Which coolant for BMW 328i?

[Nic Sanchez]

I thought this was going to be simple. My wife's car low coolant light went on. It just needs to be topped off.
I decied to do some research on which antifreeze to buy. Boy am I confuse now.

Do I need to stay with the BMW OEM antifreeze or is it safe to purchase another brand?



Thanks,
Nic

[John Stimson]

Traditional coolant is based on ethylene glycol, and is green unless you buy it from Toyota (theirs is red).

GM developed an extended use coolant based on a different chemistry, and it is orange.

If your car has green coolant, use green. If it's orange, use orange. Don't mix them. It would be bad.

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

Do I need to stay with the BMW OEM antifreeze or is it safe to purchase another brand?

Stay with the OEM, but if you get another brand mix it with distilled water (get it at any supermarket).

[John Stimson]

If you want to get that specific, coolant is sold as pre-mixed or concentrate. You should dilute concentrate with distilled water. They cost about the same for the same sized jug.