Hi, I found a small leaking near upper hose and I'm planning to replace it and flush the cooling system(never flushed before). I have a question about how to set it to Heater mode. Should I just turn fan speed to maximum and press temperature button to increase target temperature to a high number with A/C off? How many minutes idling is recommended? 10 minutes?


Another question is: Is it OK to use "Prestone total cooling system cleaner" for the first cycle?

Thanks! Any suggestions will be appreciated.


BTW: my car is 2010 Nissan Maxima S with 115K mules(first owner), and still runs strong. I love it!

 

Just to ensure you are aware....you are going to do a flush on a 13 year old car that may have a radiator ready to go. Having said that ( they arent that expensive nor difficult to replace) sure, flush away. The chemicals in the flush, while mildly corrosive, may do more harm than good but generally safe for cars that have had their coolant ssrviced regularly.

Turn the heat on max, and let it idle (or rum a bit on the street if uou are around ice and snow) until you cant stand it! Make sure the car is cool before opening the system or you risk scalding yourself.

 

thanks for your comments. I forgot to mention that my car was hit by other car and insurance company replaced front bump including radiator in 2015. So my radiator is only 7 years old and still in good condition. So, I just need to set temperature to a high number and turn fan speed to maximum with A/C off, right?

 

Correcr!

 

Thanks. Finally, I replaced upper hose and flushed the cooling system. The original coolant looks not dirty after 8.5 years/60K miles.