Can you mix new "Purple" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

cdroadwarrior

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

When I went to change my coolant, I could only do a partial coolant change because my oil-cooler coolant hoses were so aged that they wouldn't come off. I now have the replacement hoses and am ready for a full coolant change, but have one snag.

I ordered the G12 coolant from Impex, and they informed me that VW has now changed their G12 coolant to a new chemical formula that is Purple and they went on to say that it is not a good idea to mix the purple and the pink G12. I am doing this change in my parking lot, as I don't have access to a garage, so I can't do a complete flush. Therefore, I can only do a drain and replace, which I know doesn't get out all of the fluid.

Does anybody know if these two G12 coolants can be mixed without causing any problems?

Thanks for your help!

- Brock
 

dieseldorf

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Yes, it's completly acceptable to mix G12 with the new G12+.

I am suprised IMPEX can't sell you the original G12 since you can still purchase G11.
 

cdroadwarrior

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

I was pretty surprised as well. When I went to order the G12, they were the ones who mentioned about it being the "new" purple G12 from VW and that was all that they supposedly had. I hadn't even heard of Purple G12 before calling them. When I mentioned to him that I had bought the pink G12 at a VW dealership a week before, he seemed really surprised that they were still selling the Pink G12. When I asked them if they were compatible, they said mixing it with a little residual Pink G12 was OK, but that you shouldn't mix significant portions of the two together.

I found it really strange that if this was the case that VW wouldn't classify it something like G13 and specify that cars that currently require G12 to have a complete change if the system needed it.

I really appreciate getting your response to this, as it makes my life a lot easier. It also makes a lot more sense than what I heard from Impex.

- Brock
 

Birdman

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

I will take care of that problem at impex tomorrow. I found out this Morning the Dealership down the rd from us has stated not to mix the 2. That was what John was going on. says small amounts will not hurt it but not to mix half and half. I really don,t believer this since they did not change the part # just the color.
 

Birdman

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Just got off Phone With VW customer service and according to LARITA LEONARD they are fully compatable. She checked with VW tech support so we are good to go \ IF a problem comes up we go back to her.
 

farmerchuck

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medina,ohio,usa
Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Just bought a gallon of the purple G12+ yesterday from the VW dealer. Had to replace the ECT sensor. Was told by the VW parts guy that it was completely compatible with the pink G12.
 

Birdman

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

You would think for the prices they charge they would have better training, I had a guy call this morning for 6 pan bolts that were not replaced right. at 125 hr, and VW wonders why they are looseing their customer base. Two weeks ago I sold a audi air cond. vent for under 40 $ now it is over 130$ They will not sell many that way. They had changed the plastic pan prices to 112$ but yesterday checking a Bug they had bumped the price to 0ver 300$. yet they left the jetta and golf alone, for how long who knows. This may well be my last VW.
 

dieseldorf

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

there's full backwards compatability with both G11 and the pink G12.
...I've got the bulletin
 

tjl

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

there's full backwards compatability with both G11 and the pink G12.
...I've got the bulletin
Be careful though. Once you put the purple G12+ in a car that had blue G11 or pink G12, you'll have a reservoir that is purple. You then may not be able to tell if there is only G12+, G12+ mixed with G11, or G12+ mixed with G12. Putting G12 in a car with mixed G12+ and G11 may be a problem. So only put G12+ in cars that already have purple coolant.
 

cdroadwarrior

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Was there any reason given in the bulletin as to why they changed to the new Purple coolant? I would guess that they changed so that it could go into cars that required G11 or G12 so that they could stop stocking both G11 and G12. I will have purple fluid in my reservoir after tonight!

I want to thank everybody for being so helpful in clearing this up for me!

- Brock
 

dieseldorf

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

It's VAG's program of always advancing the state-of-the-art and it's a more forgiving product than the g12.
 

cdroadwarrior

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Considering that Impex was the place that actually first informed me of the purple G12 and that they said they didn't have any of the Pink G12 and that they didn't think you could even get the pink stuff at the dealership anymore, it is rather surprising that when I went to actually put in the coolant that the stuff they sent me was the Pink G12!!!!!!!! Does it say G12+ on the bottle? The serial number of the stuff they sent me was G 012 A8FA4. I had assumed that some of the serial numbers had been changed for the new G12, but when I started pouring it, I could see it was Pink! Does it say G12+ on the new Purple coolant? They also sent me the wrong coolant hoses in the same order, so this has not been my best experience with Impex to date (who have usually been really great, so I don't mean to bash them at all).

Either way, I am just happy to have fresh coolant in finally!

