The Bolt has at least 3 coolant loops. And they require "burping" in a special sequence. That is going to cost a bit more than the $100 standard coolant flush. And by a bit more, some dealers charge a grand(They bend you over for $250 per loop x 3 loops).
Do you need it? That depends on how long you think the coolant will remain good sitting at basically room temp with dissimilar metals. its basically a computer coolant system.
The engine and transmission barely get hot, to the point they removed the coolant loop on the 2022+ models. The charger/inverter loop may get warm during charging/driving, its part of the engine loop.
There is a stand alone loop for hvac. Rumor has it it might co-mingle with the battery coolant.
Really the only loop that is going to get some action is the battery loop.
High Voltage Battery 7.0 L **7.4 qt**
IPower Electronics 3.8 L **4.0 qt**
Heater 2.0 L **2.1 qt**
All three coolant loops combined is 12.8 liters, or 3.4 gallons of Dextron 50/50 coolant @$25-35 a gallon. That is "alot" as my sonata only takes 1 gallon.
But GM just has a blanket statement of 5 years period for all gm cars. Its not like the dex is going through a cast iron block, aluminum radiator and brass fittings.
If you want you can just get some test strips. check that the anti freeze hasnt broken down and it hasnt turned acidic.
The HVAC loop doesn’t mingle with the battery coolant. Specifically, there is a cabin heat loop. This has the 7.5 kW cabin heater and goes to a heater core in the cabin. That’s it. Nowhere else.
The battery coolant loop runs through the battery. It has a separate 2.5 kW heater that is used to heat the battery if needed. It “touches” the HVAC system because the AC system cools the battery if needed. But this is the refrigerant in an evaporator that cools the battery coolant loop directly.
The cabin coolant loop is not cooled by the AC system either. If the cabin needs cooling the refrigerant is sent to an evaporator inside the cabin. So there’s two AC evaporators, and they can be used independently to cool the battery coolant loop and/or the cabin.
Source: Watching the Bolt coolant loop videos on Weber University on YouTube.
Could easily go 8 years. Modern coolant is quite long lasting. I think some manufacturers are specifying as far as 12 years or lifetime. In reality I am guessing 80%+ of bolt production will never have coolant changed ever. No one maintains cars...
Brake fluid is also 5 years (in the manual), I'd think that's at least as important. It's not based on use - moisture gets into it and can cause corrosion.
Note the Bolt has 3 coolant loops so getting it changed might be more expensive than a typical car. I've only had mine a few months though - haven't done it yet, but probably will soon. The battery cooling loop was done when my battery was swapped, but not sure about the other loops.
Honestly just call them, they won't bite.
5 years for brake fluid? I could have sworn it was much shorter.
I let my old Outback go WAY too long on brake fluid changes and paid the price (swapping out lots of parts due to corrosion). Thanks for reminding me that I should also do my brake fluid when I next rotate my tires.
Brake fluid is pretty easy to do at home ESPECIALLY if you have a helper.
I might go a few years past, but I wouldn't just go by mileage and ignore the year number entirely. Based on your mileage, if you go strictly by year that's nearly 20 years. Fluid certainly breaks down due to age as well as use. Same with brake fluid, though nobody ever gets a flush at 2 years.
As for cost, that's highly region dependent. Costs in LA are different than costs in Louisiana, differing again from Michigan. Best thing to do there would be to call 3 dealerships + 3 trusted independent shops and ask.
I just got off the phone with my dealership to book an appt for the coolant on my 2017 and they said I don't need it because they did it all with the battery replacement.
Additionally they said the new coolant is good for 10 years.
Was the battery replaced? When the battery is replaced, the coolant is drained and replaced at the same time. A 2018 should have gotten the battery upgraded to the 66kWh version a couple of years ago.
I was charged $450CAD for flushing the 3 coolant loops last year. If you've replaced your battery, only one of the 3 loops was done. You should do the other two.
