When It’s Cold, Consumers Might Add the Wrong Coolant

When It’s Cold, Consumers Might Add the Wrong Coolant

In colder weather, it’s fairly common for a consumer to add the wrong kind of coolant to their vehicle. While experienced counter pros and technicians know there are different types of coolant, the average person doesn’t.

Sponsored by GMB North America, Inc.

In colder weather, it’s fairly common for a consumer to add the wrong kind of coolant to their vehicle. While experienced counter pros and technicians know there are different types of coolant, the average person doesn’t.

Explaining Coolant Issues to Customers

A customer who has added the wrong coolant to their vehicle needs to understand why this is a problem, and why they need a coolant flush. Counter pros should explain the two major problems: overheating or staying too cold.

Tell the customer that when an engine overheats, it causes three big issues:

  • Excessive wear and tear on the components inside the engine
  • Bad internal-combustion timing (meaning reduced engine performance)
  • Coolant leaks (also a sign of a bad water pump)

When the engine is too cold, the following issues can arise:

  • Difficulty heating up the engine
  • Reduced fuel economy
  • Reduced performance

Customers also need to understand that if one type of coolant is mixed with another, the mixture sludges up, making it difficult to run through the engine. This causes the engine to overheat quickly.

Additionally, problems can arise from using the right coolant too. Even if the customer adds the right coolant to their car, they often fail to mix it properly and/or they overfill the system.

What Happens to a Car Running on the Wrong Coolant?

In addition to the risk of engine issues from overheating or staying too cold, using the incorrect coolant can cause water-pump damage. The wrong coolant won’t properly protect the mechanical seals in the water pump, making it easier for particles to get in and corrode the seals. This will cause the water pump to leak, requiring replacement.

Questions to Ask Customers

It’s important for customers to understand how critical it is to have the right coolant in their engine. Counter pros should get in the habit of asking the following questions:

  • When is the last time your cooling system was serviced?
  • What type of coolant is in your car right now?
  • Have you experienced any of the symptoms of water-pump damage?

This also is good opportunity for counter pros and technicians to educate customers about the importance of maintaining their cooling system and how using the right coolant is the first step.

This article was sponsored by GMB North America, Inc. For more information, please visit our website at www.gmb.net

You May Also Like

Advanced Filtration Is Key to Vehicle Longevity

Let’s face it, we love our cars – and we drive a lot. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Americans drive more than 13,000 miles per year on average. Although the miles continue to rack up on our cars and trucks, their overall shelf life keeps increasing. Once upon a time, vehicles

Let’s face it, we love our cars – and we drive a lot. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Americans drive more than 13,000 miles per year on average.

Although the miles continue to rack up on our cars and trucks, their overall shelf life keeps increasing.

What Causes Fuel Pumps to Fail?

Like most vehicle components, natural wear and tear is the unavoidable cause for parts replacement. Fuel pumps are often out of sight and out of mind for most shop visitors. That’s because they are an as-needed repair and not typically a part of ongoing maintenance. Nevertheless, if you diagnose fuel pump failure, customers will want

Protecting Your Vehicle in the Winter

Depending on where you live, autumn is an idyllic time of year with bright colors and mild temperatures. If there is one downside though, it means that winter is on its way, which means frigid temperatures, snow, ice and difficult road conditions. The lifespans of cars and trucks are increasing all the time, so protecting

A Closer Look: Standard® Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI)

Gasoline direct injection (GDI) is used on most new vehicles and requires a different approach to diagnosis and service. GDI technology has been an integral part of helping to improve fuel economy while reducing emissions, and can be found on more than half of the U.S. fleet. In fact, the use of GDI engines has

Overcoming Supply Chain Issues in Today’s World

Many legislative and environmental mandates have affected the collision repair industry over the last decade. To comply with such mandates, vehicle manufacturers continue to design vehicles with increasingly advanced electronics, ranging from Advanced Driver Assistance Systems that increase safety, helping people with everything from parking to driving, to the recent push for electric vehicles. They’ve

Other Posts

High Oil Consumption?

A common question an OEM oil supplier like ENEOS sees is how to tell when oil consumption becomes excessive? Since a few factors could be involved, here are some of the potential implications. How much is too much?First, because of wear, vehicles are more likely to consume engine oil as they age. Common culprits that

The Value of Replacing the Water Pump and Timing Belt Simultaneously

Water pumps have long been considered the heart of a vehicle’s cooling system. Although its sole function – pumping coolant from the radiator through the engine – seems simple, it’s a crucial process to keep engines running at optimal temperatures. Unfortunately, some drivers can overlook this – along with proper care for the part. On

Fill Your Customers in About Total Vehicle Filtration

If you’ve ever wondered what one of the biggest threats to a vehicle’s engine is, the answer is microscopic particles. If these tiny specs of dirt and dust aren’t filtered properly, they will quickly accumulate inside the engine, which can cause significant damage to many parts. Worse yet, this can lead to complete engine failure.

A Closer Look: Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS)

Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) Overview: Advanced Driver Assist Systems have been quite the industry buzz over the last several years. We have seen new business opportunities arise, and even a new segment of mobile technicians focusing on ADAS calibrations. While ADAS may seem relatively new, automotive service professionals have been servicing Driver Assist Systems