Coolant replacement at Toyota dealer

[UltTrail runner]

I have a Toyota dealer replaced my rig’s coolant the past weekend. Per FSM, the engine will take 15.3 L coolant which is 4.04 gallon. Per the receipt from the dealer they only replaced 2 gallons of coolant. I did ask the service rep right after the service what is size of one 00272-SLLC2, and I was told this is half gallon coolant package and they mixed it with water. I did not think that much during the weekend. But the receipt brought one concern to me. As I am not sure how the process is at the dealer, if they drained all the coolant out, then just add 1 gallon concrete and then add water. The coolant:water will be 25:75. We will need 50:50. After the coolant replacement, I have drove about 100 miles, the engine temperature is at normal level(a little below middle). I drove about 20 mins local today the upper radiator hose, radiator and heater T is very hot to touch, this maybe normal and irrelevant.

I will call the dealer to confirm tomorrow. And this was the same dealer I used for brake fluid flush, who obviously did not read the instructions on the brake fluid reservoir. The truck came back with brake fluid overfilled and I had to withdraw fluid from the reservoir. My question is do they really don’t know what they are doing on a coolant replacement or this is normal practice to just replace 2 gallon which is only half of the total coolant?

 

[AFei]

00272-SLLC2 is 50:50 pre-mixed, and no need to add water, and it's a gallon per bottle. The receipt did say 2 gallons. I just replaced the radiator today, and an empty radiator did take roughly 2 gallons of coolant. It looks like they just drained the radiator and then re-fill. It will be 4 gallons if you also drain the engine.

What is the "Cooling System Kit" on the invoice btw?

 

[J1000]

Did you learn your lesson about taking your old truck to the dealer? Find a good independent mechanic who cares about doing it right.

edit for content: water cools better than antifreeze so your engine is safe as long as it doesn't freeze before you figure it out.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Did you learn your lesson about taking your old truck to the dealer? Find a good independent mechanic who cares about doing it right.

x2. I also hope they didn’t put concrete in the radiator.

 

[UltTrail runner]

00272-SLLC2 is 50:50 pre-mixed, and no need to add water, and it's a gallon per bottle. The receipt did say 2 gallons. I just replaced the radiator today, and an empty radiator did take roughly 2 gallons of coolant. It looks like they just drained the radiator and then re-fill. It will be 4 gallons if you also drain the engine.

What is the "Cooling System Kit" on the invoice btw?

The service rep said the kit is a kind of lubricant for the engine.

Did you learn your lesson about taking your old truck to the dealer? Find a good independent mechanic who cares about doing it right.

edit for content: water cools better than antifreeze so your engine is safe as long as it doesn't freeze before you figure it out.

I could do it myself as I just did the water pump and timing belt replacement. But I did not count the coolant replacement interval. The previous coolant looks like new with no residue and I just added 1 gallon new coolant as I lost coolant during the job. After I refilled the coolant, I realized there is no record that coolant was replaced completely. The last record I have is heater T replacement with hoses around 54k miles ago and, again, only 2 00272-SLLC2 was used then. So I decided to replace the coolant. The dealer charges less than $200 and vs. buying 4 gallon coolant, and figure out the engine drain plug or remove the hose from oil filter to drain coolant after removing both under covers, then figuring out how to burp the system after refill, and judge if thermostat is open. I chose to have the dealer do it and thought they have proper tool to replace all the coolant. I admit that I got lazy after working on the truck for weeks. Lesson well learned. I may just buy 4 bottles OEM coolant and redo the job again.

Side question, how the coolant flow through heater Ts? The Ts and hoses are extremely hot to touch. Somehow I think coolant only flow there when the heater is open, but I might be wrong.

 

[UltTrail runner]

x2. I also hope they didn’t put concrete in the radiator.

Why? I was told they use half gallon concentrate package then add water.

 

[vipergrhd]

00272-SLLC2 is 50:50 pre-mixed, and no need to add water, and it's a gallon per bottle. The receipt did say 2 gallons. I just replaced the radiator today, and an empty radiator did take roughly 2 gallons of coolant. It looks like they just drained the radiator and then re-fill. It will be 4 gallons if you also drain the engine.

What is the "Cooling System Kit" on the invoice btw?

Do you really want to know what the kit is?
If they have drained the block it would have taken a little more than 2 gallons.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Why? I was told they use half gallon concentrate package then add water.

It was terrible joke. You wrote concrete, not concentrate, in your original post...

then just add 1 gallon concrete

 

[vipergrhd]

The service rep said the kit is a kind of lubricant for the engine.

They just sold you a bottle of SNAKE OIL OR FLUID.
This is something that most shop would upsell you for extra cash out of your pocket.

Cooling System Sealant Service 2 Step Kit | Wynns USA | Wynns Preventative Maintenance Products Services

2-Step Cooling System Service Kit that chemically cleans and conditions your vehicle's coolant system and provides protection against radiator and heater core leaks.

wynnsusa.com

 

[UltTrail runner]

I just spoke to the dealer. They say they always use the pre-mixture of 50/50. If there is not enough, they add more but they only charge for 2. He said the cooling system kit is a detergent. I feel that’s all he know about the kit. I searched on line, it shows 5901 cooling system kit below.

