How long does Coolant last in a car?

How long does coolant last? Welcome to Mercie J Auto Care, where compassion and craftsmanship come together. I'm Rick Smith, master certified technician. Coolant can also be referred to as radiator fluid or antifreeze and that’s the fluid that basically circulates through your engine, through your radiator and also through your heater core and keeps your engine. If you pop the hood on your car, you'll probably find a sticker that says to replace the coolant every 150,000 miles, so it can go for a while, much longer than your engine oil. However, the fine print will usually say no more than five years because it can degrade overtime. It starts to develop acid and it also starts to develop electrolysis. So at Mercie J, we recommend your first change be somewhere around the five-year or 50,000 mile range. After that we suggest we shorten it up a little bit about three years, 36,000 miles. The reason for that is the number one most expensive repairs that our clients have are cooling system failures causing engine damage. I hope this has been informational to you. Until next time, safe travels and blessings to you.