I flushed my coolant system and need to refill. I've seen threads from the past that G-05 used to mention MINI compatibility on the jug. That's no longer the case. Is it still safe to use, or should I get official BMW stuff?

 

fwiw - I have a 2009 cooper s and I used prestone Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant (yellow in color), when I flushed my cooling system after replacing cracked thermostat housing at 70K miles.

No problem to date, and I now have 82K miles. imho - bmw blue coolant is over priced and, it seems like thermostat housings and/or water pumps fail at ~70K miles on our cars anyway, no matter what coolant is used :-)

 

It is probably more important to use distilled water than the actual coolant brand. The minerals and impurities in tap water is a significant source of corrosion and contaminants.

That being said, the $10-20 extra for the BMW coolant is probably worth the remote chance that there are any incompatibility issues.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Use the BMW stuff or any other g48 spec coolant.

If you use some other brand you must fully flush (with water) to prevent coolant cross contamination.

G05 is not the same spec. This is due to Valvoline.... Not Mini saying it's compatable.

 

Thanks for your replies. I went ahead and got the BMW coolant. Pretty blue Kool Aid.

 

What some people may not realize is the BMW/MINI fluid is full strength and needs to be diluted 50/50 with distilled water. So for the little extra price you are paying to get the correct fluid you are also getting two gallons of fluid compared to the one gallon of the other stuff.

 

You make a great point. I diluted it with distilled water, but many people might not know this.