 

[flintknapper]

The service rep said the kit is a kind of lubricant for the engine.

I could do it myself as I just did the water pump and timing belt replacement. But I did not count the coolant replacement interval. The previous coolant looks like new with no residue and I just added 1 gallon new coolant as I lost coolant during the job. After I refilled the coolant, I realized there is no record that coolant was replaced completely. The last record I have is heater T replacement with hoses around 54k miles ago and, again, only 2 00272-SLLC2 was used then. So I decided to replace the coolant. The dealer charges less than $200 and vs. buying 4 gallon coolant, and figure out the engine drain plug or remove the hose from oil filter to drain coolant after removing both under covers, then figuring out how to burp the system after refill, and judge if thermostat is open. I chose to have the dealer do it and thought they have proper tool to replace all the coolant. I admit that I got lazy after working on the truck for weeks. Lesson well learned. I may just buy 4 bottles OEM coolant and redo the job again.

Side question, how the coolant flow through heater Ts? The Ts and hoses are extremely hot to touch. Somehow I think coolant only flow there when the heater is open, but I might be wrong.

The coolant they used is 50/50 pre-diluted. So if they used 2 gallons and your system is supposed to take about 4 gallons you are roughly twice as diluted (depending on your climate) as recommended. The 5901 is likely the BG flush/additive kit ($17.00 at most auto stores).

I imagine they used a BG machine to do the flush/transfer....but you might ask about that.

I'd stop just short of saying you got 'bent over', but probably.

Heater T's will be warm to hot regardless if the heat is on or not.

Edit: I see you posted while I was typing.

 

[gatormark91]

Geez folks... stop taking your Cruisers to the dealer. They don't give a crap about servicing 15-20 year old trucks. They just want your rig out of their service bays ASAP, so they can work on something they can actually (over)bill Toyota for. You are not getting any specialized knowledge about a UZJ100 anymore. Take it to a local mechanic who cares about doing the work right on YOUR vehicle, and isn't trying to maximize factory billing while spending the least amount of time doing the work.

 

[gatormark91]

deleted

 

[Mike NXP]

Not sure why everyone bashes on the dealer. My local toyota service shop is great, be direct with them, tell them what you want and ask the appropriate questions before they take it into service. I've also worked at a few and for the most part they want to fix your rig properly. That's not the case for the monkeys in the oil change bay however.

 

[vipergrhd]

I just spoke to the dealer. They say they always use the pre-mixture of 50/50. If there is not enough, they add more but they only charge for 2. He said the cooling system kit is a detergent. I feel that’s all he know about the kit. I searched on line, it shows 5901 cooling system kit below.

View attachment 2679160

Oh yeah! All dealer profit and nothing gained for your vehicle. 12 oz. of liquid in a 4 gallon system will do absolutely nothing i wouldn't even put that stuff in my own vehicle.
Did they try to sell you the W/P lubricant?

 

[UltTrail runner]

The coolant they used is 50/50 pre-diluted. So if they used 2 gallons and your system is supposed to take about 4 gallons you are roughly twice as diluted (depending on your climate) as recommended.

That was my concern. How an engine takes 4 gallon but they only says 2 on paper. I think this should be a simple job for them.

Heater T's will be warm to hot regardless if the heat is on or not.

My heater Ts were really hot. I am planing to replace them at next coolant replacement.

 

[flintknapper]

Oh yeah! All dealer profit and nothing gained for your vehicle. 12 oz. of liquid in a 4 gallon system will do absolutely nothing i wouldn't even put that stuff in my own vehicle.
Did they try to sell you the W/P lubricant?

This simply sounds like a Service Writer not knowing about the product or what they are talking about.

What I can gather is that the vehicle 'probably' got a coolant system 'flush' using the BG5901 'kit'. Then received 'some amount' of 50/50 coolant and water. All of this done with the BG machine.

Often times at dealerships there is a disconnect between the Service Techs (who might well know what they are doing) and the Service Writer who might not know 'jack' about what is being done.

 

[MechE30]

The coolant they used is 50/50 pre-diluted. So if they used 2 gallons and your system is supposed to take about 4 gallons you are roughly twice as diluted (depending on your climate) as recommended. The 5901 is likely the BG flush/additive kit ($17.00 at most auto stores).

I imagine they used a BG machine to do the flush/transfer....but you might ask about that.

I'd stop just short of saying you got 'bent over', but probably.

Heater T's will be warm to hot regardless if the heat is on or not.

Edit: I see you posted while I was typing.

You’re assuming they fully drained the system, filled with 2 gallons and then the rest water. What I think likely happened is they took 2 gal out and put two premix gallons back in.

 

[vipergrhd]

@UltTrail runner get an antifreeze Hydrometer and check your coolant. I like 60/40 concentration with distilled water.

 

[flintknapper]

You’re assuming they fully drained the system, filled with 2 gallons and then the rest water. What I think likely happened is they took 2 gal out and put two premix gallons back in.

I'm not assuming anything. We simply don't know what procedure they used.

It's quite possible they just drained the radiator and slammed in a couple of gallons of premix and called it 'good'. Then charged the OP for more than what they did.

It's also possible they flushed the system (with the product listed on the invoice) either manually or with a BG machine (that I mentioned earlier). Unless the OP calls and asks what was done....I suspect we will never know.