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Toyota Super Long Life Coolant

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Erik K, Jan 3, 2016.

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  1. Erik K

    Erik K New Member

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    I need to top off both my engine coolant and my inverter coolant. The Hayes Manual says to use Toyota Super Long Life Coolant (SLLC) or equivalent. My Prius is a 2011 and has the pink coolant in it. I was looking for the Toyota SLLC and the cheapest I have found it was $23.99. Seems pretty steep for coolant and that's only a 50-50 pre-mix. I did some research and found many people say that the Peak Global Lifetime coolant is a great equivalent and can be used to top off the Toyota SLLC and as a flush and fill. The manufacturer guarantees it for as long as you own your vehicle if you do a flush and fill. I realize that they probably don't think you will have your car forever, but I hear that it is good for 150,000 miles which is the same interval for the Prius inverter.

    My question is does anyone know for sure if they are compatible with the Toyota SLLC and with the vehicle (seals, gaskets, hoses, aluminum, etc.) My Prius currently has 90,000 miles so in about 6 months or less I will hit 100,000 and will do a flush and fill on the engine coolant. I would like to use the Peak Global Lifetime if it will be ok with the car. A gallon of pre-mix is less than half the price (pep-boys has it on sale for $5.50 - normally $9.99) and you can get it in concentrate which the Toyota SLLC does not. This is good for me as I prefer the 70-30 mix rather than the 50-50.

    Finally, is there anything special about the inverter coolant? I know it uses the same Toyota SLLC but the interval is 150,000 miles rather than 100,000 miles. I don't think using the Peak Global Lifetime in the inverter would be any different than using it in the engine.
     
    #1 Erik K, Jan 3, 2016
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You can buy Zerex asian coolant if you're worried about costs, that is quite similar to Toyota SLLC. Most auto shops carry that or you can buy on Amazon.com
     
    #2 JC91006, Jan 3, 2016
  3. sillylilwabbit

    sillylilwabbit Active Member

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    If Toyota brand is 50-50 mix and a person is slightly above the Low Line Indicator, can that person just top off with distilled water or don't even bother and leave it as is?


    iPhone ?
     
    #3 sillylilwabbit, Jan 3, 2016
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    If you're not in a very cold or a very hot climate, topping off with a little distilled water should be ok.
     
    #4 JC91006, Jan 3, 2016
  5. Erik K

    Erik K New Member

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    I appreciate the replies! I did see the Zerex Asian and found that it is most similar to the Toyota Long Life Coolant (Red stuff) and is compatible with the Toyota SLLC (Pink) but is not as close to being the SLLC. I don't mind topping the engine off with distilled water as I will be doing a flush and fill before it gets hot this summer but it does reach into the high 100's and you can get stuck in traffic for hours. I don't want to do that with the inverter since it will be 60,000 miles before I need to flush and fill. Also the Zerex Asian doesn't come in concentrate and I would like to make it a 70-30 mix when I change the coolant this spring.

    Anyways does anyone know about the Peak Global Lifetime or have had any experience using it in a Prius engine or inverter?
     
    #5 Erik K, Jan 3, 2016
  6. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    If you are so worried about spending $23.99 on your car...maybe you should try eating at home more often.
     
    #6 frodoz737, Jan 3, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2016
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  7. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    Why cheap out for something done so infrequently? Use the recommended OEM coolant.
    (Same goes for oil changes...)
     
    #7 RRxing, Jan 3, 2016
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  8. Erik K

    Erik K New Member

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    WOW.... that was not my question ... should stick with OEM or not.

    My question was about the Peak Global Lifetime Coolant, do you know anything about it or not? If not, I don't need sarcastic replies. If you don't know, then don't answer with them.
     
    #8 Erik K, Jan 3, 2016
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  9. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Sorry, but the reason for your question was because you thought the cost of the "approved" fluid was to steep. Best wishes.
     
    #9 frodoz737, Jan 3, 2016
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  10. Erik K

    Erik K New Member

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    Yes I think that the mfg charges too much for their coolant; however, if you read through my post, the main reason is that I prefer 70-30 mix and you cannot get Toyota SLLC or Zerex Asian in concentrate to achieve this. I am quite capable in mechanics as I have been working on vehicles for 21 years and aircraft for 19 years as well as being an engineer so I am not a newbie trying to save two dollars and risking an expensive car. I have done a lot of research on the different coolants before I came here. What I have found is that people say that the Peak Global Lifetime is the closest you can get to Toyota SLLC and some say it is superior. Many have had positive results putting it in their Toyota, even with the 1.8L. What I haven't been able to find is many who have used it in their Prius. My biggest concern is the inverter as I don't know a whole lot about its cooling system yet. I don't have much issue replacing the engine coolant with the Peak Global lifetime but I don't know about the inverter yet.

