Coolant service, fair charge?

I would do the coolant change if you haven't done it before. However I would not do it at this dealer. Acid in coolant is crazy. What was he using to "register"?? Any dealer that comes out this this bs shouldn't be used.

 

Coolant can become acidic as it ages...

Don't know if the price is good, but it sounds like at least the engine coolant is a challenge to change because of the thermos and trying to get all of the air out of the system.

 

IF the dealer is using test strips, what's he looking to register?

 

Coolant is actually mildly acidic when new at pH 5. Neutral pH is 7.

Coolant becomes alkali or more basic with age.

The higher the pH; the more alkali the coolant solution is.

A strong base or alkali solution reacts with the aluminum in the cooling system.

Lye or Sodium hydroxide (a very strong alkali base) and aluminum reacts to generate hydrogen gas and sodium aluminate.

On that account, the OP's dealer is wrong and knows nothing about chemistry.

 

It's not BS. Coolant changes over time.
Even plain water under heat and pressure in a metal container does too.

Since he does not know if it has been changed or not, it probably hasn't and NEEDS TO BE CHARGED SOON.
The price is a bit high but not outrageous.

If saving a few dollars really is that important, shop around at a few other shops.
You probably can get it done for 1/2 to 2/3 of the dealers price........which is true of a lot of things.

 

Don't reward deceitful/bad behavior by giving that stealership your maintenance money. As Rude person's points out, coolant becomes more BASIC/Alkaline, not acidic, over time.

I doubt your hoses need replacing as well. Stealership wants to rob you, since they believe most people don't know enough about cars. To give you perspective, my 2007 w/ 130k miles is on all original coolant hoses.

Punish this stealership and report them to your state's automotive repair regulator, Toyota, and Yelp.

 

Apparently not Toyota SLLC. Per the very well informed Hobbit,
100K maint - 5
SLLC starts out at a pH of around 8-9 and dips under 7.0 when the coolant is 'aged.'

OP:
Changing inverter coolant is trivial. **Read the thread here on PC and save your money by DIY.
IF you can find a dealership who is not an idiot*, you may want to pay $ rather than go through the hassle of exchanging the engine coolant. I would try to confirm that the coolant hose is indeed soft compared to normal, and if the dealer is BS'g you (likely), find another.

*The problem with an idiot is leaving air in the system. You can do that just as easy as the bad mechanic.
**NAPA sells 'Asian Zerex' for about $14 a gallon. It meets Toyota spec for coolant and is $5 - 10 cheaper than SLLC

 

DIY is not that hard. I get Toyota SLLC for $17 locally and do it myself. $50 and I'm set for 50k miles.

 

with 178k, I'd have to wonder how the water pump is doing. if the water pump is original you might want to do it too. if it has been replaced then so has your coolant most likely. and check your belt for cracks while your looking at the pump.
water pump is easy on the prius. if you got 10mm and maybe 12mm sockets (can't remember), its a diy and you'll save some $$.

 

Maybe before the days of aluminum radiators and heater cores, most coolant was more alkali than acidic.

With the advent of aluminum radiators due to the cost of copper starting in the mid 1970's, "long life coolant" has to be made more acidic. The first aluminum radiator that I saw with plastic tanks was on a 1977 VW Rabbit.

I a copper radiator, acidic water reacts with sulfates or other free radicals and forms oxides or copper sulfate, which is a green colored powder.

Coolant should have a pH of between 4-8 pH. Beyond 8, the coolant will start to erode the aluminum in the aluminate reaction. That's a white flaky coating on aluminum parts such as the radiator or heater core.

The coolant found in you grandfather's radiator I a lot different the coolant used, today.

The Gen III Prius is an easy one for coolant change.

The Gen II; not so much.

Prius 30k Service

The Gen III Prius is an easy one for coolant change.

The Gen II; not so much.

Prius 30k Service

 

Mike, I posted Hobbit's inquiry earlier, but here is his pH check of new SLLC:

No doubt that the new coolant is alkaline, around a pH of 9.0. I find it interesting though that SLLC has relatively little buffer.

 

Litmus paper? Not that accurate.

Too many variables, especially from the other additives in the coolant.

I'm NOT convinced.

 

The strip that Hobbit used is made specifically to test car coolant. Believe it. Also, note that the strip has a reaction for 'reserve alkalinity' so the expectation is to find acid buffers.

As for the chemistry of the reaction, I am not sure but it looks like so called 'universal indicator' by the color scheme. Those with too much time on their hands or insatiable curiosity can read the Wikipedia monograph.

Tomorrow I'll check the pH of new Asian Zerex, 2 year old SLLC in my car, and some OJ with urine dipsticks my wife kindly supplied. I like the idea of trending these measurements.

Back to OP: Per Hobbit's tests, if your coolant pH < 7.0, it is time to replace. It might be time anyway -- I am only mentioning one characteristic of old coolant.

 

Wow. Talk about over-reaction.
How do you "punish" people who jump to unwarranted conclusions and then try to prod others into doing something stupid ??

 

As promised, pH testing:

1. Coolant from Inverter Reservoir, ~ 50k miles use
2. New Asian Zerex Coolant
   
3. Ruby Red Grape-fruit Juice

The strips are "URS-6L," made by teco diagnostics as a urine dipstick. The pH test is the second from the top and ranges from pH 5.0 on the far left to pH 8.5 on the far right. The test relies on color change of bromothymol blue and methyl red to pH. This is a variant of the 'universal indicator' method.

Conclusions:

1. Ruby Red Grapefruit juice is safe to drink, at least pH wise. The color change took time, so we are not reading the color of the juice. The strip appears to be working.
2. New Asian Zerex Coolant is alkaline
3. Used SLLC is slightly alkaline. Time to replace ? I think so.