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Can You Mix Yellow and Orange Antifreeze? (Explained)

Antifreeze is a very common element used by all motor vehicle owners. This is because it is very useful and great at lowering the freezing point of water.

Since it is a very common element used by many, it is very important to note if you can mix specific colors of antifreeze together or not. 

Can you mix yellow and orange antifreeze?

Even though it might be tempting, mixing yellow and orange antifreeze is not a good idea. Firstly, not knowing the chemical composition and still mixing them can be unsafe. Besides that, you might end up making something completely different which can also end up damaging your vehicle. 

You should not just mix and put any antifreeze in your vehicle. Yellow and orange coolants each are made up of very different components and mixing them together can do more harm than good.

You never know what you might end up mixing and what it might create. That can be very dangerous so you must be well informed about it and be very careful as well. 

Since these both colors of antifreeze are made of different components, they have different functions that they provide. It is never a good idea to mix and match them because they might not work well together.

For example, if you try to mix yellow and orange coolants they might form an element that is similar in texture to jelly. When that happens, the end product created turns into very thick material.

This can be very harmful as it means it will not move smoothly in your engine and as a result, your engine can overheat and break down. 

Is it okay to mix yellow and orange antifreeze?

Unless you are an expert, never attempt and try to mix yellow and orange antifreeze together. You might not know the chemical composition of each of those antifreeze which can cause you to make something else entirely. 

For example, by mixing yellow and orange antifreeze which you are not supposed to do, you might end up creating a thick jelly-like element. When this happens, this mixture will never be able to run through your engine properly and cause resistance.

This resistance can overwork your engine and cause it to overheat. Over time your engine will start getting stuck and eventually break down. This can be very damaging for your car, its health and the bill that comes with the repair work is also very heavy on the wallet. 

Is yellow and orange coolant the same? 

No, yellow and orange coolants are not totally the same. If they were the same, they would be the same color. Different colored coolants mean that they are specifically designed with different chemical components.

Alongside that, they each have a different type of function that they offer to help run your engine smoothly.

This is why it is always advisable to not mix any two coolants together because it may end up creating something entirely different that will not work well in your engine and in turn damage it badly. 

Orange coolants are very common in the market. They are readily available and are used because they last longer periods of time without you having to switch them.

It also has certain components that allow them to be more resistant to corrosion and therefore helps your engine run smoothly for a long while. 

Yellow coolant on the other hand is designed for specific car engines. They work better with certain car engines because of their properties. These car brands include Kia and Hyundai. It will also support your engines for up to five years without needing to be changed. 

What happens if you mix yellow and orange antifreeze? 

There are a lot of things that can go wrong if you mix two different colors of antifreeze together. Unless you are an expert, avoid doing it. 

Decreasing lifespan:

Specific coolants are used to enhance the performance of your engine and make the coolant last a long time.

If you mix two different colors such as yellow and orange without knowing the chemical composition, it can actually turn into a thick mixture which is not the right outcome.

This will significantly decrease the lids period of the coolant and you will need to change it out often. 

Damage to engine parts:

Certain cars have certain engines that require specific coolants to work properly. If you mix two different coolants like orange and yellow, it will not work that well actually.

Not only can it corrode your engine and radiator, but it can also severely damage the other parts of your engine. 

Jam the engine:

When two different coolants of vastly different chemical components are mixed together, they may not actually work as well. Instead of enhancing the performance or trying to save money, it can cause a lot of damage.

The most common thing to happen is the coolant not mixing properly. It depends on how much of each yellow and orange coolant you add. It can coagulate and thicken up to turn into a jelly-like element. 

Damage to the engine:

If the two orange and yellow color antifreeze coagulate, it can be very harmful to the engine and the other engine parts. It will not move as freely and over time the jamming will start stressing and overheating your engine.

At one point it can cause your engine or any part of the engine to break down. This can lead to very expensive repairs. Hence it is important to spend the extra bucks on coolants instead of mixing to save money. 

What type of antifreeze is yellow?

Yellow antifreeze is basically a hybrid organic acid technology coolant. It specifically dyed the color yellow. This is not a universal antifreeze.

This basically means that the yellow antifreeze was made in the first place to work well with the engines of certain cars. These cars include Hyundai and Kia. 

This particular antifreeze should not be used for other vehicles as it may cause damage to the engines of the vehicle or simply not work well or last a longer period of time.

For the car engines it is specifically manufactured for, it aims to thrive and last a very long time without requiring to be changed. It is said to last at least five years. 

Difference between yellow and orange antifreeze

Better knowledge about the differences between yellow and orange antifreeze will help you understand better why you should not attempt to mix the two together. 

Different types:

The technology of both colors of antifreeze is vastly different. Orange antifreeze is an organic acid technology while yellow antifreeze is hybrid oat technology.  

Chemical composition:

The chemical compositions of both of these coolants are vastly different. The inhibitor technology of orange coolant is organic acids and the inhibitor technology of yellow coolant is silicates and organic acids. 

Vehicles:

Both of the coolants are manufactured to work well with the engines of different vehicles. Both of them are not interchangeable and thus do not work well with all vehicles. 

Yellow coolant in particular was specially manufactured for the engines of Hyundai and Kia. On the other hand, orange coolant was manufactured for the engines of GM, VW, and Sab.

If any of the coolants are used for different cars, it can hurt the engines and the engine parts. Each engine requires a different chemical composition to work well and thus this is where the use of different coolants comes in. 

What color antifreeze can be mixed? 

You should not mix any color antifreeze together. It is never a good idea despite it seeming like a quick way to save money. This is because even if green and orange antifreeze is usually universal, all the coolants are made with a different chemical composition.

They are manufactured to only suit the engines of certain vehicles, hence the many different colors of antifreeze present in the market.

When and if you ever end up mixing two different colors of coolants together, it is always ought to do some damage. This is because their vastly different chemical compositions do not allow them to mix very well.

Instead of forming into a liquid, they end up coagulating. This ends up forming a mixture that is instead runny and has a very gel-like consistency. This will never flow properly through your engine and instead cause much friction and resistance in your engine.

It will start clogging up your engine and over time since the gel cannot pass through your engine will overheat. This will end up severely damaging your engine and to save a few bucks you will have to spend your entire wallet to get your engine repaired. 

Final Thoughts

Don’t mix the yellow and orange colors of antifreeze together. It will do a lot of damage that will be expensive to fix. Read your manufacturer’s instructions and follow those guidelines only when you are filling up your engine with the particular coolant that works well with it.