Hi,

Just went over 100K miles on our car. I got the dealer to change the brake fluid. Howver they quoted $300 to replace the engine coolant and close to $400 to replace the inverter coolant. I declined both.

I have a new bottle of engine coolant (see attachement). It does not list Toyota or Lexus and I am wondering if I can use it to drain the radiator and refill. The Lexus just has an aluminum Toyota engine so I dont understand if there is anything special about it.

This is just for the engine coolant. I will deal with the inverter coolant later.

Any insight/knowledge will be appreciated.

Thanks


This is the front of the coolant bottle but it does not list Toyota or Lexus

This shows the ingredients.

 

No. Don’t use it. Only use Toyota LLC.

 

Why would this AF be harmful to use? Doing a search found this:

Do I have to use Toyota brand coolant?
Registered. There is no need to use Toyota OEM coolant. Any "Asian" labelled coolant is fine for aluminum.

I would go with the Peak AF...

 

because you couldn't be sure that their "proprietary" inhibitors is non-silicate, non-amine, non-nitrite and non-borate.

 

Use coolant designed for Toyota/Lexus vehicles!

 

Any long life with an ASTM rating is fine to use, that's all Toyota super long life has. Never buy premix....you are getting half the antifreeze for twice the price.

 

HA! a great tip. I never thought of that.

 

thats incorrect. If the price of the concentrate is the same. It’s half the antifreeze for the same price.

 

Not if you are comparing the Toyota LLC to most other brands.

 

Toyota LLC made in Japan all the way! Exactly the same fill at factory.

 

Thank you all. I will plan to go to the dealer and get the Toyota coolant this week.

The story behind the 'Peak' coolant bottle is that our other car is a Hyundai Kona Electric. It is an EV. We had family visiting so had to use 2 cars and went from Denver, CO to Glenwood Springs, CO in both our cars Lexus ESh and the EV. When I looked under the hood of the EV the next day at Glenwood Springs, the inverter coolant level was at the minimum level. That scared me because I did not want to drive 200 miles through the mountains in an EV with the coolant level at min. Glenwood Springs, CO is in the middle of nowhere with no EV dealers. So I did the only thing I could. I bought a bottle of regular coolant but decided not not use it unless the inverter coolant ran out completely. So it was like an insurance policy. Fortunately we made it back safely and the inverter coolant in the EV is still at the minimum level and I did not have to contaminate it with radiator coolant. BTW a 1 liter inverter coolant bottle is $114 at the dealer! I will wait and see what the level does before I do anything.

Now I have an unopened bottle of $20 'Peak' coolant and dont know what to do with it!

Being the cheap guy I am, I thought I could use it in the Lexus, but after your advice I will not do it. The LExu has treated us well for the last 8 years so we owe it good Toyota coolant!

BTW, has anybody changed the Lexus inverter coolant? That will be next..

 

I have topped up both my inverter coolant and engine coolant with that bottle above on our Lexus hybrids. Hence the OEM fill, as I do not want to mix with aftermarket coolant that is of a different color and composition. There is zero advantage in doing so.