I am not a 'hands-on' guy. So, sorry if I ask a very basic question. I have 2000 ES and the coolant level shows below low mark level after over night stay. So, I bought red coolant from Toyota and wanted to fill coolant tank. But, according to Lexus, it should be 50-50 mix with water. Can I add 50% water to the coolant and add that to the coolant tank?. Do I need to fill the same to the radiator?. Appreciate your help.

 

Any one please......

 

yes, mix it 50/50 with water, but be sure that it is not pre-mixed, as lexus has started selling pre-mixed coolant now. add to coolant tank. monitor for a few days. you should be fine.

 

Thanks jjbodean......

 

satiger,

If it's not too late and before you add in the coolant, I advise re-checking the coolant level after driving it around one day. When I had my ES, it was normal to see the coolant level below the MIN level after overnight, and the level will move up close to the MAX level after driving around for a while.

 

Thanks lexusk8. It did happend to me few years back. When I drove the vehicle, the level went up. But, when I read the manual it states that at cold engine temperature, the level should be between high and low. That's the reason I wanted to fill to the upper mark. Tomorrow, I will be using the car to commute to work. I will let you know whether the level goes beyound high mark after driving.

 

I hope that you are looking inside the radiator and not the resevoir... the resevior is mainly for if your coolant runs over what the engine and rad can take, it then dumps it out to your res... or if you have some pressure issues, it will suck up from the res... just be sure on a cool day (before you ever start your car after its been sitting) to open up your rad cap and check to see if you can see coolant... if not and you see metal grill, fill it up to the top.

 

If you bought the coolant that you have to mix with water, make sure you use distilled water.

 

Earlier I filled up cooland resevoir upto full mark when engine was cold.

Update: This is what I noticed : after driving the vehicle (when engine is hot) the coolant resevoir level goes about 3/4" above full level mark. When engine is cold the level comes back to full level mark.

The manual says that we need to check the coolant level when the engine is cold. But if I fill upto full mark, the level goes above full mark after driving. Is it OK or am I missing something?.

 

Get a turkey baster or a small siphon device to suck out and remove enough coolant after car is warmed up so that the level will go back to the full mark. You definitely don't want the level to be above the FULL mark in your car.