Turismo

I looked through the maintenance schedule and saw several "inspect engine coolant", but what is the actual service interval of the OEM coolant? It doesn't say on the jug either.

Sasnuke

For Canadian vehicles it's recommended to replace engine coolant at 160,000 kms...or 100,000 miles for you.

Sybaritic

+1 to Sasnuke. When in doubt, just do it every two years as I will do as I find anything over 60K miles without changing the coolant is too long given how hot the drivetrain can get. I haven't explored coolant changes on this car yet, but there should probably be a drain **** on the rad that can be loosened to drain, and then you fill it up and bleed the air to replenish the coolant supply. It's good for better cooling capacity and to lubricate the water pump so it lasts longer.

Sasnuke

Coolant has come a long way in the last decade+ and the Super Long Life that Toyota makes is pretty good.
The key is that it is sold pre-mixed from the supplier so the 50/50 with tap water is negated. The older Toyota Long Life coolant was sold as a concentrate, and of course everyone had deonized water on hand to mix it with.(sarcasm)
In Canada Toyota/Lexus owners get a Supplemental Owners Manual that suggests certain fluids be replaced at specific intervals if used under certain conditions.
I don't believe in all markets they get this Supplemental manual...which means they are not recommending the fluid being changed for components like the diffs, transmission, and engine coolant.

Sybaritic

You're right. I enjoy changing fluids sooner than its recommended interval. Makes me feel like I'm doing the car lots of good.

Do you go to Lexus Richmond Hill for service? My dealer recommends ATF and the diff fluid changes every 96K.

Sasnuke

I bought the vehicle CPO at Lexus Downtown in Toronto last year. I just used up my second, and last, complimentary oil change. I don't drive that much, 10K a year.
I will take it to Lexus of Richmond Hill if it needs a service I can't do myself.
For simple oil changes I'll probably take it to my neighbors shop...I really don't need the $100 oil change at the dealer.

E46CT

If it's a lease, let the dealer worry. If you bought your car, I'd do it once a year (coolant replacement) there's this thing called electrolysis

Sasnuke

I think there can be a compromise between good preventative maintenance and then just throwing money away.
Certainly changing engine oil every month, regardless of mileage, would not cause any harm to the vehicle, but at what point are you throwing good oil and good money down the drain (metaphorically speaking).
While manufacturers seem to have an unrealistic expectancy of fluid life span, changing the coolant once a year might be a tad too much.
And then the question is, what constitutes changing it...
Is it draining it from the rad only...which you'd get on only a portion
Is it draining it from the rad and the block drains...which you get the vast majority of it
Is it using a flush machine...which they usually guarantee an 85% or higher rate of exchange

There are ways to test the coolant, for electrolysis, for PH balance...probably a better idea to do that and then change the coolant at an appropriate time

Sybaritic

zhifan1

Planning to do a coolant change for my IS200t, saw a video whereby the guy took off the entire skid plate to drain the coolant via the petcock. My questions:
1) Is it necessary to remove the entire skid plate or is there a smaller plate to remove to access the petcock?
2) What is the dimension of the pipe to connect to the drainage plug of the radiator?
3) I don't plan to drain the coolant of the engine block as it seems quite difficult to access without a lift, but rather to drain and fill a few times from the radiator, is that ok?
4) Super Long Life coolant compatible (pink) coolant is fine? I can't get Toyota brand coolant here, thx all..

nitroracer

This is the most recent post I could find on 3IS coolant flushing, so I'm posting here:

Manual says appx 100k miles to do this, but I haven't lost a drop of coolant, and the pH is still about 8-9, so slightly acidic. Vehicle is well-maintained and hardly left outside in extreme conditions. Always garage kept, mostly highway miles in the Midwest.

I have everything to do a flush - distilled water, SLL coolant, venturi vacuum to prevent air pockets - but I've just not gotten around to it. There seem to be varying answers on the internet surrounding Toyota SLL coolant and how long it can last. We also know Lexus makes claims like the transmission fluid is a lifetime one.

So, should I go ahead and do it, or save the money? What is actually happening inside my cooling system if the coolant is still acidic? IOW, what is the risk at this point of leaving the factory fill as is?

LeX2K

Forget about flushing out with water do a drain/fill that's it. If you want to push the life past what Toyota recommends then you're running an experiment you decide if the risk is worth it.

nitroracer

Sure, I can appreciate that. My question is, what are the risks? Eg, the pH level hasn't changed one iota. In fact it's even slightly acidic still.

LeX2K

Eventually the coolant will lose the ability to stay inert and start interacting with the various metals and plastics. How long this will take I'm not sure. I recently serviced a 15 year old Toyota hybrid, coolant never changed on the engine or inverter system. Everything looked pristine. Engine radiator was starting to leak but they fail no matter how often you replace the coolant.

Honestly it depends how long you plan on keeping the car.