- Brock
 

dieseldorf

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

<font color="purple">G12+ >> </font>



The original <font color="red"> G12 </font> carries P/N: ZVW 237 G12
 

cdroadwarrior

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

I should have thought to do that, so I appreciate the help! I guess I do have G12+. It certainly doesn't look very purple, but I might just be color-blind!lol

- Brock
 

dieseldorf

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

... but I might just be color-blind!lol


that was going to be my next suggestion
 

paramedick

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Considering that Impex was the place that actually first informed me of the purple G12 and that they said they didn't have any of the Pink G12 and that they didn't think you could even get the pink stuff at the dealership anymore, it is rather surprising that when I went to actually put in the coolant that the stuff they sent me was the Pink G12!!!!!!!! Does it say G12+ on the bottle? The serial number of the stuff they sent me was G 012 A8FA4. I had assumed that some of the serial numbers had been changed for the new G12, but when I started pouring it, I could see it was Pink! Does it say G12+ on the new Purple coolant? They also sent me the wrong coolant hoses in the same order, so this has not been my best experience with Impex to date (who have usually been really great, so I don't mean to bash them at all).

Either way, I am just happy to have fresh coolant in finally!

- Brock
I had the same experience with this part number. In fact, two different bottles of coolant, with two different part numbers, but the same coolant inside. Pink!

Y'all reckon VWs supplier serviced the pooch on this one?
 

dieseldorf

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

dunno....I've seen the new G12+ in a new car. <font color="purple"> It is most definitely purple</font>
 

cdroadwarrior

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Maybe I am not color-blind! lol It looked for all the world like it was just as pink as the original stuff and it was if nothing else not distinctly different from the original pink stuff.

Do you think that it may be chemically different but some of the G12+ is just pink, or was I just getting the old G12?

Now that I think of it, I wonder if G12+ and G12 have the exact same part number, and Impex just put in their system that this part number is Purple even though their stock is the Pink stuff?

I think I will be giving Impex a call pretty soon just out of curiosity to find out what is in my car!

- Brock
 

dieseldorf

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

The original <font color="red"> G12 </font> carries P/N: ZVW 237 G12
 

cdroadwarrior

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Do you think that the new Purple G12 just comes in two different colors with the same chemical composition for both?

Thanks again,

- Brock
 

dieseldorf

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Brock, I don't believe so. The bulletin clearly states that the G12+ is <font color="purple">VIOLET </font>.
 

cdroadwarrior

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Then the stuff that Impex sold me was mislabeled and contains the old G12, as I looked at it again in my car and it is as pink as it could be and does have the new part number. Also, I could clearly see the distinctly purple color that you made some of your text, so I am not color-blind!
lol

- Brock
 

dieseldorf

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Also, I could clearly see the distinctly purple color that you made some of your text, so I am not color-blind!



I think it would be inappropriate for you to blame this on the good people at IMPEX. Who knows, perhaps Pentosin mixed the stuff up when they bottled the last batch...


<font color="purple"> the stuff definitely looks like weak, grape Kool-Aid! </font>
 

cdroadwarrior

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

I am sure you are right that it is somewhere in the supply chain above Impex as it is very much a VW labelled product, but there is something going on, as it hasn't just happened to me. With very few exceptions, I have had a great experience with Impex and have been buying stuff from them for years and have saved a lot of money through them, so I appreciate your diplomatic suggestions!


- Brock

P.S. Maybe in another 80k miles I will change my coolant again, as Grape Kool-Aid sounds really good!
 

redmondjp

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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

'Dorf, are you 100% sure that p/n G012A8FA4 is REALLY for the G12+?

I'm in the same boat as the other poster. I ordered four gallons of G12 PLUS from Impex and I received the G012A8FA4 part number, exactly as pictured in your post.

The color is a dark pink, not what I would call purple, in all four bottles. So, wanting to get to the bottom of this whole fiasco, I went to my local VW dealer (ha ha, you say, but read on) and here's what I found out:

First I went to the parts department. The parts person said that he had seen the bulletin from VW regarding G12+, and they decided that they didn't really need to stock it since they were already stocking G11 and G12. They had bottles of G11 (w/s washer fluid blue color) and the G12 (+???) with the identical p/n as listed above. The color of the contents of all of their G12 bottles on the shelf matches what I got from Impex--pink.

So then I went into the dealer showroom (a.k.a. "dark territory", for me, anyways
)--looked under the hood of a 2005 Toureg--oops! The coolant reservoir is black ABS--can't even look into it anymore
.

Then checked the 2005 Golf TDI parked next to it (actually sat in it too--nice!). Coolant bottle says "G 12" on it and had pink contents, identical in color to the bottles above.

Now to add even more to this confusion, I checked another two 2004 or 2005 Golfs on the dealer lot, and the coolant bottles in both cars had what appeared to be orange coolant--it looked like orange Tang drink mix.

Is is possible that the G12+ (purple) looks pink to me, and the orange-looking stuff is really the G12?
When I think purple I'm thinking of grape cool-aid.

