soarer1023

hi everyone, i have a question regarding to which brand of coolant. i m about to flush the system, so went out and bought a coolant. i bought this kind of coolant, "Havoline Extended life anti-freeze coolant". is this brand any good, or should i go with another brand of coolant? i heard that the SC's are very sensitive to coolant, so just need some advise here.
Thx

Buttercup

I can't give you any guarantees but I remember reading that the extended life coolant works best if you flush out all of the old coolant. The ethylene glycol (old coolant) causes the extended life coolant to not have an extended life.

You can't go wrong with Toyota's (Red?) coolant.

Lexusfreak

Double check with Toyota before putting that coolant in your car. I think you should be ok, but no harm in asking to varify. I just changed the coolant in my 01 ES & I stayed with the Toyota red "Long Life" stuff with distilled water to be on the safe side as I usually use Prestone Long Life but decided to stick with the Toyota stuff as the car is still under factory warranty.

PERRYinLA

"Havoline Extended life" is a Dex-Cool coolant, which is what I used in my car (except I used the Prestone brand, since that's what I had a coupon for). Either brand is fine, since Dex-Cool is a pretty specific formulation and the product must meet the GM 6277M Specification to be labeled as such.

And don't be too suprised if Toyota recommends, you guessed it, Toyota-branded coolant.

TxLexus

"And don't be too suprised if Toyota recommends, you guessed it, Toyota-branded coolant."

I couldnt say it better, you can forget about asking toyota/lexus what other brand to use. like they gonna say yeah go with autozone coolant its just as good.

IMO I do think that Lexus motor are sensitive to coolant. I see my temp needle running a little cooler when the weather is cooler or when I am driving faster. When it idle, the temp needle is normal.

And I use WAL MART Super tech coolant. works fine for me.

Lexusfreak

The Toyota long life coolant was within 50 cents of the Prestone long life you can buy per jug so I didn't mind paying a little extra (a buck) to get the Toyota stuff when more than likely, it's the same stuff I bet

Carpe Diem

There are several old threads (and a few urination competitions) on this subject. Try a search.

George

mikeloc24

I tested the theory and called Cabe Toyota in Long Beach, Ca. Guess what? The tech on the phone never even heard of any brand other than the red "Toyota Long Life" coolant, I even tried to throw him a hint by asking if I can put any "Dex-cool" type coolant in the vehicle, he said he didn't even know what that was! I asked about Prestone and Havoline coolants, he said "I wouldn't recommend those" but couldn't give me any specifics as to why not! Man I was having a good time with 'ol boy on the phone, wording questions just so he'd HAVE to give me a "yes, it's good" or "no, it's bad" response. Ha ha ha ha ha! Those jerk-offs are hilarious! Wooo, OMG, let me compose myself...there's nothing better than knowing a lie is heading your way and being prepared for it...sheer comedy...well, with that said I use the Havoline personally, it was inexpensive and met the specs for my vehicle.

mmarshall

Well, there's a reason why Toyota recommends their own coolant....and it's not just money or profit-motivated. The red Toyota coolant that comes in that big black jug....first of all, it cannot be mixed with any other coolant without the potential for doing damage ...especially the greenish-yellow stuff....unless you COMPETELY flush out all of previous coolant. Second, the Toyota coolant is especially formulated for the metal, rubber, and plastic alloys used in Toyota / Lexus radiators, hoses, water pumps, heater cores, and engine blocks. It is designed with the proper PH (acid / base) balance so it will not damage these parts with normal change intervals.
I'm not saying that other coolants can't be safely used in some cases, but my philosophy is: why take a chance?

gserep1

The green ethylene glycol should not be mixed with propylene glycol (orange dex-cool style). That is the worst case scenario. The mixture will form a horrible scum, and will clog up every component it comes in contact with.

I personally have nothing against the Toyota Red coolant. I decided not to buy it at the Lexus dealership. It is available at any Toyota dealership for substantially less than what Lexus wants to charge. But to be honest, in the old days, whenever I changed the original red fluid, I always changed it to the green stuff with no ill effects. I just made sure to flush out all the old stuff first.

GSEREP1

TxLexus

Yeah know what, I am gonna try this Toyota Red stuff this weekend.

I am in the middle of replacing my starter and i dumped some coolant so now is the perfect time to check it out.

I will keep you guys posted of what I find.

nthach

Toyota red or any of the Glysantin G-05 coolants: Zerex G-05, Mercedes Antifreeze/Coolant Agent, Ford Premium Gold Coolant, Mopar HOAT coolant

HarrierAWD

The Toyota "long-life" coolant is just like the Prestone green stuff, except it's dyed red. Funny thing is that Toyota/Lexus recommends change every 2 years or 30k miles. Some "long life" stuff.

JCtx

You can mix any ethylene glycol antifreeze without any problem; imagine if they weren't compatible.
And yes, the Havoline extended life is the best, because it's the only one which is: silicate, phosphate, borate, and nitrite free. I also use it for my motorcycles. There's nothing different about toyota engines, radiators or water pumps.
As somebody said, the toyota is just dyed red to have the effect it has on so many people: you have to buy it because it's different. Just my $0.02.

nthach

Toyota red=hybrid organic acid inhibitor chemistry
prestone green=silicate and phosphate based chemistry.