[bcemail]

2010 with 175k. Not real familiar with engines but starting to do more maintenance. Was looking at what I think is the coolant reservoir, white plastic tank in the middle of the radiator. I think the level is down below the minimum mark. Am I correct? Opened the radiator cap and didn't see fluid.

I know some fluids go up and down with use. This was after sitting over night. Do I need coolant? Any particular type that I'm supposed to use? Do I fill at the little white cap near the radiator cap? Thanks!

 

[thscott]

You are definitely low on coolant.
get the genuine Honda “blue” coolant. Add to radiator until full. Reinstall radiator cap. Then add coolant to the plastic reservoir until it is midway between the marks. Drive it for awhile and see if you need to add more coolant. Do not open radiator cap when it is hot. Check both the reservoir and the radiator.

 

[surgeon]

That looks lower than normal since the fins top is dry. But you can see some color below the min mark on reservoir. If you remove the reservoir cap and put the drops from the hose on to paper towel, you can make sure of its color too. Or if you shine some light next to the plastic, you might be able to tell its blue. I know that when I had radiator work done long long ago, I got green coolant. I then changed to blue.

If you are in a rush or using the van in that condition, you can get aftermarket coolants for Asian vehicles in blue. Although Honda OE is best, Zerex Asian is also another highly recommended. Then anything else but make sure its for Asian vehicles. Also note how much you poured in so that you can keep track. Coolant normally goes down in the reservoir after several months (esp A/C use) and you just fill back to top mark. When it goes so much down in radiator, tracking helps to ensure it a low problem vs slow leak somewhere.

Make sure to recheck in a week after you refill, so that all is good.

Note: As for color, anything Asian is fine but highly recommended to keep it Blue for Honda.

 

[bcemail]

Thanks! Had some coolant from my CR-V so topped it off. I'll keep an eye on it for the next couple of weeks

 

[oldspiceFL]

I once had trouble identifying a coolant leak on my 2010 LX, so I took a black magic marker and drew tick marks on my reservoir between MIN and MAX. The tick marks really helped me spot the leak because my leak was very slow. I kept the marks small and tasteful, nothing huge, maybe 1-inch long horizontally at the most then perhaps 1-inch between them vertically. Good luck with the repair