Japanese coolant - are they all the same?

[sky jumper]

I know very little about coolant, and reading all of these threads has added to my confusion.

are Honda, Toyota, and Nissan coolant all the same, even if they are different color?

the reason I ask is because Nissan seems to charge almost 2X for their coolant than Toyota. I'd rather just buy yota fluid if I can. thanks.

 

[Ray H]

Among those three automakers at least, I believe their respective OEM antifreeze/coolant concentrates are interchangeable from trade publication articles I've found online (and I've stated so on numerous posts here). All three stress no silicates, OAT, and a stiff dose of phosphate as co-corrosion protection. The marker dye color has NO effect on the chemistry - it's just for product identification. The one caution would be to use your car's OEM syrup while it's under warranty in the event of a cooling system problem claim. (unlikely, but . . .)

 

[rwl408]

I just put Toyota Red in my Mazda MPV and Nissan Altima. Personally I feel it is the closest thing one can get for Japanese cars than other stuff like Prestone All Makes or G-05. A couple of months before that I put Prestone All Makes into my Corolla, which I am still wait for it to be home to get my hands on (to replace the Prestone with the Red). I did that then because I was mis-informed about the life-span of the Toyota Red and thought the Prestone was the best alternative, from the standpoint of environmental concern (laziness in disguise

). Later I found this article from this Toyota Japan web page indicating that it (the Red, or LLC) can last 50,000miles (80,000km) and that prompted me to settle for the Toyota Red, which is at a lower price (13.88/gal concentrated sale price) than other OEM's coolant.

 

[t0ked]

Figuring I have a Lexus, I can tell you a bit about the different Toyota coolants. Right now, there are 2 types, red and pink. The red is older and is called long life. It is an ethylene glycol antifreeze with high phosphate content and no silicates. The conventional green stuff can be used safely with this, althought the high silica content will mean more frequent maintenance. The pink is newer and is called super long life or something of that nature. It is an organic acid formulation similar to dex-cool. The red and pink are not interchangeable unless a complete flush is done. I've been using the conventional green since my car came off warranty (8 years ago). Just recently had water pump changed... the pump and thermostat looked pristine, no build up or deposits of any kind.

 

[rwl408]

The Toyota Pink (Super LLC) can last 100,000 miles/10 years according to my 2004 Highlander owner's manual and still contains phosphates (but no nitrite, so there goes nitrite-rich G-05 as replacement). Interesting thing is after 1st coolant replacement the maintenance schedule is at 50,000 miles/5 years. The propaganda from Toyota dealers says the gallon Pink coolant is the same as the OEM fill. So why the shorter schedule? By the way, I have not found concentrated Pink yet, only pre-mixed.

As far as the Red, it contains organic acid salt, which make me think it is not really a conventional type of coolant. But what do I know. Anyway I feel comfortable to let the Red stay for 5 years if necessary.

 

[Mickey_M]

rwl408

quote:

---

The Toyota Pink (Super LLC) can last 100,000 miles/10 years according to my 2004 Highlander owner's manual and still contains phosphates (but no nitrite, so there goes nitrite-rich G-05 as replacement). Interesting thing is after 1st coolant replacement the maintenance schedule is at 50,000 miles/5 years. The propaganda from Toyota dealers says the gallon Pink coolant is the same as the OEM fill. So why the shorter schedule?....

---

The factory probably mixes it with distilled water. Also the initial mix goes in a pristine vehicle with new hoses, radiator, block, and so on. As these parts get older they start shedding material and changing the ph of the coolant.


.

 

[Matt89]

rwl408 said:
Interesting thing is after 1st coolant replacement the maintenance schedule is at 50,000 miles/5 years.


My guess is that this is because the owners' manual assumes that the 'coolant change' is a drain and fill - don't get all of the old stuff out. I know for my Hondas they specify a drain/fill with pre-diluted Type 2 coolant, and the subsequent intervals are half the original interval. The owners' manuals used to have instructions on how to do the drain/fill...no flushing.

