I had the message pop up on my screen so I took it to the dealer yesterday. They looked at the message, popped the hood and looked at the level and decided everthing was ok. Got back in my truck and reset the computer. They told me that since I only have 32,000 miles on my truck I should not worry about anything and the message just means to look at the level of the coolant to make sure I have enough. They said to bring it back at 80K to have the coolant flushed. Does this sound right? I know they sell test kits and I even asked the guy if they needed to test it, but his response was not with 32000 miles on it.
jposes
Check coolant additive light came on
It might help if you listed some info about your truck. You can also download a copy of your user manual and see what kind of maintenance is scheduled at various miles and/or engine hours.
https://owner.ford.com/tools/account/how-tos/owner-manuals-search-results.html
https://owner.ford.com/tools/account/how-tos/owner-manuals-search-results.html
If they didn't test it I'd ask why. I think that message is a 15k interval and it will pop up again.
Your command center will pop up a Check Coolant message about every 13,000-15,000 miles.
The test check for Nitrites in the Coolant ( all previous Superduties used Nitrite based coolant) Your test should be 0% If somebody added the wrong coolant, You need to drain, flush and refill. If you know that nobody has every added the wrong coolant, You could skip this test.
The second test checks for Freeze Protection. New this coolant is good down to about -50°. If you have not diluted it, it will probably still be close to that kind of protection.
Third Test is for Corrision Inhibitors. Our coolant is OAT based and coats the metal with coating that prevents rust from forming with the water in the coolant. You can add the VC-12 Coolant Revitilzer which will restore the Corrision Inhibitors twice during the coolant life. Your coolant is rated to last 105,000 miles under normal use and 60,000 in severe duty.
After having paid for and used the test kits on my 2011 truck and not seeing the coolant fail. I'm inclined to follow your dealers advice, As long as nobody has been "Topping off" your coolant. If you need to add some fluid to get up to the fill mark, and you have not added it before, Just use the Coolant Revitilzer VC-12 to top off the tank. ( No more than 48oz, and not more than twice in the coolants life) Or use the pre-mix bottles of coolant from Ford.
The test check for Nitrites in the Coolant ( all previous Superduties used Nitrite based coolant) Your test should be 0% If somebody added the wrong coolant, You need to drain, flush and refill. If you know that nobody has every added the wrong coolant, You could skip this test.
The second test checks for Freeze Protection. New this coolant is good down to about -50°. If you have not diluted it, it will probably still be close to that kind of protection.
Third Test is for Corrision Inhibitors. Our coolant is OAT based and coats the metal with coating that prevents rust from forming with the water in the coolant. You can add the VC-12 Coolant Revitilzer which will restore the Corrision Inhibitors twice during the coolant life. Your coolant is rated to last 105,000 miles under normal use and 60,000 in severe duty.
After having paid for and used the test kits on my 2011 truck and not seeing the coolant fail. I'm inclined to follow your dealers advice, As long as nobody has been "Topping off" your coolant. If you need to add some fluid to get up to the fill mark, and you have not added it before, Just use the Coolant Revitilzer VC-12 to top off the tank. ( No more than 48oz, and not more than twice in the coolants life) Or use the pre-mix bottles of coolant from Ford.
This seems to be the standard answer. I went to two dealerships when the message popped up at 15,000 miles and got the same response but neither bothered to check the level. Maybe there is a service bulletin that tells the techs not to bother with routine bothersome pop up service reminders and just brush off the customer. The message says check coolant additive not check coolant level. Apparently the additive can break down and has to be replenished from time to time and the only way to know is with the test procedure and test strips.
The additive is VC-12. The light comes on based on engine run time. Here's something you might find helpful- http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/maintenance/6_7L_Diesel_Care_Tips.pdf
Does anybody wait to change their oil until the truck recommends an oil change? Or are we all on the change at every 5,000 miles unless you have a lab stating you can go further on you OCI? If you do wait for the truck to say it, how long are you looking at?
Just seeing if I should ver from the planes I have and have used to keep me vehicles in good working order or if there is new information out there that could help out. I oil change every 5,000 miles regardless. My truck is pretty 'severe duty' duty in my mind and I'll explain it and you let me know what your thoughts are. This is a farm truck and is used to pull heavy loads a lot. I live on a rough 5 ish mile dirt road that we maintain pretty damn well during the summer months, but come fall and then winter the road have gone to **** and wait till spring to start fixing them again. I'm always in 4wd on the last 3 miles of the road regardless of condition its in because it's going up and down about a dozen 10% grades at low speeds. So I have explained the roads and now I'm driving these roads two to three times a weeks which is 4-6 drives on it a week. And that's with just the truck. In the spring I hook up to the gooseneck and take the cows from our farm to our other pasture about twenty miles away. So now towing lots of weight on crap roads going super slow. Then I take my horses the following day to same pasture. Then I'm done messing with cows for a while. Drive my truck in the summer to pick up firewood. I pick up about 5 trailer loads completely full of logs which gets me about 10-12 cords of wood a year. Then I had to pick up another 4 trailer loads as we built a barn. Then in he fall I grab up all our hay for the winter which is about 30 tons a year, so I have that weight driving these roads and it takes me quiet a few trips to get all my hay home. After the snow is here and to stay I drag all my cows and horses home where they stay til early summer. I have to drop calves for a good while and then the **** starts over. I'm looking at driving only 10-12k a year on it and this is the stuff I know I do every day every year and doesn't account for any other crazy crap I do that I can think about. Like when I drive hay to my cousins house about two hours away. So am I correct to continue servicing this thing under severe duty or is my truck not doing enough to be n that class. Just want to get the fluids the correct intervals they deserve and figured it's the least I can do to keep my truck working at top notch. Thanks
Just seeing if I should ver from the planes I have and have used to keep me vehicles in good working order or if there is new information out there that could help out. I oil change every 5,000 miles regardless. My truck is pretty 'severe duty' duty in my mind and I'll explain it and you let me know what your thoughts are. This is a farm truck and is used to pull heavy loads a lot. I live on a rough 5 ish mile dirt road that we maintain pretty damn well during the summer months, but come fall and then winter the road have gone to **** and wait till spring to start fixing them again. I'm always in 4wd on the last 3 miles of the road regardless of condition its in because it's going up and down about a dozen 10% grades at low speeds. So I have explained the roads and now I'm driving these roads two to three times a weeks which is 4-6 drives on it a week. And that's with just the truck. In the spring I hook up to the gooseneck and take the cows from our farm to our other pasture about twenty miles away. So now towing lots of weight on crap roads going super slow. Then I take my horses the following day to same pasture. Then I'm done messing with cows for a while. Drive my truck in the summer to pick up firewood. I pick up about 5 trailer loads completely full of logs which gets me about 10-12 cords of wood a year. Then I had to pick up another 4 trailer loads as we built a barn. Then in he fall I grab up all our hay for the winter which is about 30 tons a year, so I have that weight driving these roads and it takes me quiet a few trips to get all my hay home. After the snow is here and to stay I drag all my cows and horses home where they stay til early summer. I have to drop calves for a good while and then the **** starts over. I'm looking at driving only 10-12k a year on it and this is the stuff I know I do every day every year and doesn't account for any other crazy crap I do that I can think about. Like when I drive hay to my cousins house about two hours away. So am I correct to continue servicing this thing under severe duty or is my truck not doing enough to be n that class. Just want to get the fluids the correct intervals they deserve and figured it's the least I can do to keep my truck working at top notch. Thanks
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