[aveemashfaq]

Originally Posted by Nahid

Ouch! Now I'm confused again. Should I open the radiator cap to check coolant or should I check the reservoir marking?

Ok. Lets get a few things straight out. You should periodically check the coolant level, engine oil level, brake fluid level, and power steering fluid level. So, no harm in doing any maintenance routine. I insist that you check the coolant level.

As far as I know, the coolant reservoir has green colour. You have mentioned that you have seen a pink fluid. Maybe you are checking in the wrong place. Pink fluid is usually the brake fluid reservoir. Look for a box in which you have a green fluid. Or refer to your owner's manual for the location of the box.

You can also check the coolant level inside the radiator cap. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU SHOULD NEVER OPEN THE RADIATOR CAP WHEN THE RADIATOR IS HOT OR WHEN THE ENGINE IS ON. When the engine is turned off and the car has cooled down to such an extent that even if you touch the metallic radiator cap for long periods, your skin does not burn, open the radiator cap and visually inspect if you can see anything. If there is green liquid, then no worries. If you don't see anything, you need a topup.

Generally, coolant is available as coolant concentrate. You mix coolant concentrate and water in 1:1 and pour it into the car. Please remember that the water to be used is distilled water. Regular water will form scales and in distant future, 10 years down the line, the coolant lines will all be clogged up.

If you can't find coolant nearby or the trip to service center is far away and you have to drive a long way with empty coolant, then you can fill the radiator with water until you visit the service center. This is only as a precaution because if you don't have coolant in the system and you drive a distance, your water pump might fail and cause expensive damage.

[R2D2]

Just 3 things to be aware of:

a) Toyota's long life coolant is PINK in colour and comes pre-mixed at the factory with distilled water and coolant concentrate. DO NOT use other coolants in the system and do not add water to the pre-mixed coolant.

In case of a leak or loss of coolant top up with clean preferably filtered water and once you are in the vicinity of a Toyota service centre get the cooling system drained and refilled with the recommended coolant.

b) Always top up radiator fluid at the reservoir, not the radiator.

c) If your radiator seems empty i.e. you cannot see coolant when you open the radiator cap (never open when the engine is hot) there may be a leak somewhere in the system. Get it checked. Loss of coolant can lead to the engine seizing. Also check the pipe inside the coolant reservoir tank. It should be fitted to the nozzle on the inside of the tank cap. Without this pipe, coolant cannot flow back into the radiator when the engine cools. Conversely it cannot flow into the reservoir tank when the engine heats up. The reservoir/tank is also called an expansion tank for this reason.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by Nahid

I follow the user manual and since the coolant is up to full mark I personally think there is no reason to be worried. But local mechanics and employed drivers has a tendency to fill up "radiator pani" periodically. In fact recently an employed driver opened the radiator cap and since he did not see any water there he directly poured raw water without my knowledge.

Toyota cars sold in India have very long life coolant - it can go for maybe 5 years with no attention, other than annual reservoir top up by Toyota service if needed during the annual service which must NOT be done by local mechanics. Unless Toyota service just isn't there...
I have never seen a car with inadequate coolant with the reservoir having coolant up to the full mark when the engine is cold. If you want to be very sure, there is an easy way to do so - when the engine is running for some time, the coolant level in the reservoir will rise to above where it is when the engine is cold. If these level changes in both directions, up and down, are happening, there is nothing to worry other than keeping an occassional eye on the level in the reservoir.

[EFF-EIGHT-BEE]

Originally Posted by aveemashfaq

As far as I know, the coolant reservoir has green colour. You have mentioned that you have seen a pink fluid. Maybe you are checking in the wrong place. Pink fluid is usually the brake fluid reservoir. Look for a box in which you have a green fluid. Or refer to your owner's manual for the location of the box.

My friend it is fallacious to say that coolant=green colour. Today car manufacturers are using synthetic life long coolant which are generally of pink or orange colour, green colour coolants are rarely seen nowadays in the modern cars. So he might be looking at right place instead of break fluid reservoir.
Also if your coolant reservoir is pressurized then check the level only when it has cooled off becauseas our friend just mentioned, it may scaled you and generally it won't show you correct level if pressurized because the coolant tend to flow in and out of it depending on requirement. However an empty reservoir bottle is a caused of concern.

[Nahid]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Just 3 things to be aware of:

a) Toyota's long life coolant is PINK in colour and comes pre-mixed at the factory with distilled water and coolant concentrate. DO NOT use other coolants in the system and do not add water to the pre-mixed coolant.

