Technical Service Bulletin
19 Identifying and mixing factory fill engine coolants
19 18 97 2025303/9 December 12, 2018. Supersedes Technical Service Bulletin Group 19 number 18-94 dated
October 23, 2018 for reasons listed below.
Model(s)

Year

VIN Range

Vehicle-Specific Equipment

All

1994 - 2021

All

Not Applicable

Condition
REVISION HISTORY
Revision

Date

Purpose

9

-

Revised Technical Background (Updated information)
Revised Service (Added information on Audi e-tron)

8

10/23/2018

Revised header data (Added model years)
Revised Technical Background (Added G12evo information)
Revised Service (Updated Figure 2 and added information)

7

06/20/2018

Revised header data (Added model years)

Discontinuation and mixing of Audi-approved engine coolants.

Technical Background
 G11, G12, and G12+ coolants have been replaced by an improved version.
 G12++ coolant (for service available) has been introduced in MY 2005 for all engines.
 G13 has been introduced in MY 2008 as factory filling and service.
 G12evo has been introduced in some MY2018 models as factory filling.
 Modern combustion engines make higher demands on the coolant. Audi is one of the few manufacturers
whose coolant does not require changing. Therefore, the coolant has to be adjusted to the requirements and
constantly developed further.

Production Solution
No production change required.

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© 2018 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
Service
Identifying and mixing factory fill engine coolants:
1. Based on its color, identify which
coolant the vehicle was filled with from
the factory (Figure 1).
Tip: Figure 1 is shown for color
identification only; coolant packaging
may vary.

Figure 1. The color of each type of engine coolant. G11 (greenblue), G12 (red), G12+, G12++, G12evo, and G13 (purple).
2. Using the chart below, determine if the vehicle has the correct coolant (Figure 2). If a vehicle is found to have
the incorrect coolant, drain and fill the coolant system using the procedures in ElsaPro.

Figure 2. The table identifies which Service coolants (left) can be added to the Factory Filled coolant (top).

Color

Ratio description

Green = Can be mixed in any ratio.
Yellow = Mixing is possible but it will cause a reduction in corrosion protection.

Page 2 of 4
© 2018 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
Red =

Cannot be mixed.

How to use this table:
1. Check which coolant additive is in the cooling system.
2. Look for the coolant additive in the upper horizontal row.
3. Go down the green column. All coolant types of the green and yellow fields (described in the left vertical
column) can be used. But preferably the coolant marked in in a green field should be used.
G12evo part number G 12E100M2 coolant concentrate 1.5L must only be used if suggested by ETKA
using the vehicle VIN number.
If G12evo is not available, G13 can be added to vehicles produced with G12evo (exception Audi e-tron).
A complete draining of the cooling system is not required.
Note:
Only G12evo can be used in the Audi e-tron.
Coolants can be mixed, as described in the chart, but it is always best practice to change the coolant due to
reduced corrosion protection when coolants are mixed (exception: G12++, G12evo, and G13 are fully
compatible).
Only mix distilled water with coolant additives per ElsaPro.
Deionized water must not be used.
Drained coolant must not be reused.
Note:
When the coolant is changed due to a cooling system issue, the cooling system should be drained using the
Repair Manual procedures in ElsaPro and refilled with water.
Then, run the engine for 15 minutes with the heater on to remove any residual coolant.
Final step is to drain and fill the system to the freeze protection ratio listed in ElsaPro.
Tip: If G11 is mixed with G12+, G12++, G13 or G12evo the coolant becomes brown (this is normal). The
G12++ scale should be used when using the refractor T10007A to read the freeze protection for the G12evo
coolant.
If it is unclear whether a cooling system is filled with G12, G13 or a mixture of the two, use the G13 scale of the
refactors T10007A/B to read the freeze protection.
Cooling system drain and fill due to coolant mixing, or incorrect coolant, is not covered by Warranty.

Page 3 of 4
© 2018 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
Warranty
This TSB is informational only and not applicable to any Audi Warranty.

Additional Information
All part and service references provided in this Technical Bulletin (2025303) are subject to change and/or
removal. Always check with your Parts Department and/or ETKA for the latest information and parts bulletins.
Please check the Repair Manual for fasteners, bolts, nuts, and screws that require replacement during the repair.
©2018 Audi of America, Inc. All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest
information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make
changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may
these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

Page 4 of 4
© 2018 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.