Red vs pink coolant question after flush

[dave mac]

As per Toyota, the original coolant from the factory is good for 10 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. All subsequent changes are 5year/50k miles (half the time & miles of factory fill). That is based on using Toyota Super Long Life pink coolant, not other types/brands. The reason the time/mileage intervals are halved after the initial coolant change is the coolant system is not factory clean anymore, there is dirt building up and degradation of metal, plastic & rubber parts in the system. I just had my first coolant system full-flush, done at the Toyota dealer w/a machine and the factory fluid, for $159. They even cleaned out the overflow bottle.