Dirty Coolant?

[tigerbalm]

My car is a year old and looking at the expansion tank the coolant looks very dirty. Is this normal? Car has just had it's first service (at a volvo garage) and nothing was mentioned about the coolant. It's also slightly over the MAX mark on the tank. Should I worry?

[stevo48]

I would have thought at just a year old the coolant should be the colour of the anti freeze blue/green or whatever colour it is.
If the coolant in the expansion tank is a cloudy brown colour I would be going to the dealership and asking for a thorough system flush and pressure test.

[tigerbalm]

It's definitely a cloudy brown colour!

[John_C]

That doesn't sound right, it sounds very much like oil or exhaust gasses are contaminating your coolant. I'd get it checked ASAP.

The 1st service probably only includes a visual check on the coolant level as it's basically just an oil change.

Cheers,
John

[tigerbalm]

Thanks folks for your help so far. On further inspection I syringed out some of the coolant from the expansion tank. To be honest, outside of the tank it looks more clear than cloudy/brown. It's still definitely not green like it was a year ago.

[nozmeister]

I can't be sure if it's the same problem but my coolant went brown and had "bits" in it after the car had done about 18K.

Took it to the garage and they diagnosed the cause as a small amount of "cast sand" that couldn't have been flushed out when the engine was made.

Noz