Coolant: Red or Pink vs. Green

[autotech2612]

When I bought my used Corolla with 212,000 miles, I was pleasantly surprised to learn the coolant in the overflow tank was red. The previous owner was wise enough to use genuine Toyota antifreeze.

I did some research online and learned Toyota's red or 50/50 pink is the best for our cooling systems. As such, I performed a coolant change using 60/40 factory red and distilled water.

Is the conventional really that bad for our vehicles? Do components in our systems degrade faster by using the green stuff? Is the Toyota antifreeze free of borates? How many of you use the factory coolant and how many use Peak or Prestone?

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

Toyota red (or even Prestone red for Japanese vehicles), has stabilizers and rust inhibitors that are formulated to last longer and do not degrade at the rate that those in green coolant will. It is also safer for aluminum

When I bought the Be Cool radiator for my '82 Mustang GT, it said to use Dex Cool (orange) or the warranty would be voided ... so there is definitely a difference.

 

[fishycomics]

Used green stuff, never had a problem, newer AF is a lot safer and Greener for our Enviorment, is what I am saying

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

I never had a problem with green either, but you gotta change it more often. Dex Cool, Toyota Red, and Ford Yellow are 100,000+ mile coolants. Think green was every 30,000 or 24 months, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[fishycomics]

The days we just added water, In the summer, then when we wanted AF in winter are long gone. yep around a few years time for the Lime color.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

Toyota red (or even Prestone red for Japanese vehicles), has stabilizers and rust inhibitors that are formulated to last longer and do not degrade at the rate that those in green coolant will. It is also safer for aluminum

When I bought the Be Cool radiator for my '82 Mustang GT, it said to use Dex Cool (orange) or the warranty would be voided ... so there is definitely a difference.

A vehicle or parts manufacturer can not specify a brand name of part or in this case antifreeze, in order for the warranty to be honored unless they provide the antifreeze in the price of the part they are warrantying. This is known as the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, a federal law.

 

[Donabed Kopoian]

Does Magnuson Moss apply to aftermarket? It was a Be Cool radiator, not a Ford replacement or factory part.

 

[Scott O'Kashan]

Yes it does. It applies to any an all items manufactured.

 

[autotech2612]

I'll just stick with genuine Toyota coolant. The gallon I bought last year was from eBay for only 25 shipped. The 100,000-mile change interval is generous. I only accumulate 10-11,000 miles a year, so I'm set for awhile. Also, on my Corolla, I discovered a coolant plug at the rear of the block, so I used a 10mm socket (I believe) to remove it and to flush the block as well. Then removed the recovery tank, scrubbed it, installed coolant, burped the system and good to go.

In my roommate's Accord, I used genuine Honda antifreeze. Got a good deal on it thanks to Amazon. I also purchased the genuine Honda power steering fluid and transmission fluid off Amazon.