    So can anyone answer my original questions.
     
    #10 Erik K, Jan 3, 2016
  11. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    I seem to recall you can buy this coolant full strength, but may be wrong. While I respect it is your choice to change the mix to 70/30 for what ever reason, it is not needed on these cars. I run my car hard in hot and cold weather and pull a trailer when required. In fact I just did over 800 miles hauling Class 2 with no problem.
     
    #11 frodoz737, Jan 3, 2016
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  12. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The concentrate red coolant from Toyota lasts only half as long as the pink SLLC. The red coolant is recommended to be changed at 30k miles intervals. I don't think you'll see any savings with the concentrate

    Your comment has a lot of "unknowns" to you. The Toyota SLLC is a designed and engineered to be used with the Prius. Why do you want to mess with the "unknown"?

    I just noticed you are from Southern Cal. There's a seller I buy from on Craigslist that sells Toyota OEM parts at very good prices. He lists SLLC for $18.00 gallon and it's tax free. If you need oil filters, they are only $4.

    At those prices, there's no reason to buy anything else.
     
    #12 JC91006, Jan 3, 2016
  13. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    The "red" is not SLLC and also not recommended for the Prius.

    You are partially correct in that you don't want to take a chance with the unknown...especially as expensive as Prius parts/repairs cost. However, the SLLC was not "designed and engineered" to be used with the Prius. They use that fluid standard on most of their cars now. We are getting away from the big picture here though...cheaping out and the need to go 70/30 mix.
     
    #13 frodoz737, Jan 3, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2016
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  14. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    Sorry, I know nothing about Peak Global Lifetime Coolant. Let us know how it works out for you.
     
    #14 RRxing, Jan 3, 2016
  15. gliderman

    gliderman Active Member

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    I bought a gallon from the toyota dealer to top off a few years ago and havent had to do it since. It may be expensive, but I have not used but a quart or less. I plan on flushing and replacing this spring since I have passed 100k miles and I will buy the toyota coolant. If I needed to buy it more often I would look at alternatives, but right now I dont.
     
    #15 gliderman, Jan 3, 2016
  16. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I would check with a Toyota forum on the topic of Peak Global Lifetime vs. Toyota SLLC. toyotanation.com/forum is the only generic Toyota forum that I know of - Check their maintenance section.

    Or Google it and see if it's popped up in other Toyota vehicle forums (like siennachat, yarisworld, rav4world etc)
     
    #16 Tideland Prius, Jan 3, 2016
  17. working1

    working1 Active Member

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    The Prius is just a drain and fill. No flushing required.

    I just did both engine and inverter @116K.
    Cost: 2 gallons Toyota SLLC pre-mix @ 21.25 per, 42.50 total. And the inverter gasket @1.61.
    It's around 1.7 gallons total so there's some left over.
     
    #17 working1, Jan 3, 2016
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    How did it go? Any tips, links to videos? Did you need Techstream, or no?
     
    #18 Mendel Leisk, Jan 3, 2016
  19. working1

    working1 Active Member

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    No Techstream needed. One of the better links to reference for Gen3 is: Coolant Replacement Interval | PriusChat

    Highly recommend using the Uview Airlift Kit to pull a vacuum during the fill. Only thing I'd do different is using maintenance mode to run the pump(s) toward the end of the fill until the vacuum reached zero. Otherwise I needed to top off since I released the vacuum early.

    My suggestions/observations:

    - for engine coolant
    Use only the radiator plug to drain the engine. No need to unthread the engine plug. As I understand it starting with 2011's it's not included in the maintenance manual for the engine coolant replacement.

    - for inverter coolant
    Wear thick gloves when removing the inverter drain plug. These type of plugs "snap" when they are unthreaded and it's easy to injure your hands.
     
    #19 working1, Jan 3, 2016
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  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Did you remove the engine block drain bolt, but nothing to speak of came out? I think I've read that.

    The last I did was a Civic, and it was the opposite: removed the engine block drain bolt (well actually the block heater, that was sub'd for drain bolt) and there was a deluge, maybe 50% ended up in the drain pan.
     
    #20 Mendel Leisk, Jan 3, 2016
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