[RWebb]

New vehicles have long-life coolant packages, and don't need the coolant flushed out for decades (some say "never," but I am pretty sure they will still need it before my tectonic plate is recycled back down into the magma).

The coolant in my Vanagon is 2 years old & is one of the official VW coolant types (no doubt made by Pentosin). I lost a quart or two yesterday when changing a temperature sensor for the EFI system (I erred in relying on comments from a VW person that very little coolant would come out when I removed the sensor, and it took me a minute to deploy a catch basin).

You can buy test strips for coolant and there are places here that will test the coolant for free (using those strips). Does anybody know what those strips really test? And how accurate they are?

I'm not so worried about freezing point protection as I am about:
1. corrosion protection (on this Al alloy engine)
2. cavitation
3. foaming
4. lime formation

My thought is to add Subaru coolant conditioner and some distilled water to get the levels back where they should be, and to defer a coolant flush for a couple of years, esp. since there are so few miles put on this vehicle every year (often < 1,000 miles/year).

Thoughts?