I was planning on changing the coolant in my '11 460 but have just read that the factory fill is good for 10 years. Has anyone run into problems letting it go this long?

 

My car went into service July 2007 and I first changed the coolant in October 2015 at 90,000 miles. The manual states changing at 120 mos./100,000 miles. I can't remember why I changed it a little sooner than specified, but there was no problem.

Interestingly the manual then states future changes should be at 60 mos./50,000 miles. I did just have it changed last month at 142,000 miles. It was necessary anyway since I had a leak in the radiator and had to have that replaced anyway.

 

5 years if you care about the cooling system components

 

Do you have examples with your Lexus of why you say this?

 

I have examples of dozens of cars at work and how plastic components harden and fail and seals start to go if you actually believe the 10 year label. BMW is the worst by far since it tends to kill the electric water pump.

Coolants have additive packs that prevent embrittlement and electrolytic conversion of meta parts, the factory fill is assumed perfect and that there is enough to prevent failure for the entire warranty period. Note that failure is not the same as zero wear, you will have the radiator tubes start to internally flake if you don't change every 5 years or use G05 type coolants. The EPA discontinued the use of such in passenger cars since they figured most cars are not kept that long unlike fleet cars that easily hit 500-750k miles and actually need things to remain protected.

Its your car, my 430 needed a rad due to degradation since the last owners followed the book on coolant changes. That's why end tanks break and leak on so many modern cars, plastic gets brittle due to the add pack allowing too much acid

 

Thanks for the input.

 

While I agree in good maintenance (I probably over maintain my vehicles, actually), I disagree with your assessment of radiator side tanks failing because of old coolant...and I disagree with the premise of plastics becoming brittle because of the old coolant.

I see vehicle radiators consistently failing nowadays on side tanks with mileage UNDER 50,000 miles and ages under three years. It’s not the coolant, it’s poor design. It’s poor manufacturing tolerances. It’s the car manufacturer going to the lowest bidder. It’s not the coolant’s fault.

And on the flip side I see cars with 150,000 miles, that have brittle/broken plastic pieces of the cooling system, despite changing the coolant every 50,000 miles/every 3 years. It’s not the coolant. It’s plastic getting old, becoming brittle and cracking. That plastic has to go through thousands of heat cycles...thousands of engine start ups, heating up, cooling down. Thousands. It’s not the coolant, it’s the plastic. It’s just not going to last forever - manufacturer’s went to plastic components because they are cheaper than aluminum - they’ll tell you it is because it is “lighter” and dissipates heat better, but it’s also much much cheaper than aluminum.

I’ll say it again - I love maintenance - I always change my coolant before manufacturer recommendation, but old coolant is not going to break or damage plastic parts. I have literally seen many many vehicles with over 200,000 miles with original factory fill, with ZERO issues to their cooling systems. It depends on the design. Would I let my coolant go that long? No. But if I did, I’d worry more about my heater core clogging or my radiator clogging, than plastic pieces breaking because of it.

 

I tend to agree with Doublebase. I also have always over maintained my vehicles but have friends that do nothing related to fluid mtce but change engine oil. I think most premium auto fluids today are far superior to those of yesterday. One friend told me he has never changed any fluids other than engine oil on his Dodge pickup which has over 200k miles on it and has never had any fluid related issues. Another friend has an '06 MB SL500 and says the same thing although the car has only about 60k miles on it.

As far as Lexus (Toyota) is concerned, I don't think they like their cars having problems, hence their models are generally in the top of lists showing the most reliable cars. My '11 LS460 has about 70k miles on it and I have had just 3 problems other than routine battery, tire, and brake service since I bought it as a CPO in '13. One was a clogged windshield washer valve which I fixed myself for $12. The other problems were the brake actuator and sticky interior parts, both of which were recently taken care of at no charge by Lexus under their "good will" extended warranty. My point after thinking more about my thread here is that if they say their coolant is good for 10 years, that's good enough for me.

 

Okay then, I have dozens of pictures of buildup and erosion inside coolant loops but you go with that. Not my cars after all

 

Not to belabor this, but out of curiosity did these cars use distilled or tap water as the dilutant? (I recognize that these cars are apparently not yours so I guess there's no way of telling.) I learned a long time ago that you don't get much, if any, corrosion when diluting with distilled water.

Lastly, I'd be interested in other member comments regarding the 10 year factory fill and if they have had any radiator problems when adhering to this mtce schedule. BTW, I not saying you're wrong.

 

Combo of factory fills and blatant user stupidly refilling with generic and tap water, the latter usually wiped out the pump impellers on GM 3400 engines and some 3800s. The only cars I've seen be able to mostly ignore it are Toyota's since they starts with so much coolant capacity relative to other cars of the same system demand that the add pack lasts way longer since they figure people are stupid and won't change it. Even when that's the exception to most brands and I still stand by not skimping since heater core replacements are difficult on cars like this.

 

07 460 here with 120,000 miles

notes from previous owner show the anti freeze was last changed at 60,000 miles at the dealer

two weeks ago I dropped it off at my trusted independent mechanic to change the coolant
he called me and said he had to replace the radiator as it had a small leak and numerous other
suspicious weaknesses, good, I had him also put in a new thermostat, water pump, belt, pulleys, etc

 

He broke the coolant tube at the top of the radiator when he leaned over it to reach down to loosen the pet ****. Guaranteed. Lol. Probably one of the worst kept secrets on LS460 repair. Don’t lean over the radiator on one of these cars, or put your hand near the reservoir...you’ll accidentally ruin your radiator.

 

That could be as we have read here that is a problem. However, I can tell you in my case that wasn't the cause, and since colfax said his is a "trusted independent", that may not be the case here as well.

However, I will say it is good to remind newer members of that possibility.