Went for an oil change 2 weeks ago and when I looked at the bill today, it said my coolant was "low" so they added a litre of DEXCOOL!!! And this sadly wasn't at a quick lube place.

I called the garage and they say it's "ok" because they use the "universal" type that is "compatiable" with "all" coolants as per the bottle. I'm not so sure based on what I've read here.

Has any damage been done by driving two weeks with the wrong coolant? And what's the best way to get rid of it? A complete flush? I want to diy it since I'm tight on cash, but with weather we're having, want to wait until it gets warmer, is this a smart move or should I do it now?

 

no get it flushed out. I would ask to see the bottle so you can verify yourself. I flush the system out and put in oem but that's just me. dexcol aint hoat that I know of. so they truly screwed up

 

If they added those universal antifreeze like Prestone or Peak you see in part store in, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

But if they added DEX-COOL, you'll need to flush it out. Mopar antifreeze are HOAT, and GM Dex-Cool is OAT, when you mix them, they start gelling up and tend to clog heater cores. Clog heater core are the worst case scenario, I've never see an engine damaged due to wrong coolant.

It is not hard to flush it as DIY for 2010 Caravan. You can easily disconnect the Lower Radiator hose from the waterpump outlet pipe. Just by doing that will drain like 80% of your antifreeze.

Just drain it, fill it up with water and a bottle of flush solvent, run the engine few minute, drain it again, and fill it back up with a 60% coolant 40% water mix.

Either way, Chrysler recommended changing the coolants every 5 years, you are almost due regardless.

 

Read it and weep. Shove this in the shop's face. Right out of Alldata