Hi everyone,

I got a second hand Prius recently (2003 July) and noted that the collant level was pretty low. I called Toyota and asked them if it was okay to put a coolant from the petrol station into it, because they were different colours (mine is pink, petrol station brand coolant is green). They suggested going to a Toyota dealer to get it serviced and drained completely, then put new Toyota coolant into it. Is this completely necessary? Seems to be an inordinate expense. First car, so apologies for the newbie question.

Cheers

delias

Red Coolant is better than Green Coolant.
It sounds like the dealer is trying to get you spend $$$ to flush out the coolant when it's not necessary.

If you go to Autobarn/Supercheap/Repco/Carbits you'll find it and you can simply top up the level. I believe Nulon now make the Red/Pink Coolant.

Cheers

dont mix them together, whatever u do! made up of different compounds so not good if mixed!

not terribly much difference between the two, but if your worried just flush the coolant yourself, its pretty easy...

park on the grass
wait for car to cool down
pull off bottom radiator hose
take radiator cap off to let it drain faster
get hose and squirt a bit of water in the hole at top to wash out the inside a bit
reattach radiator hose
fill to brim with coolant/water mix (green or red)
start car, continue to fill up till it overflows, dont forget overflow tank!
leave car running for a bit, but keep an eye on in cos its gotta suck the coolant into the engine as well, so the overflow will probably empty pretty quick.

then just keep checking it occasionally. easy!

Cheers for the answer. I ended up getting it serviced and requesting it as part of the service.

Thanks again.