Max fluid capacity

I think yes, anywhere in north America, has the exhaust heat recovery. Did you find @NutzAboutBolts' coolant change video? He starts out with two 4 qt containers in front of him, for both the engine and inverter videos. Come to think of it, 2 bottles might be overkill for the inverter coolant change. Maybe he'll comment??

Video linked on this page:

Nutz About Bolts Prius Maintenance Videos | PriusChat

 

That would obviously vary, depending on details and technique. For example, when you drain engine coolant, would you drain the exhaust heat recovery plumbing or not? The drain plug on the back of the block or not? Which way is the car going to be tilted, if any? Allowing roughly for unknown amounts of residual fluid is the main reason why shorter coolant change intervals are recommended after the first time. There's no point overcomplicating things by worrying about exactly how much is trapped.

 

Get 2 (gallon) bottles for the engine circuit, 1 for the inverter.

 

It say the transmission takes 3.6 qts, we used about 4 qts and a little extra just so we could see the transmission fluid spill out to know that its topped off. As for the cooling system, the engine takes 7.7 qts w/ exhaust heat recirculation, and your 2010 Prius does have that device. As for the intervert, it takes 3.1 qts. Although all this number is nice to know, we only used 2 gallons to do the drain and refill on the coolant, and I think if I remember correctly, that the inverter and the engine total took only 1 gallon and a half. The inverter didn't take much coolant to refill, but the engine did take more though. So hope that explains everything.

 

transmission is 3.6 qts, but can't confirm since we put in 4 qts and it wasn't enough. So it probably takes more than 3.6 qts lol. Thanks

 

Has anyone seen a brake fluid volume spec., say with fluid at top mark in reservoir. I appreciate that top mark is "debatable": if you pop the hood without opening drivers door, you can see fluid at the top mark. Then open the driver's door and chugchugchug: fluid drops to next lower mark.

 

Hello Nutaboutbolt, how are you doing ? I have a question. Can i use hyper-lube super coolant to engine coolant and hybrid coolant ? thanks you .

 

I've never tested it, so I have no answer for you on that.

 

Since you used the search feature, I'll give you another PC member experience. A fella came in here and got coolant change at the dealership, days later his inverter overheated. Toyota tested the coolant fluid that was refilled by the dealership and said they wouldn't cover any repairs because the dealership added a coolant addictive during the refill and it clogged the inverter causing it to overheat. The prius owner weren't told coolant addictive was part of the coolant change service. So coolant addictive may thicken the fluid.

 

I am old school Actually I just turned 60, so I guess I qualify as just plain old. In the late 70's we did a "Flush and Fill" of our cooling systems. First we would add one of those mystery cooling flush chemicals, and drove the car around for 20+ miles. We would cut the heater hose, and insert a T fitting. With the radiator cap off, we would force water into the T fitting with a garden hose. The engine would be running, and we would leave it connected till the water ran clear.

Once the water ran clear, we would turn off the hose and drain as much of the water as possible. Then we would add the number of quarts straight (100%) coolant, equal to half of the capacity of the system. It usually fit. Then we would top off with water, and burp the system.

In later years, out of concern for the Ethylene Glycol and the mystery flush getting into storm drain, I would drain and capture as much of the coolant as I could on the first drain, and then flush it down the toilet. Only then would I connect the garden hose.

I get nervous of a simple "replacement" of the coolant, where only 55% gets replaced. I understand that this "Super Long Life Coolant" has delicate chemistry, and the minerals in the garden hose would be a big problem. Still, I would prefer to perform multiple drains, refilling each time with Distilled, De-ionized water. After about 4 drains, I would assume that most of the old coolant is gone, and top it all off with the correct number of quarts of full strength SLLC to make 50 / 50. Any extra water required would be the de-ionized stuff.

But you can't buy anything but the 50/50 SLLC (What we disparagingly used to call pre-mix). Could we improve on the 55% replacement, by opening up hoses near the top of the engine, and blowing compressed air into the system to drain more of the coolant?

 

I would stick to simple drain-and-fill; think you’re draining near-completely. Introducing water, as you say, more’n likely is putting coolant in the wild, and creates a real conundrum when Toyota SLLC only comes pre- mixed.

I just did both circuits thus, last fall. One thing, Toyota’s instruction to drain the block was a total fools errand: got a few tablespoons.

 

Well I am in the middle of an EGR Cooler surgery. I drained about a gallon this afternoon so I would not spill so much removing the EGR and Cooler (Two very clean Folgers plastic coffee cans worth). The fluid that came out looked a little too brown for my liking, so I am going to abort the plan to return the coolant into the system, to be refreshed as a separate project in a few weeks.

I now plan to open every hose I can reach to make more room for 50/50 SLLC. The windshield wiper ledge is not currently on the car, so I can reach a lot of hoses that would otherwise not be accessible like the heater core.

 

My guess would be that the most extra-fluid-out bang for the buck would be to pop the hoses off the exhaust heat exchanger under the car, probably the main place you'll find coolant below the level of the drain cock.

 

Except for the transaxle fluid , which almost totally drains out, the engine coolant will not. The Toyota manual says 7.7 US quarts are needed to refill for the Gen 3 with an exhaust heat exchanger . In actually, I could only get in 6.6 quarts. That means that there was over a quart reaming in the system that was not drained out. That's why the OEM coolant change interval is reduced from 10 to 5 years for the second change,

As far as the inverter coolant goes, it is not contaminated by combustion gases and fluids. So, the OEM change is extended to 15 years. Also, it is a much simpler system with the drain plug at the lowest level to allow nearly all the coolant to be drained out.

 

If it's brownish, something is rusting....
If the coolant is drained when it should be, regular drians is all you need.
If you use the proper coolant....