So can anybody post either a picture of some actual G12+ coolant and/or the bottle that you purchased it in? Even better if you can show G12 and G12+ side-by-side.

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here, but my '96 has G11 in it now, so I really don't want to use G12 by mistake and gunk the works up.

Hoping to end the confusion, once and for all . . .
 

Veep

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New Britain, CT
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Can you mix new \"Purple\" G12 Coolant with PinkG12?

Whilst visiting www.motospot.com and looking at their Motul lineup, I noticed they sell a coolant concentrate called Inugel Optimal Ultra.

The pdf with the specs says it meets G12, but this stuff is <font color="orange"> </font> orange.


Anybody know anything about this stuff? If I'm off topic I'll remove the post.

Thanks for reading,
Vic
 

nicklockard

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I can confirm that this stuff most definitely does NOT look purple, not remotely. I just bought a gallon of part# G012A8FA4 at Herzogg-Meir. It is pink.

I asked for G12+ if they had it. All the guys said they'd never heard of such a thing; I said fine, can I have G12 then, and they brought me this G12+

[rant]**sigh** They'd also never heard of 506.01...dealers are ****ing CLUELESS!!! Don't they EVER do any training??[/ahhhhhh]
 

dubStrom

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G12 plus is G012 A8FA4

It seems that one question here is whether G12 plus is different than VW/Audi part number G012 A8FA4, and the other question is whether it can be added to "purple coolant". Also, if G12 plus is substantially different than G12 plus plus. I am not sure where the plus comes from, but I think this refers to the new G12 that supersedes G012 A8FA4. Maybe someone can clarify that. To answer the first question (or just add more controversy!):

ECS tuning appears to call G012 A8FA4 by the name G12 plus. They do state it is no longer available, but...Here is a link to the webpage:
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/G012a8fa4/ES4330/

where is states two things. First:
"OEM VW / Audi replacement fluid for all vehicles that came with purple antifreeze"

NOTE: It is definitely pink.

and then, a description:
G12 Plus is an antifreeze for passenger cars and trucks meeting the quality requirements of the automotive manufacturers especially suitable for alloy engines. It protects excellently against corrosion and cavitation does not foam prevents lime formation and is neutral to different types of metals rubber parts and sealing materials which are used in the engine construction. It is produced under stringent quality controls and has proved excellent operating performance in daily use. G12 Plus free of nitrite amine and phosphate.

As far as I am concerned, any minor differences that might or might not exist between the pink stuff in my coolant reservoir and G012 A8FA4 will not reduce the performance of the coolant that is in there. It is pink as well. And, information on this website say OK to mix purple and pink or red coolant

http://blauparts.com/vw/vw_fluid/vw_coolant_engine_fluid.shtml#bluevwcoolant

An important quote from the site
The purple and above pink Vw coolant are interchangeable and can be mixed.
And another (similar statements are made FOUR times- once in descriptions for red/pink and purple coolant descriptions.
This pink and the below purple Vw coolant are interchangeable and can be mixed.

They also state NOT to mix blue or green coolants together, or mix them with pink or purple coolant. Oddly, there is a statement that there is ethylene glycol in green coolant (well, yeah!), and if you mix pink or purple with green, you must flush (!).
But my bottle of G012 A8FA4 clearly states that is contains ethylene glycol (and it is pink?!). Just weird, isn't it?

I would guess that a mixture of the chemicals in these was probably tested at some point during development. The current formulation is probably lacking/gaining one or two less expensive ingredients, or less of a more expensive ingredient that was deemed unnecessary (cost cutting-profit driven change).

I got a gallon of G012 A8FA4 with my old 2003 Jetta years ago (was in the trunk). It is still sealed. I am topping off the reservoir this weekend with it, because the level in the reservoir has dropped just enough to cause conductance between the prongs to dip below set point periodically, and the warning sound and light are triggered.

This will fix it. And I would be very, very surprised if there were any unforeseen consequences in my lifetime. I will flush and refill in another year anyway.

What the heck. As far as adding pink to purple goes... I would do that as well and Blauparts doesn't warn against this. Who knows, it might actually work better! But it is unlikely to cause precipitation, lime scaling, corrosion, degradation of seals, etc... and it probably would result in a solution that resists cavitation and doesn't foam. Think about it... these formulations are designed specifically to be NOT reactive, and NOT to dissolve sealant. They are water soluble and not reactive. They will mix and not react with each other, not dissolve seals, not corrode, not cavitate, and not foam. If the coolant in my reservoir was purple, I would add it anyway.

The real question is... Does anyone here have any credible evidence that mixing purple and pink coolant has resulted in damage to their cooling system?
Based on Blauparts notation that it's OK to mix purple and pink... I think not.
 
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