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Question: What is the right coolant for my Toyota Echo?

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echome, 1.5L 4 Cylinder, San Diego, CA, February 03, 2012, 17:05
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 Rookie

My mechanic told me that he will not use the Toyota brand coolant to flush and change my coolant in my Toyota echo because it has corrosive chemicals (he called the Toyota brand the "red" coolant, but I've only seen green coolant used in my radiator). Does this make sense to anyone? I would think that Toyota would make the right coolant for its cars.

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  • Answer #1

    patrick mannion from Greg Solow's Engine Room, February 03, 2012, 17:38
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     Master

    The red Toyota coolant is great. GM had problems with the coolant they used to use but Toyota's red fluid is great!

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    echome, February 03, 2012, 17:51
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    OK, thanks again, Patrick. I don't know what my mechanic is talking about.

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  • Answer #2

    mastertech6371 February 03, 2012, 18:19
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    agree with Pat. Red is good.

    Roy

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  • Answer #3

    sdcarguy from Greg's Automotive, February 10, 2012, 09:08
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     Enthusiast

    The pro0blems with red or long life coolant start with running low on coolant and letting air into the system. A bad radiator cap is the most common cause for this. Flushing and refilling with the long life coolant (notice I didn't say Toyota red) is what's supposed to happen. If you have green coolant in your system, you are headed for trouble. Some misguided souls believe all long life coolant is bad. They are wrong. But they often do a drain and fill or top off with "regular" coolant. If you do have green in your system, you need to have a COMPLETE flush done with a machine to get all remnants of the mixture out of the vehicle, then a fill of good quality long life coolant.
    Long life coolant is almost clear, to orange to red. It is not green. Long life coolant uses a completely different set of additives and modifiers that do not play well with the additive package in green coolant.

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