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Coolant color change

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Dennis774, Jun 8, 2019.

  1. Dennis774

    Dennis774 Junior Member

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    I have 2016 Prius purchased certified preowned. I noticed that the coolant in my ICE was a purple color instead of the bright pink....took it to dealer and they performed coolant flush and replaced coolant with the Toyota super long life for both ICE and inverter. I just checked again and the coolant in the reservoir for the ICE has turned purple again. Dealer suggest I bring it in to see why it is being contaminated. Anyone experience similar issue and what was the cause?
     

    Attached Files:

    #1 Dennis774, Jun 8, 2019
  2. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Senior Member

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    Previous owners could've put in some coolant additive like Royal Purple, which looks exactly like the stuff on the right, and the dealership only drained and refilled the radiator instead of doing a proper total system flush.
     
    #2 CooCooCaChoo, Jun 8, 2019
    Mendel Leisk, amos and FuelMiser like this.
  3. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Before you panic........
    Make sure that the coolant being used is not that color to start with.......or that it doesn't "automatically" change colors when it is heated a few times.

    Long life coolant is not all bright pink like it used to be. You can't really tell anything by the color alone.
     
    #3 sam spade 2, Jun 8, 2019
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    how long have you owned it?

    did it come like that from the dealer?
     
    #4 bisco, Jun 8, 2019
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Took a couple of pics of ours, mooshed into one:

    upload_2019-6-8_10-54-9.png
    The inverter reservoir is closer to the window and daylight, might account for the slight discrepancy. To my eye they looked the same.
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Jun 8, 2019
  6. cnc97

    cnc97 Senior Member

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    I was just under my hood an hour ago. Still pink from refill last July.
     
    #6 cnc97, Jun 8, 2019
  7. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I read somewhere that Audi uses purple coolant. @CooCooCaChoo may be on the right track. If so, your dealer didn't doo much of a flush.
     
    #7 jerrymildred, Jun 8, 2019
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