What is the function of vehicle antifreeze?
2 Answers
Vehicle antifreeze is a type of coolant containing special additives, primarily used in liquid-cooled engine cooling systems. Antifreeze has excellent properties such as preventing freezing in winter, boiling in summer, and offering year-round protection against scale and corrosion. Antifreeze replacement cycle: Vehicle antifreeze generally needs to be replaced every 2 years or 40,000 kilometers. This is just a reference cycle. For commercial vehicles with longer mileage, the replacement cycle is shorter. Since the driving conditions of each vehicle vary, the replacement should be based on actual usage. Check the condition of the antifreeze; if it is found to be insufficient, replenish it promptly. If suspended matter, sediment, or signs of deterioration or discoloration are observed in the antifreeze, it should be replaced immediately, and the system should be cleaned. What is antifreeze: The full name of antifreeze should be antifreeze coolant, meaning a coolant with antifreeze functionality. Antifreeze can prevent the coolant from freezing and expanding, which could crack the radiator or damage the engine cylinder block or head during cold winter parking.
Back when I was a car repair apprentice, my master always said that antifreeze was the lifeline of an engine. Last winter, a car owner tried to save trouble by adding water instead, and the entire radiator froze and cracked like a spiderweb. Actually, antifreeze doesn't just resist freezing—it can also handle summer temperatures up to 120 degrees without boiling over. If you're on a long drive and see the temperature gauge spiking into the red, chances are the antifreeze needs replacing. It also prevents scale from clogging up the pipes like limescale in a kettle, and, more crucially, it fights corrosion—without this protection, a cast-iron engine can rust through from the inside in just two or three years. The last time I opened up an engine cover, I saw cooling pipes in a ten-year-old car that were spotless, all thanks to regular antifreeze changes. My advice is to replace the entire reservoir every two years or 40,000 kilometers—don't just top it off like refilling a mop bucket.
