Where to get pink coolant and how to test level of coolant protection

Is the Toyota dealer the only place to get the pink coolant for 2010 Prius?

I have found some Toyota fluids including coolant at higher end automotive supply chains, but the prices were a little higher than the dealerships.




Will my old testers for the green kind of coolant work for the pink stuff?[/quote]

I just checked my coolant in my older prius, I've changed it once and the coolant comes already premixed 50/50 ( grrrrrrr) anyway I checked my coolant with a little pocket coolant tester with the float balls and only had one ball floating which on the side comes to 20 F. I decided to check samples in my freezer, turning it to max cold I put in some antifreeze , both from car and fresh from the jug into little caps, and a few drops on the bottom of the ledge of the freezer. Testing with an infrared thermometer I had 1 degree Fahrenheit, and no traces of ice. Will recheck in morning, its been an hour. I did an online search for the accuracy of pocket coolant testers and did not read anything I found helpful.
I'm concluding 1 degree F is good protection for the midwest/central , and that the pocket coolant tester that I have does not accurately test the coolant. You can check the dealership on this. Mine is out of warranty.

Edit--More experimenting this week , I made a 50 % dilution of both used and fresh coolant with water, and tested that in my freezer, the new diluted samples started icing at 7 degrees F. If there is a linear correlation with freeze point and sample dilution, some figuring should give an estimate of the original freezing point.
32 - 7 = 25. Dilution factor 2 times 25 is 50 degrees. Figuring the difference,; 32 - 50 gives a hypothetical freeze protection point of ( -18 F ) . Correct?

 

I am not an expert on coolant chemistry but here's a few things I found out. The specific gravity tester is only an indicator of the concentration of coolant in the coolant/water mixture. Technically, a 50/50 mix of Ethylene Glycol and distilled water will not freeze until it reaches -34 degrees Fahrenheit.

Part of my job involves maintaining high power television transmitters that use an EG/water mix for cooling. We use a refractometer to check on the EG concentration. You can buy one for under $100.00 and I have found it is accurate to with in 5%. The turkey baster with the little balls is not terribly accurate.

What most people don't know is that what's more important is how well the inhibitors in the coolant are working. As the inhibitors break down, the ability of the coolant to protect the radiator and piping from rotting out is compromised. The more acidic the coolant gets, the less protection there is. In my job we use a PH meter and when the coolant gets below 8, we change it. Over time, the inhibitors break down and as they do the coolant becomes more acidic.

I believe that inhibitor breakdown is why Toyota used to recommend changing the coolant every 30,000 miles. Two Toyotas ago I didn't do this because my mechanic told me that the coolant was still good to 20 below (specific gravity). I ended up losing the radiator after 7 years. In the last car I did change the coolant on a regular basis and the factory radiator never had a problem in the 14 years I owned the car.

Now the good news. The Prius uses HOAT long life coolant. This stuff should be good for up to 150,000 miles under normal driving conditions. The only problem is that you shouldn't mix what's in your Prius with other non Toyota types of long life coolant. It's not that other brands aren't OK, it's that apparently mixing two different types of long life coolant is not recommended. So I spent the $14.00 and bought a gallon from my Toyota dealer to keep on hand. I’m not sure what the recommended PH is for the HOAT coolant, but I wouldn’t even think about changing it until 100K, or if the color starts changing.

Hope this helps.