Heads up on those new 'universal' coolant test strips

I used to just trust the old-school refractometer for everything (you know, the green one in the drawer). Last month, a strip from a bulk pack said a Ford's coolant was fine, but the refractometer showed it was way off. The shop owner in Toledo said the strips can get weird with the newer orange and yellow coolants. Anyone else run into this and have a brand they actually trust?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer_ellis3mo ago

Man, I was totally in the same boat. Always grabbed the strips because they were fast. Had a Honda come through where the strip read okay but the coolant was basically water. That was it for me. Went back to the refractometer and just keep a separate bottle for the different coolant types. Those strips just can't be trusted anymore.

danielh813mo ago

Wait, but how often does that REALLY happen? Seems like a freak thing. Most of the time the strips are fine.

grantl943mo ago

Spencer saying the strips "just can't be trusted anymore" is a bit much. I see it the other way. The problem is using ONE tool for every single job. Those universal strips are fine for a quick check, but you HAVE to know their limits. If a car has that weird yellow stuff, of course a strip made for old green coolant might get confused. It's not that the tool is bad, it's that people use it wrong. I keep both strips and a refractometer around and pick based on what I'm looking at.