Valvoline Zerex G48, coolant for Tesla and European cars
Every Tesla model runs on a G-48 type coolant: ethylene glycol, phosphate-free. Zerex G48 is exactly that type. Valvoline's official product information sheet lists it as meeting the Tesla specification, and five names are printed on the front of the bottle: BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Tesla and Volvo. The product is a concentrate, and for a Tesla it must be mixed exactly 50/50 with distilled water.
Tesla owners have a dedicated page with capacities and bottle counts per model: Tesla coolant.
Photographs come from the manufacturer's official materials.
What Tesla asks for, and what Valvoline says
Tesla's public service manual (Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X) describes the coolant like this: ethylene glycol based, phosphate and nitrate free, G-48 type, mixed 50/50. Ethylene glycol should not fall below 50 per cent by volume and should not exceed 60.
On Valvoline's official product information sheet, effective 20 July 2026, Zerex G48 is on the list of specifications it is “formulated to meet or exceed”, and Tesla is named on that list. The same name is printed on the front of the bottle. The formula is phosphate-free, with phosphate capped at 30 ppm.
One thing we will say plainly: Tesla warrants only its own Tesla-branded G-48 coolant, and any other fluid, this one included, is used at the owner's risk. That is written in Tesla's manual and we do not hide it.
How to mix it for a Tesla
Tesla's factory coolant is a ready-mixed 50/50. The Zerex G48 we import (part 861583) is a concentrate, so you make the mix yourself:
- Take a clean container and distilled or demineralised water. Do not put tap, mineral or spring water into a Tesla.
- Pour one part concentrate and one part water, exactly 50/50. One bottle plus 3.78 litres of water gives 7.5 litres of ready-to-use coolant.
- Mix thoroughly, and only then fill.
Tesla allows 50 to 60 per cent ethylene glycol. Below 50 weakens corrosion protection and above 60 impairs cooling, so a “slightly stronger” mix is no favour here. Never put neat concentrate or plain water into a Tesla.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Volvo and other European cars
G48 is a European-type formula: it protects aluminium with a low dose of silicate and contains no phosphate. According to Valvoline's sheet the formula is approved against BMW GS 94000 and the Volkswagen group's TL-774-C (VW, Audi, Seat, Škoda), as well as for Mini, Smart and Maybach, Jaguar, and Volvo passenger cars from 2015 and older.
Mercedes-Benz is printed on the front of the bottle. For newer Volvos, from 2016 on, the sheet says nothing, so on such a car we look at the manual first.
The sheet also names heavy-duty diesel specifications: MAN 324 NF, MTU MTL 5048, DEUTZ DQC CC-14, Detroit Diesel 7SE298, Liebherr and Volvo Truck.
G48, G-48, OEM Advanced 48, OE48: the names people search for
One type goes by several names. G-48 is the type designation, and it is what Tesla calls it too. Zerex G48 is Valvoline's US-made product, the one we sell. In Europe Valvoline sells the same type of coolant as OEM Advanced 48, short OE48.
The European data sheet for OEM Advanced 48 describes it in the same words as G48: ethylene glycol, low silicate, low pH, phosphate-free. The approvals list is almost identical (BMW, TL-774-C, MAN, MTU, Volvo 2015 and older) and it names “Tesla (from 2013)”. The mixing table is the same too (OEM Advanced 48 sheet). Valvoline does not state outright that they are one product, so this is how we put it: two factory versions of one type, American and European.
How it differs from our Asian Zerex
It is a different family. Zerex Asian Blue, Green and Red follow the Japanese school: they protect aluminium with phosphate and contain no silicate at all. G48 is the reverse, phosphate-free with a low dose of silicate, exactly as European manufacturers and Tesla specify.
Two practical rules follow. First: do not put Asian Zerex into a Tesla, the blue included, because it is phosphated and Tesla calls for a phosphate-free fluid. Second: do not put G48 into an Asian car, meaning a Subaru, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai or Kia. Both are blue, but neither replaces the other.
