What color is the coolant/antifreeze in your Renegade? User manual says to use Mopar 10yr/150,000 OAT coolant...which from looking online appears purple in color...and the 5yr/100,000 Mopar coolant appears to be "orangish" color from what I can see online. The coolant in my reservoir is "orangish"..not purple.
Coolant
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I'm absolutely sure that the the Chrysler OAT is usually purple. My friend has a Dart and the coolant looks purple. Orange-red indicates a HOAT like G-05. No idea why you'd have a HOAT in your Renegade. Maybe another manufacturer (Zerex?) has orange-red OAT that is also used a factory fill? Call Chrysler customer service and ask them.
By the way, even longlife coolant needs to be replaced if any metal components of the cooling system are replaced with new ones. Otherwise the coolant does not have sufficient anti corrosion additives to protect the new metal parts. That means, if you need, for example, a new water pump, you need to also replace the coolant.
By the way, even longlife coolant needs to be replaced if any metal components of the cooling system are replaced with new ones. Otherwise the coolant does not have sufficient anti corrosion additives to protect the new metal parts. That means, if you need, for example, a new water pump, you need to also replace the coolant.
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Good info, thanks.
I think I found the answer...
The dye color of antifreeze has nothing to do with antifreeze formula or performance. Chrysler’s G-05 contains orange dye to distinguish it from a yellow dye antifreeze previously used. Other users of G-05 have yellow or even blue dye. However, GM DexCool, a purely organic acid type, also has orange dye, and this has been a source of service industry confusion. Fiat’s OAT, although a different formula, also has orange dye*and it has been used in early production of the*Dodge*Dart. rt. The new Chrysler OAT, however, will have a purple dye.
Guess we had the "Fiat OAT" filled in factory.
http://articles.sae.org/11284/
The dye color of antifreeze has nothing to do with antifreeze formula or performance. Chrysler’s G-05 contains orange dye to distinguish it from a yellow dye antifreeze previously used. Other users of G-05 have yellow or even blue dye. However, GM DexCool, a purely organic acid type, also has orange dye, and this has been a source of service industry confusion. Fiat’s OAT, although a different formula, also has orange dye*and it has been used in early production of the*Dodge*Dart. rt. The new Chrysler OAT, however, will have a purple dye.
Guess we had the "Fiat OAT" filled in factory.
http://articles.sae.org/11284/
If you know what coolant is in there, you can find out what's compatible. Call the coolant manufacturer's customer service hotline and ask them.
It gets confusing. I am coming from the VAG stable of vehicles and there were rules regarding miscibility in terms of coolant color. Neighboring colors are generally miscible, colors on the other side of the color wheel are not:
"Normal" coolant:
Green miscible with blue
Blue miscible with green
"Longline Coolant"
orange, miscible with red
"Improved Longline coolant:
Red disciple with orange
Purple, mix only with purple
Please understand these were the rules regarding coolants for VW/Audi/Porsche vehicles and those rules may not apply to the brands. Sadly you cannot rely on going just by color when deciding what's miscible. By the way, you cannot really trust your eyes when judging the color of coolant. I myself have seen purple count that I could have sworn was orange.
With coolants there are many different types: Organic acid additive, Hybrid Organic acid additive, coolant with silica, low siclia and silica-free coolan, longlife coolant. Mixing different kinds can result in the worst case scenario gelling of the coolant and damage to the cooling system.
When in doubt about miscibility, don't mix without first ensuring compatibility. Always flush the cooling system thoroughly when switching from one type coolant to another. I switched my Audi from the conventional blue type to the orange Dexcool type of longline coolant without any problems after one year of ownership.
Zerex Compatibility Chart (PDF)
Yeah, that's funny, you're right about not trusting your eyes sometimes with these colors. I went to the local dealer and got the coolant the salesman and the user manual recommended. It was $20 w tax...not bad. Thanks for everyone's input. 
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My coolant is purple.
What is the level of your coolant? Mine is just above or just on the low line.
What is the level of your coolant? Mine is just above or just on the low line.
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This is correct. Color doesn't indicate anything about what type of coolant is what.
A level anywhere between the minimum and maximum marks with cold coolant is fine. Do not top off above the max mark when the coolant especially if the coolant is cold, or you run the risk of excess hot coolant being expelled and soiling your engine and offending your nose.
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Apologies, I just checked again and it seems that I have the orange radiator coolant (not the purple).
A friend mechanic told me that the orange radiator coolant is the cheapest. The purple one (G12+) is much better as it has higher temp stamina (it is designed for cars that are driven in higher temp climates) and better lubrication abilities.
I plan to change mine to purple as soon as the warranty is over.
For the time being, I will just top it up to the "max" line.
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Ofcourse, probably the orange coolant that my friend refers to, is not the same as the one that Chrysler uses. In the article posted earlier it says that this orange coolant is a cocktail of different acids.
In any case, I plan to change mine to purple as soon as the warranty is over as the new Chrysler OAT will have a purple dye.
VW G12+ is purple. There may be other purple coolants that are not the same formula as G12+ and thus not interchangeable. G12+ is what I have in my Audi. Before that I had G12, which is similar to G-05 Dex-Death (Dex-Cool) and Prestone Yellow.
The whole unreliable and haphazard coolant color coding is a quagmire for which you can thank the various manufacturers who have decided that confusing the customer is desirable.
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Never had to top mine up. Me, I would use the recommended coolant as specified by Jeep, that way should there be any problem, you can't be blamed for using the 'wrong' coolant.
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