Silica gel bag in the coolant tank - why ???????? (MK7 Golf / Audi A3 etc)

So, Golf MK7 / Leon / Audi A3 etc have a small bag of silica in the coolant header tank.

Research tells us that this silica prolongs the life of the coolant.

Research also tells us that these bags burst and clog up the car's cooling system.

You can - as you can see on this video - attempt to remove the silica bag from the tank, but if it's splits you've got a world of bother on your hands.

Interesting that the new tanks don't come with this bag in them, surely it's easier to just change your coolant every couple of winters ?

Genuine VW coolant tanks here

Cooling system flush here

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