The 2016 CX-5 manual's Sched 1 says the coolant doesn't need to be replaced til 120,000 miles - or ten years - then every 60,000 mi or five years. But then on page 6-22 it says "at least twice a year (to do what? Change it? Check it? Drink it? It doesn't say). Then somewhere else it says to check it once a year.

So wassup with this? On the normal maintenance schedule, how often (I'm going by months, not mileage) should it be checked/topped off? And can it really go the first ten years without a change?

 

It would appear you may be overthinking this. Long-life coolant (which all manufacturers use these days) is exactly what the name implies. It's meant to be changed at 120k miles or 10 years, whichever comes first. As for how often to check it, in my 3.5 years of ownership I've had to top off the expansion tank maybe three times and each time I only added a pint or so of distilled water (unless you want to invest $20 in a gallon of FL-22 coolant). So check it every three months, if you want to be on the safe side, and just enjoy the ride!

 

Got it...thanks!

 

If you are concerned about it, and I would be, you can test the fluid with the engine running put a multimeter on low DC voltage setting between the coolant and a ground source, but ONLY the fluid, not the sides of the radiator, the radiator core (aluminum,) or any metal near there.

 

thanks!

 

On the Radiator cap or Overflow bottle cap, is there "FL22"?

If so, this is Mazda's longlife coolant. Good for 10yrs or 200,000kms.

All the CX5s built in Japan have FL22, all mazda cars built in Japan from about 2008 onwards have FL22 coolant.

I would assume USA & Canada would use the same coolant.

 

Yes, it uses FL22.