In case of a leak or loss of coolant top up with clean preferably filtered water and once you are in the vicinity of a Toyota service centre get the cooling system drained and refilled with the recommended coolant.

b) Always top up radiator fluid at the reservoir, not the radiator.

c) If your radiator seems empty i.e. you cannot see coolant when you open the radiator cap (never open when the engine is hot) there may be a leak somewhere in the system. Get it checked. Loss of coolant can lead to the engine seizing. Also check the pipe inside the coolant reservoir tank. It should be fitted to the nozzle on the inside of the tank cap. Without this pipe, coolant cannot flow back into the radiator when the engine cools. Conversely it cannot flow into the reservoir tank when the engine heats up. The reservoir/tank is also called an expansion tank for this reason.

A) I know that adding raw water will damage the engine by gathering rust in the long run but unfortunately my driver didn't know that. However, he added very little amount of raw water, about 20-30 ml. Should I go for a flush for this amount.

B&C) When I open radiator cap then the pink coolant is not visible but I see some residue of pink coolant which apparently looks like that the coolant flowed over this area. Should I check for leak.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I have never seen a car with inadequate coolant with the reservoir having coolant up to the full mark when the engine is cold. If you want to be very sure, there is an easy way to do so - when the engine is running for some time, the coolant level in the reservoir will rise to above where it is when the engine is cold. If these level changes in both directions, up and down, are happening, there is nothing to worry other than keeping an occassional eye on the level in the reservoir.

The pink coolant is about 2 centimeter above the full mark since i bought the car 8 months back. I've always checked it when the engine is cool. Next time I'll check if it moves when the engine is hot and running.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Nahid

A) I know that adding raw water will damage the engine by gathering rust in the long run but unfortunately my driver didn't know that. However, he added very little amount of raw water, about 20-30 ml. Should I go for a flush for this amount.

A small amount of water added to the coolant will not do any damage. But PLEASE make sure you educate your driver about the necessity of adding only coolant to the expansion tank or radiator. It is only in an emergency (radiator leak or such) where coolant levels have dropped low that you should add water.

Toyota's factory filled coolants can be used for up to 160,000 kms or 10 years whichever is earlier. After this, the interval is 100,000 kms or 5 years whichever is earlier.

B&C) When I open radiator cap then the pink coolant is not visible but I see some residue of pink coolant which apparently looks like that the coolant flowed over this area. Should I check for leak.

Please do the following at the earliest:

a) Your car is new and should not have leaks. But all the same this situation justifies a precautionary check. Normally you should see pink fluid up to the neck of the radiator i.e. just below the radiator cap. I'd strongly recommend NOT driving the car in this state.

b) Go to your Toyota dealer buy 1 or 2 bottles of premixed coolant and pour it directly into the radiator till it comes to the neck. Now, DO NOT do this exercise with a hot engine. Once the radiator is full, start the engine,, you should see bubbling in the radiator as air is driven out. If the coolant level drops just keep topping it off. Once the level is stable, replace the cap.

Remember this is only a one off exercise. After this fill coolant only in the white reservoir.

c) Drive the car to your dealer and have them test it for leaks and other problems

The Yaris is not sold in India but here's a video that may help you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEDj-v31kRw

[Nahid]

Please check the first picture showing inside of the radiator cap and comment if it's in acceptable level.

Secondly, please check the reservoir tank. It was 2/3 centimetres above the FULL mark since I bought the car 8 months back until last week but now it's below that mark. I've found that my newly appointed driver kept that cap of reservoir tank open. He's saying he did it unintentionally. But is this the reason why the coolant level has decreased?

[sanjeevgpc]

Originally Posted by Nahid

Please check the first picture showing inside of the radiator cap and comment if it's in acceptable level.

Secondly, please check the reservoir tank. It was 2/3 centimetres above the FULL mark since I bought the car 8 months back until last week but now it's below that mark. I've found that my newly appointed driver kept that cap of reservoir tank open. He's saying he did it unintentionally. But is this the reason why the coolant level has decreased?

I think there is nothing you need to worry about. As per pictures, all is fine and there is no topup required for now.

[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by Nahid

Please check the first picture showing inside of the radiator cap and comment if it's in acceptable level.

Start to worry only if the coolant level reaches near the low mark, Till then just keep a regular check on the level now so that you don't come to know about it when its a little late.

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by Nahid

Please check the first picture showing inside of the radiator cap and comment if it's in acceptable level.

Secondly, please check the reservoir tank. It was 2/3 centimetres above the FULL mark since I bought the car 8 months back until last week but now it's below that mark. I've found that my newly appointed driver kept that cap of reservoir tank open. He's saying he did it unintentionally. But is this the reason why the coolant level has decreased?

Nahid, the reservoir tank is actually overflow tank for the coolant in the radiator.

