Do I really have to use Dex-Cool coolant in my GM car? Or will any type of coolant work?
April 22nd, 2010 | 
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The whole Dex-Cool thing seems like a big scam to me. It is more expensive than other types of coolant. Will my engine really heat up and start on fire if I use just any type of coolant?
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I wouldn’t call Dex-Cool a scam, but it does seem rather unnecessary. The whole idea behind Dex-Cool is that it’s supposed to last for 100k miles without needing to be changed. This is stupid, because crap still gets built up in the cooling system and should be flushed occasionally.
Bottom line, using regular 50/50 coolant will keep your engine running at the right temperature just as well as Dex-Cool.
Thoroughly flush the system and put a good quality coolant in it – you’ll be fine.
I honestly think Dex Cool is 50% hype and 50% BS.
I wonder also if it’s coincidental that the vehicles that mandate its use are the same vehicles that are eating up intake and head gaskets at an alarming rate.
any coolant will work….dex-cool is just what they "recommend" but anything works
I agree with Ark. If you look at antifreeze that’s on the shelf these days, most say on the bottle that they mix with any type of antifreeze.
I have a ’96 Chevy truck that came with Dex-Cool from the factory. I replaced it with standard green antifreeze 4 years ago and it has been fine.
no you don’t need dex-cool, just flush the system real good and put in whatever coolant you want, i had dex-cool in my 98 chevy silverado and put regular coolant/antifreeze in, no changes necessary other than actual coolant change
If it has Dex-cool in it I would continue to use it. If the red stuff is mixed with the yellow/green stuff the two will react and create a muddy looking stuff that will clog up the cooling system and make it overheat. Without taking the engine out and turning it upside down you cannot flush it out good enough to get all of one type of antifreeze out to put the other type in. Regardless of how much you flush through it any other way there will still be some of the stuff in there.
You don’t have to use Extended -life coolant, but just keep in mind, it will void your new car warranty and second, the car will need to be flushed every 30k or 2 yrs, compared to once every 5 yrs or 150k for a GM vehicle