# 2009 MINI Cooper - Can I mix coolant?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/2009-mini-cooper-can-i-mix-coolant/190541>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** mini, coolant\
**Created:** [May 10, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2009-mini-cooper-can-i-mix-coolant/190541 "2023-05-10T17:26:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ollie2003](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d26b3c/32.png) [@Ollie2003](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Ollie2003)\
**Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2009-mini-cooper-can-i-mix-coolant/190541/1 "2023-05-10T17:26:38Z")

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Can I mix coolant colours from red to blue when topping up my coolant tank?

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**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\
**Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 10:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2009-mini-cooper-can-i-mix-coolant/190541/2 "2023-05-10T22:10:17Z")

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NO,NO,NO!  
**Only** Use specified coolant,

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2009-mini-cooper-can-i-mix-coolant/190541/3 "2023-05-10T22:21:12Z")

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The car doesn’t care about the coolant color. But any coolant used must meet all of the manufacture’s specifications, otherwise you risk problems you definitely don’t want to have, like head gasket failure. Very expensive. If at all unsure, best to purchase replacement coolant from a dealership.

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**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2009-mini-cooper-can-i-mix-coolant/190541/4 "2023-05-11T14:38:18Z")

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When was the last time the coolant was changed? If you don’t know or are the original owner, it might be a good time to flush the coolant system and replace the coolant with whatever BMW recommends for the 2009 Mini.

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**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2009-mini-cooper-can-i-mix-coolant/190541/5 "2023-05-11T15:41:58Z")

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On another note, how much coolant are you losing? You’re not supposed to lose more than a minimal amount, so perhaps there’s a problem to investigate here.

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**Author:** ![Beancounter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/59ef9b/32.png) [@Beancounter](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Beancounter)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2009-mini-cooper-can-i-mix-coolant/190541/6 "2023-05-13T21:18:40Z")

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BTW Some of the Mini’s were prone to a complete cooling system failure, which resulted in a cooked engine and a premature trip to the auto graveyard.  
During a short stint at a “Donate Your Car” facility I saw about half a dozen beautiful Mini’s (great little car) arrive with this problem and quickly dispached to the scrap yard. Broke my heart but the labor cost of even a used engine replacement was way more than the car would be worth.

So if you’re showing ANY coolant loss I’d IMMEDIATELY take it to either the Dealer or a Mini Specialist for a complete leak test and consideration of a coolant pump replacement .