One of the major constituents of the coolant is a chemical called Ethylene Glycol that expands when exposed to heat. In fact when the car`s engine is cold the reservoir should always be lower than the full mark as it would need space for expansion when the engine is running.

Also you do not need to open the radiator cap to check the coolant level; you only need to look at the level in the overflow reservoir & looking at the picture the level is quite alright.

I don`t understand why your driver is fiddling with the reservoir cap as the coolant refresh cycle of current generation cars will be upwards of 1,00,000 kms. In any case you cannot put any tap water in the coolant as has already been mentioned by other contributors.

If the level in the coolant reservoir drops drastically over a few days that can be indicative of something serious & that needs to be looked at by your neighbourhood Toyota dealer however in view of the fact that your car is almost brand new that is quite unlikely. As you have mentioned the level has gone down over a period of eight months & it is normal in view of elevated temperatures & thereby some amount of loss due to evaporation.

[Nahid]

Originally Posted by sanjeevgpc

I think there is nothing you need to worry about. As per pictures, all is fine and there is no topup required for now.

Originally Posted by Tanveer_2558

Start to worry only if the coolant level reaches near the low mark, Till then just keep a regular check on the level now so that you don't come to know about it when its a little late.

Originally Posted by Vikram Arya

Nahid, the reservoir tank is actually overflow tank for the coolant in the radiator.

One of the major constituents of the coolant is a chemical called Ethylene Glycol that expands when exposed to heat. In fact when the car`s engine is cold the reservoir should always be lower than the full mark as it would need space for expansion when the engine is running.

Also you do not need to open the radiator cap to check the coolant level; you only need to look at the level in the overflow reservoir & looking at the picture the level is quite alright.

I don`t understand why your driver is fiddling with the reservoir cap as the coolant refresh cycle of current generation cars will be upwards of 1,00,000 kms. In any case you cannot put any tap water in the coolant as has already been mentioned by other contributors.

If the level in the coolant reservoir drops drastically over a few days that can be indicative of something serious & that needs to be looked at by your neighbourhood Toyota dealer however in view of the fact that your car is almost brand new that is quite unlikely. As you have mentioned the level has gone down over a period of eight months & it is normal in view of elevated temperatures & thereby some amount of loss due to evaporation.

Thank you all for your feedback. The drivers have a tendency to pour water on the radiator cap on regular basis may be because the learnt driving on cars which are ages old. I've seen this tendency on all of my previous drivers. I had to educate them.

Btw, I bought this coolant to use just in case I need it. It has no mentioning that it's premixed so I guess I need to add water on 50/50 ratio. Is bottled drinking water fine or should i use distilled water?

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Nahid

Thank you all for your feedback. The drivers have a tendency to pour water on the radiator cap on regular basis may be because the learnt driving on cars which are ages old. I've seen this tendency on all of my previous drivers. I had to educate them.

Btw, I bought this coolant to use just in case I need it. It has no mentioning that it's premixed so I guess I need to add water on 50/50 ratio. Is bottled drinking water fine or should i use distilled water?

Please read the instructions on the label. If it recommends mixing with water then use distilled water. If DW is not available use clean drinking water. The ratio will also be mentioned. It is normally 50/50.

The premixed coolant is pink in colour.

Also please reiterate to your drivers to NEVER keep the expansion bottle cap open (it affects proper function of the cooling system) & never pour plain water in either the bottle or radiator.

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by aveemashfaq

As far as I know, the coolant reservoir has green colour. You have mentioned that you have seen a pink fluid. Maybe you are checking in the wrong place. Pink fluid is usually the brake fluid reservoir. Look for a box in which you have a green fluid.

JFYI, some cars do have the coolant in a pink/light purple shade. Eg. The VW and Skoda cars. The Toyota Yaris (from the OP's query) indeed has a pink colored coolant.

[aveemashfaq]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

JFYI, some cars do have the coolant in a pink/light purple shade. Eg. The VW and Skoda cars. The Toyota Yaris (from the OP's query) indeed has a pink colored coolant.

Ok. Sorry for misleading information. I genuinely did not know that coolant has a colour other than pink. I stand corrected. But rest of my post is correct.

[Nahid]

Originally Posted by Nahid

I bought this coolant to use just in case I need it. It has no mentioning that it's premixed so I guess I need to add water on 50/50 ratio. Is bottled drinking water fine or should i use distilled water?

I mixed this antifreeze with distilled water at 50:50 ratio. Unexpectedly the mixture got a little bit hot. Not extreme hot but it can be felt on hand easily. Though neither the coolant nor the distilled water was hot. I'm a bit scared. Though it's cooling down eventually but should it happen?

PS: I bought the distilled water from a local car parts shop. It's labeled 'battery water' but still it's distilled water.