Can I change coolant?
 

My 2207 HHR LT which I bought 1 month ago came with the Red coolant and it's more than halfway gone.

I have about 1.5 Gal of 50/50 Green coolant and 1 Gal Full strength Green coolant.

Can I flush the Red coolant out with a hose and just use the Green coolant?

You should flush it out and recycle the green stuff and refill with DexCool 50/50 (orange stuff).

Did you consider finding out where it is going?

The Green Gals I have are new/unused. I dont want to waste them. It is Red in the wagon that I want to get rid of.
And when I say "get rid of", I do not mean flush it down the middle of the street where kids are playing.
I mean it as a figure of speech without having to write an essay.

Gee, you are reading way to much between the lines.
My point is that neither the red nor the green are correct for your HHR. Only DexCool is.

Red is for Honda, green is for Ford, orange for modern GM. It is written right there on the pressure cap and in your Owner Manual.

If you don't want advice don't ask for it.

When DonBrew asked the question Did you consider finding out where it is going?, he wasn't giving you a hard time. He was asking if you considered why it's down by half. The car should not lose that much coolant. A little is normal. Changing it is a good thing, but you need to find out why it's so low to begin with. Also as said don't use anything but DexCool or a certified DexCool compatible fluid. Using the green just to avoid wasting it is not good for the car's cooling system. The red stuff may already have caused an issue that's making it lose fluid.

My car has had no coolant in it since new. Should I add some now ?

Naaa, you'll only end up worrying about leaks.

MED CHECK FOR CAT MAN HHR!!! :)

Follow the Owners Manual. The Dex/Cool should be changed every 5 years as well.
Lil preventative maintenance will save you money in the long run.

I am not speaking from technical knowledge but I picked up a 2.2L ecotec to put in my buggy and I put in the green coolant 5 years ago and we run these engine at 4000-4500 rpm all day long and beat them up I have not had a problem and my boy is running the red, just saying. I am more concerned for the wifes 2.4L HHR that I would like to be more correct with BUT what is correct and why.

You're going to need a crystal ball to look ahead 188 years.! :number1:....................:lol:

You never opened the hood and looked at the expansion tank cap, or looked in your Owner Manual?

You could say the because it is GM is being a bully and insisting that you buy their product. Wrong! GM does not make DexCool, many companies do. It is illegal for them to do that, they would have to supply it for free if they did.
So, Occam's Razor says just maybe they are recommending a product that they have actually put time and money into researching.

There is no reason NOT to follow GM's recommendation, there is little difference in price between the various types of anti-freeze.

The thing is, it's not a problem until it's a problem. I've always followed the owners manual. I typically put 160k or more on my vehicles before I'm done with them. My HHR is approaching 157k and I have no plans to get rid of it. I have not had an anti-freeze leak or any cooling issues on any of my GMs since they switched to DexCool.

Read the labels. Some coolant is green and labeled safe for DexCool engines. I'm thinking that stuff is OK, but that the manufacturer does not want to pay to license it as DexCool. Often this stuff is a little cheaper, but since the coolant is good for 5 years or 100k, the savings are a moot point.

That did cross my mind. So no coolant for me. :idea:

lmao

Make sure you have tight pants on to hold that thing in place. :biggrin2:

:roflol:

I don't blame the original poster for not answering...………………..

OK I see you don't like the humor.
What is your suggestion to the OP even though the person hasn't responded ?
There might be people lurking looking to find an answer.

I'd like to add a few comments to this discussion about the miracle benefits of Dex-cool.

Some say use dex-cool, otherwise your hoses will deteriorate - To that I say BS - if that was true, there sure would be a lot of vehicles sitting at the roadside. I've owned several vehicles of various manufacturers and NEVER had to replace a rad or heater hose on any of them (and I keep my vehicles 10 years typically, and sometimes much more than that).

Some say use dex-cool, as the green stuff is not friendly to aluminium heads and blocks - To that I also say BS - the green stuff contains anti-corrosion components and works just fine, in my aluminium engined vehicles and motorcycles for many years.

The same goes for head gaskets and water pumps, and heater cores which have also been pointed out as failure points due to the evils of the "green stuff". Some have even suggested that when someone is encountering a temperature problem with the cooling system that they change out the green stuff to dex-cool insinuating that the green stuff won't work properly to keep the engine cool - what?????

Come on people, dex-cool is not a miracle product - use it if you desire, but lets not exaggerate the situation.

Now I am not saying Dex-cool is not a good product - it works just fine - it lasts a good 5 years and is now commonly available. GM recommends it, so use it if desired in your HHR or GM vehicle. But using the "Green stuff" won't cause your HHR to fall apart, overheat etc. etc., and it too typically now lasts a good 5 years as well. Read the label, and change it as recommended.

Very good points and experience whopper. Guess I'll wait for the rebuttal posts that are sure to come.

Now. If I could just figure out why my "green stuff" filled , bought new, 1998 Dodge truck has the bypass hose rot and blow out every 5 years and the heater hose twice. I just change all the hoses every 5 years or when it blows one again. Yes, I'm using quality replacement hoses. Gates brand usually.
Wonder if I should try Dexcool in my truck ?

Hey there FMG - a good old 88 dodge truck!!!! - ya can't beat them to death with a stick typically. The 88 dodge Avenger, also bought new, I just sold a few months ago, still had the original rad and heater hoses, and original head gasket and water pump etc. etc.. that dang car just would not die. Even the original clutch - and I drove the carp out of it.

A lot of it depends on the luck of the draw I think.

Closing thread on coolant
 

I see that conversation was shut down. I think it can go on.
Here is what what I was going to post before it was locked out:

Hoses will become bad if there is air in the system (from the inside) or the compound of the rubber can't withstand engine heat (from the outside). Having a closed cap system helps with not having air in the system. I have a 83 Monte Carlo that came from the factory with this type and as long as the radiator cap is the proper one or even a little bit higher there is no problem, along with a recovery/expansion tank. Yes thru age I have replaced the hoses, but it's a maintenance thing, just like fan belts.
I have installed a TPI 350 in the Monte with aluminium heads and radiator. I'm using pink Caterpillar antifreeze. This pink stuff was used in over the road trucks because of the aluminium radiators. Cat now makes orange. The manual says not to mix. Flush system and install the orange. I will say when customers would add the orange to the green to top off their systems the coolant turned brown. Cat said it was silicant drop out. When I did drain those systems I did see residue and it wasn't rust. I used a magnet to see if I could pick up particles and there were none.
Here is something to read and maybe give your thoughts back on it:
https://www.thoughtco.com/antifreeze...r-green-262558

Why did we need 4 pages of comments AFTER the OP got really weird and did not return? Is it even possible that something has not been covered?

The OPs question was: is it safe to change the anti-freeze from red to green?

We really don't care what people are using; we do care about what the manufacturer has recommended. They have done actual science on the subject, not "my dad used Prestone for years and his radiators only clogged up once.

Use whatever you want, at your own risk. We will not be supporting it.

This one is closed too.