dm3479

how do you check the coolant level in LS430?

Bocatrip

Check the coolant reservoir first to see how low you might be. Our cars do lose coolant over time. If you are adding directly to the radiator you might have a problem or never checked the coolant in a very long time.

Gronemus

Get a flashlight and simply lean over the inlet cover shown in the diagram above and shine it down at the front (back?) of the reservoir. You should be able to view the sight glass to tell the level of the coolant. There's no need to take anything apart...

Bocatrip

Correct. Unless there is an extreme leak.

LS430Lexus

The light on your phone will work very well for this task. Put the phone between the inlet cover (on top of the radiator) and the engine with the light facing toward the front of the car. Bend over and look below the inlet cover. You will see the recovery tank, black with an milky white strip in the center. Look for the full marking and check your coolant level. If you need to add coolant, you will need to remove the inlet cover to remove the recovery tank cap. Hope this helps, it is not as hard as it sounds.

Johnhav430

From my own experience....on day 2 of having the car, zero coolant in the reservoir, even needed to be added to the radiator, was concerned. the plastic intake over the radiator (two plastic screws) has to come off to expose the reservoir, which can be viewed from the rear, but imho take it off and check. Top off the fluid with 50/50 of the pink Walmart stuff (why spend $26 gal for 50/50, when it's $8 there for sllc2 Zerex), and do this up to 3X. Be exact on where the level is mentally, even if a little over, that's ok. Leave the two screws out so you can easily remove the intake and top off, it won't go anywhere. After about 3 top offs, the level should be exact and never change for months and months and months. This was my experience.

I have never had a car that needed to have coolant topped off, that's serious stuff, so I was pretty sure I was burned on this sale. But being sold in NYS, by law, it had a 2 mo/2,000 mile warranty (if it had 1k less, 3 mo./3,000 miles), so I said ok the dealer is gonna replace the head gaskets, but I got burned on a bum LS. No wonder they traded it in. Luckily per the forum, having the coolant evaporate is common. It's super long life, so understandable that a typical owner is never going to bother, especially given the reservoir is hidden. But if they do a 5k dealer service regularly, quite odd the dealer wouldn't bother as well. Maybe because the coolant is $52/gal., they're not willing to top off anyone's car. And I bet even wealthy folks won't take kindly to $26 extra because the coolant was low.

edit: after the three top offs, and everything is fine, put the two plastic screws back...

Bocatrip

Most reservoirs will have noticeable white spots around it which is common and normal. Evaporation is also common. I check every 3-4 months and add a few ounces of a 50/50 blend of Toyota Red and distilled water.

Johnhav430

I wonder if the engineers were thinking it doesn't matter, the reservoir is "extra" coolant anyway, The cap snaps in place, so it's obviously not leak free nor airtight. My Maxima reservoir has a cap that screws on, yet it's not a pressurized system. There was zero loss ever, until the radiator began to leak. So I think used LS430 buyers need not worry if they see their coolant gone....it is likely due to having never been checked and evaporation...

edit corrected spelling

XJSFan

If it is a little low, I usually add a few ounces of distilled water to bring it up to the full line. Mine only seems to move an inch or two down within one year or so... Evaporation does happen.

Johnhav430

Wow, that is a lot, and could explain the entire reservoir and some of the radiator being drained over 10 years. Any other car I would be seriously concerned, but not this one....I've only had my car 6 mos. and have not seen it move one iota. But problem with that is it got 2 drain and refills, once by my request, the 2nd due to the timing belt job. So it got topped off by me about 2500 ago, not too long....and not really long enough to say it doesn't go down over time...

XJSFan

2 OZ is a lot? LOL... 1 inch or two down from the reservoir full mark is a lot? LOL. Very common especially after having had the timing belt and water pump service done last year. Most likely a little air in the system and I have not been concerned because the coolant was right in the middle of the low and full lines and never moved. It is still at the full line on a cold engine since topping it off.

Johnhav430

If it started at full, and was 1-2" down over the course of a year, yes, in my opinion. If the timing belt were replaced, of course not, it needs to be rechecked imho 3X minimum, and topped off. As mentioned, mine was settled about 3k ago, it hasn't moved at all, and I wouldn't expect it to. I wouldn't expect it to be any lower one year from now. But if it did, it's been clearly stated on the forum that folks see pink residue around the cap, meaning the cap leaks, and it's not abnormal for this car. Coolant is something that is not normally topped off in a car, adding it is usually indicative of a leak. Again, on the LS430, it could simply be the reservoir cap.

Serushio