTFM because yet again you are incorrect.

[Busby]

Are you serious?? I always thought the idea of a forum was to share common interests, discuss various topics and support each other?? WTF is with this attitude. OP - mate valid question. Dunno the answer. Maverick - why would you belittle someone for asking a question??

[Blitzen]

Are you serious?? I always thought the idea of a forum was to share common interests, discuss various topics and support each other?? WTF is with this attitude. OP - mate valid question. Dunno the answer. Maverick - why would you belittle someone for asking a question??

You will come to work out Maverick... Sometimes he has a point, but most of the time he just comes across as a douche...

I will agree that he has a point, because with most mechanical equipment, it has come with an owners manual to aid the new owner, and it covers the basic preventative maintenance, including oil and coolant levels, and as a car is usually a persons second biggest investment after a house, it still really surprises me that people don't take a few hours after they buy the vehicle to peruse the owners manual, as you would with a new TV, Microwave, or washing machine...

[Maverick]

Are you serious?? I always thought the idea of a forum was to share common interests, discuss various topics and support each other?? WTF is with this attitude. OP - mate valid question. Dunno the answer. Maverick - why would you belittle someone for asking a question??

Yes, the manual is there for a reason and this is a black and white answer that is covered in the owners manual, it's also something that can harm both the owner and the car if coolant is added incorrectly. Maybe VW should make the manual optional given how many people fail to ever remove it from the glovebox.

To answer the OP with a generic "this is what I have googled" response without offering any of the numerous warnings that are included in the manual (there are three pages dedicated to checking and refilling coolant IIRC) is not doing him any favors and referring him to his manual is the best and safest course of action. The coolant bottle types also differ over the years so this is another reason why he should check his manual as that is specifically for his model of car.

You may call it belittling but the best advice IMO is to RTFM.

[Corey_R]

Yeah - whilst Maverick's wording isn't always the best (neither is mine!), it still never fails to amaze me why so many people feel that it's "belittling" or "condescending" to be advised to check the owners manual. So I'm looking at this from the other side, I don't understand peoples "attitude" in response to that...

[barrenjoey owl]

agreed in full...I call it the "Help Desk" syndromic.

Rather than investigate an issue by using the supplied documentation , call the Help Desk, some much easier!

[barrenjoey owl]

Are you serious?? I always thought the idea of a forum was to share common interests, discuss various topics and support each other?? WTF is with this attitude. OP - mate valid question. Dunno the answer. Maverick - why would you belittle someone for asking a question??

People like to help people who have done a little research first. The Search facility of this forum, the user Guide that comes with you vehicle are both excellent places to start.

[GOLFBALLS]

Uh. None of us have any idea what car pineapples has, how old it is, or if the manual is even still with the car! Being a newbie, he may not have noticed our search function either.

But obviously he hasn't given much info out either so can only expect a vague response.

Either way, he probably has the info he needs now, but none of our bickering was necessary. We just look a bit silly now eh lads?

Peace:)

[Corey_R]

Correct... the OP question was completely answered by the 1st reply - post #2, by Maverick.

[Pepe]

Well again, maybe you should RTFM because yet again you are incorrect.

I'm sure VAG takes into account morons like me who don't bother to read the manual cover to cover before ever sitting in the thing. I would hazard a guess that there's quite a sizeable number of people who haven't and will never read the manual (although clearly they aren't usually forum dwellers). Could you imagine the failure rate of their vehicles if they failed if the owner had not read the entire manual?

My observation was thus based upon logic, not a detailed knowledge of the manual. To me, Pepe Simpleton, logic would tell me that a component with a measurement designed to be visually observed should probably fall within the limits displayed on that component during all forms of normal operation, including when the engine is cold at start-up... but hey, that's just me, more than happy to be corrected if somewhere in the manual it says "it's fine if the coolant level is below the MIN line at startup"... it strikes me as an odd approach for VAG given the OP is unlikely to be the only person to have checked their coolant levels while the engine is cold.

As for the welcome to the new member... I agree with Busby. This is supposed to be a community, our welcome to new people shouldn't really be along the lines of "I know the answer, but I'm not telling you, go look it up yourself".



Either way, he probably has the info he needs now, but none of our bickering was necessary. We just look a bit silly now eh lads?


But this is teh internets, where else are we supposed to express our rage? :D

[Corey_R]

My observation was thus based upon logic, not a detailed knowledge of the manual. To me, Pepe Simpleton, logic would tell me that a component with a measurement designed to be visually observed should probably fall within the limits displayed on that component during all forms of normal operation, including when the engine is cold at start-up... but hey, that's just me, more than happy to be corrected if somewhere in the manual it says "it's fine if the coolant level is below the MIN line at startup"... it strikes me as an odd approach for VAG given the OP is unlikely to be the only person to have checked their coolant levels while the engine is cold.

Whilst I can appreciate your logic, as I have already said many times, in this case you are wrong. Not "maybe wrong", not "kinda wrong", just wrong. Black and white. Can I ask that you please stop providing advice that WILL POTENTIALLY DAMAGE MEMBERS CARS until have you checked the manual (presuming that the OP has a Golf MK6 here) and understand the advice that it provides.

Where your logic fails is that you are "assuming" that the "Max" line means the maximum that the coolant will rise to when the car is hot and under normal operation. This is not correct. It is a "maximum fill line" based on when the engine is cool.

If you actually read the manual for the MK6 Golf rather than being mislead by google, you would find that when the car is cool and on a flat surface, the coolant should be within the "shaded" areas between the two lines, and if not filled so that it is within that area.



I'm going to close this because I simply don't see the use of people constantly coming in here and posting INCORRECT INFORMATION which could not only potentially cause terminal harm to your car, but cause severe injury to the operator who fails to check the coolant correctly (as per the owners manual).

If you don't have an owners manual for your car, then call your VW dealer and request it.