Here is a statement about antfreeze from one of the UK's largest suppliers.

Antifreeze / coolant used to be simple, you tested the fluid with a hydrometer & if the reading showed too little Antifreeze / coolant you topped up or replaced the fluid.

There was one grade of antifreeze / coolant, manufactured to BS6580 (1992) and it was Blue.

Now the majority of modern engines are designed to use a specific grade of antifreeze / coolant and the one thing you can guarantee is that modern vehicles will not have BS6580 as the specified product. BS 6580 is now a minimum quality standard for antifreeze / coolant that has been largely replaced by vehicle specific grades such as:

Audi TL774-D, Ford WSS-M97B44-D, ISUZU, Renault D, Jaguar WSS-M97B44-D, MB 325.3, SAAB 6901 599, Seat TL774-D, Skoda 61-0-0257, Vauxhall QL 130100 and Volkswagen TL774-D.

Most cars since 2,000 have specified Organic Acid Technology (OAT) based Antifreeze / coolant, commonly red in colour and with a 5 year life. Recently most HGV’s have also moved over to OAT. Yet sales of Blue BS 6580 antifreeze / coolant are still 75-80 % of the independent aftermarket, with sales of OAT based Antifreeze / coolant 15-20%.

Is this due to price? It’s true that OAT Antifreeze / coolant is on average 15%-20% more expensive but with at least twice the lifespan, overall it works out excellent value to the consumer.

Or is it Education, how many people are aware that by topping up red antifreeze / coolant with blue they will reduce the lifespan of the red from 5 years to 1-2 years. It will also reduce the efficacy of the inhibitor package significantly. While we wouldn’t fill an engine specified for synthetic oil with Mineral we don’t take Antifreeze / coolant as seriously?

In a modern engine the cooling system works incredibly hard it contains less fluid than a decade ago and works at higher pressures. Tolerances are much finer & as little as 0.6mm of scale can reduce heat transfer by 40% often leading to overheating of the engine.

The design of a modern engine relies on the high performance inhibitor package in an OAT based antifreeze / coolant to keep the system clear of scale sludge and gelling, while maintaining the PH balance of the solution. A hydrometer will tell you if the freeze protection for the Antifreeze / coolant is in specification but it cannot measure the efficacy of the inhibitor package.

Replacement of Antifreeze / coolant to the manufacturers schedule is essential for corrosion protection and the longevity of the engine.

As the service life of most OAT antifreeze / coolant is 5 years, replacement for most vehicles will be in the independent sector, this represents an opportunity to offer a premium service to the customer.

More importantly are we missing an opportunity to upsell, would a consumer object to paying a little more for the correct grade of coolant and all the benefits it offers?

With a change of coolant charged at £40~£80 checking when it was last changed could be time well spent.