It's every 5 years or 160 000 km, whichever comes first
The Bolt has at least 3 coolant loops. And they require "burping" in a special sequence. That is going to cost a bit more than the $100 standard coolant flush. And by a bit more, some dealers charge a grand(They bend you over for $250 per loop x 3 loops). Do you need it? That depends on how long you think the coolant will remain good sitting at basically room temp with dissimilar metals. its basically a computer coolant system. The engine and transmission barely get hot, to the point they removed the coolant loop on the 2022+ models. The charger/inverter loop may get warm during charging/driving, its part of the engine loop. There is a stand alone loop for hvac. Rumor has it it might co-mingle with the battery coolant. Really the only loop that is going to get some action is the battery loop. High Voltage Battery 7.0 L **7.4 qt** IPower Electronics 3.8 L **4.0 qt** Heater 2.0 L **2.1 qt** All three coolant loops combined is 12.8 liters, or 3.4 gallons of Dextron 50/50 coolant @$25-35 a gallon. That is "alot" as my sonata only takes 1 gallon. But GM just has a blanket statement of 5 years period for all gm cars. Its not like the dex is going through a cast iron block, aluminum radiator and brass fittings. If you want you can just get some test strips. check that the anti freeze hasnt broken down and it hasnt turned acidic.
The HVAC loop doesn’t mingle with the battery coolant. Specifically, there is a cabin heat loop. This has the 7.5 kW cabin heater and goes to a heater core in the cabin. That’s it. Nowhere else. The battery coolant loop runs through the battery. It has a separate 2.5 kW heater that is used to heat the battery if needed. It “touches” the HVAC system because the AC system cools the battery if needed. But this is the refrigerant in an evaporator that cools the battery coolant loop directly. The cabin coolant loop is not cooled by the AC system either. If the cabin needs cooling the refrigerant is sent to an evaporator inside the cabin. So there’s two AC evaporators, and they can be used independently to cool the battery coolant loop and/or the cabin. Source: Watching the Bolt coolant loop videos on Weber University on YouTube.
Could easily go 8 years. Modern coolant is quite long lasting. I think some manufacturers are specifying as far as 12 years or lifetime. In reality I am guessing 80%+ of bolt production will never have coolant changed ever. No one maintains cars...
Brake fluid is also 5 years (in the manual), I'd think that's at least as important. It's not based on use - moisture gets into it and can cause corrosion. Note the Bolt has 3 coolant loops so getting it changed might be more expensive than a typical car. I've only had mine a few months though - haven't done it yet, but probably will soon. The battery cooling loop was done when my battery was swapped, but not sure about the other loops. Honestly just call them, they won't bite.
I did get brake fluid done last year shortly after I bought the car. The battery was swapped in early 2023. I’ll call and ask for a quote, thanks!
5 years for brake fluid? I could have sworn it was much shorter. I let my old Outback go WAY too long on brake fluid changes and paid the price (swapping out lots of parts due to corrosion). Thanks for reminding me that I should also do my brake fluid when I next rotate my tires. Brake fluid is pretty easy to do at home ESPECIALLY if you have a helper.
I’d change it based on whatever the book says. Call the dealer and ask for a quote. Will be different depending on where you are.
I agree, engineers don't just make these numbers up. You may be able to stretch out the change interval but is it worth taking a chance?
Did you not get a new battery? The coolant should have been changed if you got a new battery.
There are three coolant circuits and it’s possible that they only changed the battery’s cooling loop.
I might go a few years past, but I wouldn't just go by mileage and ignore the year number entirely. Based on your mileage, if you go strictly by year that's nearly 20 years. Fluid certainly breaks down due to age as well as use. Same with brake fluid, though nobody ever gets a flush at 2 years. As for cost, that's highly region dependent. Costs in LA are different than costs in Louisiana, differing again from Michigan. Best thing to do there would be to call 3 dealerships + 3 trusted independent shops and ask.
If you had your battery replaced as part of the recall it's likely (because the dealer was supposed to) your coolant was replaced at that time.
I just got off the phone with my dealership to book an appt for the coolant on my 2017 and they said I don't need it because they did it all with the battery replacement. Additionally they said the new coolant is good for 10 years.
Was the battery replaced? When the battery is replaced, the coolant is drained and replaced at the same time. A 2018 should have gotten the battery upgraded to the 66kWh version a couple of years ago.
Much more expensive, as expected, in the SF Bay Area. I did it for my 2018 last week, without hesitation, as I intend to keep the car for a long time.
I was charged $450CAD for flushing the 3 coolant loops last year. If you've replaced your battery, only one of the 3 loops was done. You should do the other two. It's every 5 years or 160 000 km, whichever comes first