 

[IslaVistaMan]

As far as coolant replacement, Toyota recommends using their coolant, and as far as flushing goes, they actually say to use only coolant as the flush solution (no water, distilled or otherwise).

Direct from the OEM factory service manual for my 2004 RAV4.

 

[Mickey_M]

Of course Toyota recommends their coolant.

If the factory fill is an OAT antifreeze with deoinized water mix, using tap water to flush would pollute the coolant, and using distilled water would dilute the coolant resulting in a higher freeze point (there's always a little left in the block when you're done).

On the other hand, if you move to another long-life coolant, and DexCool clones and G-05 are both suitable, the use of distilled water as a flush will yield a mix comparable to the factory fill.

Valvoline, which offers several Zerex formulas, recommends their DexCool clone for the Toyota. On the other hand, they recommend G-05 for the Hondas which use a very similar factory coolant.

The reason seems to be Honda's recommendation that DexCool not be used.

I switched my wife's 2002 Camry over to G-05. It has about the same long-life characteristics of the Toyota and DexCool, it's more tolerant of cavitation than the DexCool, and it's easier to find than the Toyota.

 

[rwl408]

Matt,

You got a good point. Maybe that is why Toyota doesn't offer concentrated Pink coolant. I guess it is time to find a shop manual to see what Toyota has to say about the coolant replacement procedure.

 

[sky jumper]

as I understand it, OAT is not compatible with regular silicated green, and the nitrite free Japanese stuff is not compatible with anything (G05, dexcool, regular green).

so why do the bottles at wally world say "for use on ALL makes/models/years". and when I call the Nissan dealer he says "use whatever you want" and then quotes me $27/gal for the nissan OEM.

 

[Mickey_M]

There is some compatiblity, if you don't mind jeopardizing the long-life aspect. In some cases you don't even do that.

For example, you can add some DexCool clone to the late model Japanese OAT nitrite-free silicate-free formulas without any problem.

The problem is that you have to know a little bit about the chemistry of the two coolants and how they'll interact, and no one is volunteering much in the way of information.

I am dubious of the Universal long-life coolants except in replacing DexCool.


.

 

[pda1122]

i just bought some red yota coolant for 24.58 here in maine... expensive but it feels good knowing i put the right stuff in there....

 

[LarryL]

The more I hear, the more I'm confused. I have an 03 4Runner and to be safe, I'm going to take out a loan and buy the pre-mixed pink from the dealer. Ouch.

 

[Amkeer]

I get the concetrated Toyota long life for 9.95 with a coupon. I change this at max intervals of 3 years with distilled water.

Daily Drives:
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner,2.7 liter, 4 cylinder, Mobil1 5w30 ODO 21800
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner,3.0 liter,6 cylinder, Mobil1 5w40 tsuv ODO 101300
http://community.webshots.com/user/amkeer

 

[AcuraTech]

I dont know about Toyota or Nissan, but I know that the Honda coolant that is sold now is pre-mixed, "long life" coolant. However, we still recommend replacement at 45K, regardless of "long life". It is blue colored and is compatible with regular green antifreeze.

To me it is strange that Honda switched the dye to a bluish green as opposed to the older regular green. Whatever happened to antifreeze always being green? Now there is pink, red, orange, green, and blue coolant. Crazy.

 

[sky jumper]

so I ended up buying the green Nissan OEM stuff for $18 (full strength) - felt robbed, but didn't want to take chances prestone. it is not the same color as regular green silicated coolant. IIRC the regular green stuff is a bright florescent milky green. the Nissan is a darker translucent clear green. almost looks watery at a 50/50 mix.

 

[edwardh1]

our nissan dealer uses the expensive nissan stuff (they say) in in warranty cars.
then switch to some generic real cheap stuff for the out of warranty work - per their parts department

 

[LarryL]

I just flushed my 03 4Runner at two years, 30k miles, and replaced it with the pre-mix pink stuff. The coolant that came out was absolutely clean. I drained it into a clear plastic jug and there was not a hit of anyting except pink coolant. So, I guess I changed it too soon.

 

[Big Jim]

Isn't that what preventive maintenance is?