Is it critical to change coolant at 100K?

[RMcG]

Originally Posted by tmontague

Do it yourself in the parking lot - here's how:

close the pet cock and re fill with fresh Toyota coolant (50/50 mix) from the rad cap.

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Thanks tmontague for the detailed instructions and the encouragement. I plan to do it myself. It's not just the money, it's --- it's ---- it's, well it's being human.

ONE QUESTION: you say re fill with fresh Toyota coolant. Does that mean I should use a special Toyota brand coolant?

I added to my last post that the car is almost 11 years (131 months), whereas the maintenance schedule recommends a change at 120 months (10 years). But I checked the coolant and it appears pink and clear without particulates. And the level is about 1 inch above the "LOW" line on the plastic overflow container. So I think I am OK to wait until I get back from the trip.

Any more comments will be appreciated.

Thanks,

R.

[tmontague]

Originally Posted by RMcG

Thanks tmontague for the detailed instructions and the encouragement. I plan to do it myself. It's not just the money, it's --- it's ---- it's, well it's being human.

ONE QUESTION: you say re fill with fresh Toyota coolant. Does that mean I should use a special Toyota brand coolant?

I added to my last post that the car is almost 11 years (131 months), whereas the maintenance schedule recommends a change at 120 months (10 years). But I checked the coolant and it appears pink and clear without particulates. And the level is about 1 inch above the "LOW" line on the plastic overflow container. So I think I am OK to wait until I get back from the trip.

Thanks,

R.

Most of us YW member recommend Toyota brand coolant instead of other aftermarket brands. That being said, full disclosure - Toyota coolant here is only found in 50/50 mix and is not cheap. I found a company (Recochem) that makes various coolant for all different type of manufacturers and the name they brand it with is "OEM". It is sold locally to me and I can buy a pure concentrate that I mix myself with deionized water. I looked up the MSDS and the ingredient are essentially the same as Toyota's. I go with this instead of Toyota's own coolant and it has worked wonderfully for me.

I would recommend you look at getting Toyota stuff and if it is reasonably priced than stick with that.

Like I said before, you will be fine to do the coolant change after your trip. I doubt the corrosion inhibitors are fully depleted. If they were, driving isn't the issue, worn out coolant will eat away at your engine block regardless of driving or sitting in a driveway. Dip your fingers in the coolant and rub them back and forth, it should feel somewhat slippery.

[RMcG]

Originally Posted by tmontague

I found a company (Recochem) that makes various coolant for all different type of manufacturers and the name they brand it with is "OEM". It is sold locally to me and I can buy a pure concentrate that I mix myself with deionized water. I looked up the MSDS and the ingredient are essentially the same as Toyota's. I go with this instead of Toyota's own coolant and it has worked wonderfully for me.

An undiluted OEM Reochem coolant (that is for Toyota, and is compatible with the Yaris according to the website) is sold through Rock Auto, see RECOCHEM 86174POEM

I may buy this as I want to depress the freezing point more than -34 Fahrenheit, and it is also cheaper than the standard pre-diluted Toyota brand 00272-SLLC2 (I think is the correct number). Some websites like Amazon, Ebay and ToyotaPartsDeal.com sell the older undiluted coolant 00272-1LLAC-01 and some Toyota dealerships in cold parts of the US (e.g., Alaska) still stock this older undiluted (00272-1LLAC-01) coolant. These dealerships dilute the 00272-1LLAC-01 coolant 60/40 (coolant/distilled water) to get a freezing point of minus 56 Fahrenheit.

QUESTION: Does anybody have any opinion about whether the (apparently newer) Reochem would be better than the (apparently older) Toyota brand 00272-1LLAC-01 ? They are both undiluted and are about the same price.

Thanks,

R.