Dilution chart
AntifreezeFreeze point
| Antifreeze | Water | Freeze point | Boil point | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33% | 67% | ≈ −18 °C | ≈ 125 °C | Weakest useful mix, for a mild winter |
| 40% | 60% | −24 °C | 126 °C | The minimum on the manufacturer's chart |
| 50% | 50% | −36 °C | 128 °C | Standard, equivalent to factory fill |
| 60% | 40% | −48 °C | 133 °C | High altitude, severe winter |
| 70% | 30% | −67 °C | 135 °C | Maximum protection, more is not better |
The 33 per cent row is not on the manufacturer's chart and comes from the general ethylene glycol curve. Every other row is from the official data sheet. Below 40 per cent the inhibitor concentration also drops, so 33 per cent is for mild winters only.
Technical data
| Part number | 861583 |
|---|---|
| Colour | Blue / ცისფერი |
| Base | Ethylene glycol |
| Technology | HOAT, low-silicate, phosphate-free |
| Glycols | 93.0 mass % |
| Corrosion inhibitors | 4.0 mass % |
| Water | 3.0 mass % |
| pH (50% v/v) | 8.1 |
| Reserve alkalinity (RA) | 14.8 |
| Specific gravity 60/60 °F | 1.126 |
| Flash point | > 121 °C (250 °F) |
| Silicates | 250 ppm |
| Phosphates | ≤ 30 ppm |
| Chloride | < 25 ppm |
| Ash content | < 3 mass % |
| Boiling point, undiluted | 164 °C (327 °F) |
| Boiling point, 50% v/v | 107 °C (226 °F) |
| Storage stability | 5 years |
What it does not contain and why that matters
- PhosphatesEuropean specifications and Tesla's exclude phosphate, since it drops out with hard water. The sheet caps it at 30 ppm.
- NitritesValvoline calls the formula “NAP-free”, meaning free of nitrite, amine and phosphate.
- AminesAmines can form nitrosamines together with nitrites.
Laboratory test results
Aluminium water pump cavitation (ASTM D2809, 100 h)
- Limit
- Minimum 8
- Actual
- 10, a perfect score
10 means “perfect” and 1 means “perforated”. In a Tesla the pumps move coolant through the battery, motor and electronics loops.
Hot surface aluminium corrosion (ASTM D4340)
- Limit
- Max 1.0 mg/cm²/week
- Actual
- 0.25 mg/cm²/week, four times better than the limit
Targets the hottest point on an aluminium surface. Battery cold plates, the chiller and the radiator are aluminium.
Aluminium weight loss (ASTM D1384)
- Limit
- Max 30 mg
- Actual
- 0 mg
The glassware test on six metals. The aluminium lost no weight at all.
Foaming (ASTM D1881)
- Limit
- Max 150 ml
- Actual
- 90 ml, breaking in 2.8 s
Foam is air, and air does not carry heat. In a vacuum-filled system that matters even more.
OEM
- BMW GS 94000
- VW TL-774-C
- Audi TL-774-C
- Seat TL-774-C
- Škoda TL-774-C
- Mini
- Smart
- Maybach
- Jaguar
- Volvo 2015 (cars) and older
- Rolls-Royce (from 1998)
- Saab 690 1599
- Opel/Vauxhall (until 2000) B040 0240
- Porsche (until 1995)
- (Certain Ford & Chrysler)
- MAN 324 NF
- MAN Diesel & Turbo Liste 3.3.7
- MTU MTL 5048
- Detroit Diesel 7SE298
- DEUTZ DQC CC-14
- Liebherr Minimum LH-00-COL3A
- Jenbacher TA-Nr. 1000-0201
- Volvo Truck
- Van Hool
- DTFR 29C100
- TMC of ATA RP-302B
- Federal Specification A-A-870A
- Zastava
- Tesla
- BMW
- Mercedes-Benz
- Mini
- Volvo
- Tesla
- ASTM D3306
- ASTM D4985
- GM 1899M
- GM 1825M
- SAE J1034
- SAE J814
- SAE J1941
All technical figures come from Valvoline's official product information sheet. Official technical data sheet (PDF) · Manufacturer page