I have 17,000 miles on my '03 F150. I took it in for an oil change yesterday, and the technician tested the antifreeze. He showed me the test sample and it was mostly all water! The fluid was also stained a rusty color. This is the first time I have had the coolant checked. Needless to say, I had him flush the system, and top it off with Prestone. Is this common for the fluid to be mostly water from the factory? I'm sure glad that this was caught before I put any more miles on it, and before winter is here.

 

Did you by the truck new? The factory anti-freeze should be good to something like -30, and I think 100K miles/5 years or so. If this happened at the dealer, I think I would've made them change it under warrantee. If it was at a Jiffy Lube or something, you might've got ripped off for a flush and a couple gallons of Prestone.