Went to dealership for coolant change and they filled it with water

[jmandawg]

Hi all,

I went to the dealership today to get my coolant changed which cost over $100.
When they were finished, I drove for 30 minutes and then stopped at the store and looked in the overflow to see if it was filled and it looks like they just filled the overflow with water. Is this normal? Should i believe they used something other than hose water?

They also filled it to the very top which doesn't seem right. Pic attached.

At this point I'm thinking i would have been better off leaving the original coolant in there.

What should i do?

[tmontague]

seems very odd to me. Where you live you don't need to worry about freezing however, the coolant keeps oxidation down in the cooling system so it doesn't rust out. I also have no idea why they would've topped up the overflow to the neck.

The overflow should be around the Full mark when Hot. A little higher is fine, but at the neck is too high as it will just spill over. I'd go back to the dealership and ask whats going on

[Exiwolfman]

Ya ....wtf it should be the pink stuff no matter what place of the world u live in ...can u smell it also feel it if its actually water or just odd looking coolant .
And definitely should only be to the mark on bottle not to the top .

[jmandawg]

Thanks guys. I'll give them a call tomorrow. I figured since the Super Long Life coolant is only sold pre-mixed, there should be no visible water in there at all. Still no clue why they filled it up to the neck.

[ex-x-fire]

Test the freezing point.

[Kar98]

seems very odd to me. Where you live you don't need to worry about freezing however, the coolant keeps oxidation down in the cooling system so it doesn't rust out.

Also, tap water contains a helluva lot more calcium than proper coolant, which will cause calcium deposits to clog up the radiator and hoses.

[IllusionX]

Water is the best conductor. So if your place never see below freezing temps, I'd say it is safe to use distilled water. The rest is antifreeze.

[CoryM]

Car should have coolant in it for rust prevention. From the dealer, it should be pink stuff. No, it should not be filled all the way to the top. When your car gets hot and vents some coolant into the reservoir(aka overflow), it will spill over. Usually when opening the system for a flush, you top up the reservoir about 1" higher than the "full" line to allow for it to suck in a bit if you have still have a little air left in the system. I wouldn't be surprised if the mechanic at the dealer doesn't bother refilling the radiator and just expects it to suck in through the overflow. Because doing it right takes slightly more time, and he gets paid per job. I would suggest finding a shop that is not "flat-rate" as it is terrible for customers.

Cheers.

[Exiwolfman]

Flat rate kills this industry I hate it hate getting paid this way and see how work gets done cos of it and fully agree find a shop that goes hourly .

[nortonfb]

Part of the job of coolant is to carry heat, a very important part. Coolant carries more heat than water and gives it up more readily. There is a product available called
Water Wetter which helps to increase the ability to absorb more heat. This maybe useful if you live in a hot climate or partake in auto activities.
I had a water cooled Ducati that would run right at the edge of the overheat (270F),
the Water Wetter dropped it by 10F., to where it belonged.
I don't know if it's still true but NASCAR racing didn't allow anti-freeze/coolant Water Wetter was used.
Coolant is critical to keeping your wallet in shape.
Norton

[aca72]

DIY it...

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52876

[nookandcrannycar]

The overflow should be around the Full mark when Hot.

^^^^^This is the case with my blue Yaris. At one point the coolant level (when cold) was low, so I added half a container of the pink stuff I purchased at a Toyota dealer. I've never done a flush, nor added any water. Still on the original radiator, hoses, and water pump at 300k plus miles.

[bronsin]

Did you remove the radiator cap and see if thats water?

Engine COLD to remove cap!

[jmandawg]

I called the dealer and they ended up giving me a refund. I'm still really curious as to what they actually did.

I got one of those cheap hand pumps at harbor freight and pumped most of the water out of the overflow reservoir. Just to check I pumped some of the coolant out through the radiator cap and it was pink and looked clean. So at this point I don't know if they changed it and then topped off the overflow with water or if they didn't do anything but add water to the overflow. It didn't look like there was any fresh coolant residue in the plastic area under the drain valve.

Should I just change it myself?

[jcboy]

yes you should. 2 things though, water wetter is just to provide faster convection or heat transfer from the metals to the fluid. coolant is only considerably good if you leave in extreme hot or cold places. that's because ethylene glycol seems to have higher boiling point and lower freezing point. but note that without replacement for years it can accumulate at the bottom and cause rust (and a blown radiator eventually).

where you live I feel distilled water will do the job (not tap water--no to minerals).

re your question, drain all the fluids, put distilled water, run the engine until the fan turns on at least 2x then shut it off and drain. do this twice so if they indeed put tap water the minerals will at least be washed out/diluted.

after which proceed with the intended fluid you want (distilled water, premix coolant, 50/50 mix, etc.)

HTH

[jmandawg]

that's a great idea, thanks for the help. One last question should I bother with the block valve drain or just drain from the radiator only?

[CoryM]

I called the dealer and they ended up giving me a refund. I'm still really curious as to what they actually did.

I got one of those cheap hand pumps at harbor freight and pumped most of the water out of the overflow reservoir. Just to check I pumped some of the coolant out through the radiator cap and it was pink and looked clean. So at this point I don't know if they changed it and then topped off the overflow with water or if they didn't do anything but add water to the overflow. It didn't look like there was any fresh coolant residue in the plastic area under the drain valve.

Should I just change it myself?

I am willing to bet that they did the flush, and topped up the reservoir with water. Mr. Flatrate was probably watching the next big job come in and trying to get it so rushed. Still, since they gave you a refund it would be best to change it again and be certain. At least this way your system will REALLY be flushed :laugh:

[bronsin]

that's a great idea, thanks for the help. One last question should I bother with the block valve drain or just drain from the radiator only?

I use the radiator drain only and at least on mine it ALL comes out.

[tmontague]

I use the block drain and rad drain and very little actually came out of the block. I'll likely not bother with the block drain agin since I'll be changing every few years.

I use deionized water and will not use tap water. I've seen too much build up on my home humidifier within a month to even think about putting that in my cooling system.

When flushing the system I found that it was easier to just remove the thermostat and let the engine run. I did this when it was cool outside and I didn't feel like waiting for the fan to kick on as it was taking too long. If you run it with the thermostat removed it will cycle instantly. Just don't do this too long as it will leak quite a bit with the thermostat removed so make sure you keep adding water every few mins.

This seemed to clean everything out really well and then I just added Toyota Red coolant that I mixed with 35-40% water (winters get stupid cold here) and it is looking extremely clean since. I noticed that the coolant level slowly lowers more during the winter than the summer usually every 10,000km I'll add a couple ml's.

As a side not, the coolant wasn't right up to the rad cap after I changed it, after about 2 months of driving it finally normalized and went back up to the cap. I am not sure if this was air in the system but I did install the new thermostat correctly with the air purge hole in the 12:00 position.