Coolant silica bag, to remove or not?

[LJT94]

As the title says, is this a recommended thing to do?
I've seen a couple of videos and things on Instagram where people have opened there coolant tank and removed the silica bag with some long nosed pliers. Apparently there's no set interval for the coolant to be changed so the bag is there to improve longevity of the coolant. But people have said that after a couple of years the coolant bag has split and it wrecks the cooler matrix which apparently costs £1000 to fix and involves removing the whole dash.

So I'm in two minds really, I knew nothing about it other than this little online bit that I've been seeing lately. So surely if the bag fails, VW must have some responsibility to fix it. However you know how dealers are with wangling out of repairs.
So.. bag, to remove or not to remove?

Here's a photo I nabbed from someone's insta[emoji6] :

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Wrath And Tears]

Good question, if it's easy to get out, might as well. I'm gonna have to look into that now.

 

[jimboski10]

https://youtu.be/-GWRejR7U0w


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Strange Mud]

I have wondered about this myself .......following

I would save bag in case any coolant related issue, because paranoia

 

[Parabola]

The way these cars are losing coolant I would say topping them off every now and then will keep the coolant fresh, so little bag of silicon is useless.

 

[xxxxxx]

I removed mine. Just siphon out the tank, disconnect the hoses and take the tank out of the car. Then if it splits while you’re taking it out (it’s tight) you can just flush the tank and no chance of it entering the coolant.

 

[Navi]

ok stupid question but what is the point of this bag? I know why the put it with clothes and stuff but in the coolant reservoir? I'm confused?

 

[Diggs24]

Supposedly keeps coolant fresh longer.

I flush my coolant so it's coming out.

 

[Jacobmk7]

The heater core on mk7 isn’t hard at all to replace, 20 minutes max.

 

[sar316]

The coolant has silicate additives to prevent corrosion and the bag is there to replenish them. Personally I'd trust the engineers on this one and leave it alone.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Navi]

seems it's not really an issue:

https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/silica-bag-coolant-mqb-engines.382604/

edit: nevermind, found this thread also

https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28421&page=3

 

[Strange Mud]

Although I KNOW the engineers are smarter than I am, sometimes they make things more complicated than they should be. Germans do have a reputation for over engineering things

 

[Cliff p.]

Although I KNOW the engineers are smarter than I am, sometimes they make things more complicated than they should be. Germans do have a reputation for over engineering things

This guy germans.

 

[The Fed]

Was this a MK6 or MK5 feature too?

 

[The Fed]

Is this an issue the 5/60 (for US owners) warranty will cover?