Coolant - G12 or regular
 

Hi, I have a 2004 A4 Avant 3.0L Quattro, and on the weekend the Coolant signal came on. I checked the coolant and it was really low in the reservoir. I noticed that it was PINK color. Well, I have some Prestone coolant, so i mixed it 50/50 and added it to the reservoir. Is it bad to mix the two different coolants? Later i read in the manual that it "recommends" some G12 (i don't know what that is). I've always used the Prestone in my BMW, and never had a problem. Not sure if Audi requires something special or if it was wrong to mix the pink and the green Prestone coolant. Please let me know. Thank you.

hmm i dont think they advise to mix coolant. Something to do with it eating up the inside of the pipes most being plastic and all.. . .

Yeah I read somewhere that the Audi 1.8T recommends the g12 and one reason is because of the phosphate additives in other coolant 50/50 brands. I just went out tonight to buy g12 rated coolant myself, I actually came across a G40 mix that was stated "exceeds g12 specifications" and also stated "recommended for 05 audi/vw 1.8T." Also a lot of talk on the forums about "what the car left the factory with, is what you should replace with" so another words if a certain type of oil was used to fill it at the factory new, then use the same oil, same goes with all fluids, including G12.