Coolant Change interval

welcome!
1) yes, or more like lying to make money

2) its probably worth $260. for both at a dealer, i've seen much worse

3) nah, just follow toyota's schedule that came with your car.

 

According to Toyota USA first engine coolant change is 100k or 10 years (whichever comes first), and first inverter coolant change is 150k or 15 years.

Thereafter both are 50k or 5 years.

 

Dealer just did mine for the first time at 100,000 miles on my 2017 Prius 4. I trust them on pricing, and their charge was $257.

 

Just as a matter of interest, was it discoloured at 100K miles ?

 

were you away the last two years?

 

Never gets old.

 

The look of old Toyota long life coolant is hard to tell if it needs change or not within first 100k miles. 50k is a good early time to do it. 100k is probably when you should try to change it if you haven’t. Changing coolant is easy, it’s just the bleeding process is tedious.

deciding to change it before 100k or at 100k, all depends on how long you like to keep your car for. The typical priuses start having issues about 200k miles where the cost of repairs become much higher.

 

I have a 2021 Prius XLE and I drive a little over 1,000 miles per week. I just had my 90,000 mile oil change and the Toyota dealer recommended changing the engine and converter coolant. Both are still pink and look good. I pushed it off till the 100,000 mile service.

I have driven vehicles 200,000+ miles over 10+ years old and never changed coolant. One mechanic told me to not flush your coolant because seals will start leaking. This was advice for the older American made cars I was driving.

This is my first hybrid and I love it. Is the coolant change necessary at 100,000?

 

The Maintenance Schedule includes a little caveat that many have never read that goes something like this at every 15K “inspect” coolant. This means it should be tested for both ability to prevent freezing and boiling, AND corrosion. If the dealership is recommending it be changed based on that testing then have it done (unless you REALLY enjoy paying big money for a new inverter). If they are recommending it based on mileage then it is up to you (but people who actually know these cars say it is a very good idea to do it at 50K).

 

There is evidence that Toyota SLCC (super long life coolant) is not so long lived.

The Car Care Nut on YouTube conjected that degradation of the coolant resulted to damage to the rubber component of metal core gaskets used with water pumps, leading him to believe that the head gasket might be degraded in the same way.

It is explained in his YouTube video beginning at the 12:00 minute mark.

The Toyota authorized method is laborious and time consuming and may apparently be designed to maximize service technician time and profit.

Using a UView vacuum tool, it takes no more that 30 minutes to change coolant with no need to place the car into service or maintenance mode.

Even at Toyota retail prices, the coolant costs about $50. $260 is outrageous.

 

Sounds good. Thank you.

 

Thanks for the information and video. The coolant will be changed.

 

1. Yes, unless they actually tested it and found a problem.
2. Tedious, but only moderately difficult without specialized equipment. Easier with it.
3. Color, and check the pH vs. new coolant with coolant test strip (or standard pH paper). Is it still clear and pink?

Out of an abundance of caution, I had my engine coolant changed only a little beyond the recommended 100k interval, although it still looked fine and showed the same pH as new stuff.