What is the difference between antifreeze and coolant? Do I need to change the antifreeze in summer?

In winter, when I go to the 4S store for maintenance, I often hear reminders to change the antifreeze. Some people also say that they need to change the coolant. Is antifreeze the same as coolant? There are many people who cannot distinguish. Today we will talk about some issues with car antifreeze.

There are a wide variety of coolants, and anything that can be added to the cooling system to cool the engine is called coolant. Antifreeze is a type of coolant. In addition to cooling, it also has an important function of antifreeze, so it is also called antifreeze. Nowadays, antifreeze is used in the cooling system of vehicles, so it can be roughly assumed that antifreeze and coolant refer to the same thing. When it comes to replacing antifreeze, it actually means changing the coolant, and vice versa. Changing the coolant means changing the antifreeze. Someone may have replaced the coolant themselves, but the coolant added may not be antifreeze. For example, if water is used to cool the coolant, it cannot be said that water is antifreeze. In addition to adding water, there is also something called anhydrous coolant, which cannot be simply called antifreeze. The original coolant used in the car is antifreeze, and the coolant that was replaced at the 4S dealership is also antifreeze. This means that antifreeze is the most common and widely used type of coolant, and almost every car uses antifreeze.

Everyone will replace the antifreeze in winter because they are afraid that the weather will be too cold and damage the cooling pipes and even the engine. So, do we need to replace the antifreeze in summer? According to the maintenance manual, antifreeze should be used at all times and should not be replaced with water. It should also be replaced promptly in summer. But in actual use, if the antifreeze has reached the replacement cycle in summer, it can be temporarily left unchanged and postponed until winter to replace it without any problems. If the antifreeze leaks due to a malfunction, then after repairing the malfunction, it is necessary to add antifreeze or drain all the original antifreeze and add new antifreeze, which is equivalent to replacing it all. You cannot replace it with water first. Use it for a summer and wait until winter to replace the antifreeze.

In addition to antifreeze, antifreeze also has other functions, such as rust prevention, corrosion prevention, lubrication, high boiling point, and less scale, which water does not possess. After adding water, the rust and corrosion of the waterway will become faster, and the generation of scale will also become faster. In addition, the boiling point of water is low, making it easy to boil and boil in summer. So in summer, antifreeze should also be used. Of course, if the leakage of antifreeze causes high water temperature on highways or in remote areas, and the car does not have antifreeze, water can be added for emergency use. After adding water, you can at least continue driving, otherwise you can only wait for rescue. When you can find a repair shop, you can do the repair and replace all with antifreeze. The replacement cycle for antifreeze is relatively long. Some cars can last up to 5 years, while most cars only require 3-5 years of replacement. The mileage is generally 60000 kilometers. Of course, before replacing it, it is best to do a check to see its antifreeze ability. If there is a significant decrease, it can be replaced again. If the decrease is small, even if it has reached the end of its lifespan, it can be left unchanged.

From：WONDEE Autoparts

2024-6-20