‘Have been using water for the past 3 years’: Mechanics share whether you can use water instead of coolant. Their answers may surprise you

Car maintenance can be expensive, and while many enthusiasts say that drivers can save money by learning to do repairs themselves, people are often hesitant, or simply don’t have the time, to open up the hood of their car and learn how everything works.

Still, given the high costs that some repairs can entail, some have taken to finding “hacks” in order to extend the life of their vehicle, or replace costlier things with elements that don’t come with a large price tag.

For example, some experts have shared advice on how to clean the terminals of one’s car battery in order to extend its lifespan. Others have dubiously claimed that they have a strategy for improving the gas mileage of one’s car.

One hack that occasionally gets thrown around may give car owners pause. That hack? Using water instead of coolant in your car.

Now, a group of mechanics has weighed in about whether you can use water instead of coolant in your car. Their answers may come as a surprise.

Can you use water instead of coolant in your car?

In a video with over 224,000 views, the TikTok account for Accurate Auto (@accurateautoinc), which has previously sparked discussion after sharing which cars they believe will make it past 250,000 miles and common maintenance mistakes that car owners make, shared a video in which several mechanics are asked whether it’s a good idea to use water instead of coolant.

The consensus? Yes, you can use water instead of coolant—but only temporarily.

“In an emergency situation, yes,” says one of the mechanics. “Recommended? No.”

“You'll have problems down the road,” stated another. “If you have to, put water in it—but eventually, you need to dump it out and put some good coolant in there.”

What is coolant?

According to the Universal Technical Institute, “car coolant, also known as antifreeze coolant, protects engines from overheating and lubricates moving parts to prevent damage.”

As this fluid is designed to withstand the high heat of an engine and the low temperatures of winter weather, drivers will find that using water as a coolant will quickly reduce or eliminate the efficacy of their cooling system.

“If you were to just use water rather than the coolant mixture, high temperatures inside the motor would easily boil that water and cause it to evaporate, meaning you’d quickly have no coolant at all and the engine would easily overheat,” reads an article from M&M Service Center.

“Meanwhile, in extreme cold, just using water would result in the water freezing inside the engine, which could cause cracks in the radiator or heater core, warping in the cylinder head and damage to the engine block,” the article continues.

@accurateautoinc Can I Use Water Instead Of Coolant!? ????????#mechanic #autoshop #car #cars #mechanicsoftiktok #cartok #repairshop #automotive #carcare #carhelp ♬ original sound - AccurateAuto

Commenters share their thoughts

In the comments section, many users claimed that, despite this advice, they ran their car with water instead of coolant for years without issue, with some saying that such a practice is relatively common globally.

“I've been using distilled water for years,” said a commenter.

“Ran my danger ranger on water for over a year a while back. Truck still runs strong today. No blown gaskets or anything,” added another.

“Been using water temporarily for 6 years , just keeping it temp,” stated a third.

“Lol and there is me that have been using water for the past three years,” shared an additional TikToker.

The Daily Dot reached out to Accurate Auto via Instagram and TikTok DM.

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