Antifreeze?

RUN - don't walk - from that dealer

Now.

 

apparently you can't trust this dealer to give you good advice.

first: check all fluids regularly. monthly, bimonthly, whatever works for you. the likelihood of needing to add anything is low but it's good to keep an eye and know what's under your hood anyway. especially as a female, to at least have an idea of what's under there is good. (i roll my eyes that this is still necessary... but reality is reality)

second: if you do need to add coolant, DO NOT use the green stuff you get at the store! you need special toyota coolant. it's red.

 

I stand by my original statement: RUN from that dealer, and never return. I find it very irresponsible to even make a statement like that.

I would suggest a thorough review of the Owner Manual, to get an idea of where things are under the hood. At this point, the Maintenance supplement will provide you with Toyota recommended service intervals. For example, an oil and filter change every 6 months or 5,000 miles.

As far as opening the hood, the hardest part I had was trying to find the safety catch release lever the first time I popped the hood. Took a lot of fiddling around but I have big clumsy guy hands, perhaps this doesn't apply to you.

With the prop rod safely engaged and holding up the hood, you'll notice it's VERY easy to check the oil level. If I recall the owner manual recommends checking the oil level every time you gas up.

There are two separate coolant reservoirs, one for the gas motor and one for the electric inverter. Due to the requirement to keep the inverter at a sane temperature, it needs liquid cooling. Kind of neat how Toyota could package two separate cooling systems into such a small space.

Assuming the Pre Delivery Inspection was actually done by your dealer, all the fluids should be at the proper level. The coolant reservoirs are translucent and the coolant is a pinkish/reddish color, so the level is very apparent. The inverter coolant reservoir it near the firewall and is easiest to check, the engine reservoir is near the front of the hood but still pretty easy to check.

It’s a good idea to check the coolant level in the reservoir every month or so, a good habit to get into. Also a good idea to check the translucent brake fluid reservoir which is near the firewall on the passenger side: your left side with the hood open and facing the car.

The factory Toyota coolant is considered “Long Life†and shouldn’t need a change for at least 5 years or 100,000 miles. Most car makers are picky now about how they mix their coolant, so they source water that is absolutely clean, demineralized, and deionized.

The coolant is also good to -40 minimum, so you shouldn’t have to do anything extra to prepare for winter.

Oh, and welcome to PriusChat. Please look around the Technical and Care forums, more than likely any question you have will have already been answered. Or, just ask, there is no such thing as a “bad†question.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Nov 29 2006, 09:31 PM) [snapback]355520[/snapback]</div>

G

Very important tip. The Green Stuff contains silicates, which is doom for non-silicated organic acid coolants.

Just ask any GM owner with a DexCool cooling system. The early horror stories of "Death Cool" should make anybody respect what the cooling system needs

j

 

Come on now people, to be fair, you have to know exactly what question the original poster actually asked his dealer. From his second post, #3 in this thread, I get the impression he asked something like, "Winter is coming... Do I need to add antifreeze to my Prius?"

If this was the question that was asked of the dealer, then a response of "You don't need to add antifreeze to your Prius" would be a reasonable one. Much like jayman's statement of "The coolant is also good to -40 minimum, so you shouldn’t have to do anything extra to prepare for winter."

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Nov 30 2006, 05:26 AM) [snapback]355634[/snapback]</div>

This was my first reaction as well. This is my second winter coming with my Prius. I haven't done anything with it in terms of coolant. Of course the dealer checks the important fluids when I come in about every couple months for an oil change. Spokane has normal northern U.S. winters, so the coolant should be good for anywhere in the country.

Dave M.

 

New model Prius uses Toyota SLLC pink antifreeze. First change at 100k miles; subsequent changes at 50k intervals.

Classic model uses Toyota LLC red antifreeze. Change interval always 30 k miles. No reason has been advanced not to switch over to SLLC when the time comes, and enjoy its longer change interval.

Both vehicles have two coolant loops containing the same stuff. If you are on the road and notice the electrical coolant reservoir tank being low, it is "legal" to borrow some from the engine coolant overflow tank (assuming it's clean). In a worst-case scenario, buy distilled water to top off either, knowing that you must soon visit a Toyota shop to resolve the leak, and have both systems emptied and refilled with the correct stuff.

Topping off with the commonly available green antifreeze is not an option.

In the vast sweep of Prius owner experience, leaking radiators have been rare. But makes sense to keep an eye on those systems, and know how to respond to rare problems.