Toyota Coolant Systems and Service

Coolant System Service and Repair at Atlantic Toyota of Long Island

Your Toyota's Coolant System

If you are like most car owners, the coolant system in your car gets little attention. Let's face it, we all have better things to do with our time, and besides how often does a coolant system cause trouble? Well, with a Toyota, not often, but with a little maintenance, you might make that "never." Let's see how your Toyota's cooling system works and look at a few of the maintenance items that you can perform yourself.

How your Cooling System Works

Like all internal combustion engines, your Toyota's engine generates a lot of heat when it burns fuel. Most of that heat ends up blowing out the tailpipe but some of it is absorbed by the engine pistons and engine block itself. A cooling system's job is simple: it absorbs the excess engine block heat and transfers it to the radiator where it is released into the outside air. Keeping it trouble free Like all cars, as your Toyota ages, certain parts of the cooling system will begin to deteriorate and need replacement. This includes stuff like rubber radiator hoses, serpentine belt, the water pump and the coolant itself. (Yes, the coolant can wear out, or more accurately 'lose its effectiveness.') The key to keeping this all failure-free is to perform maintenance on a regular basis. Your local Toyota dealership, such as Atlantic Toyota, has factory-trained mechanics that have schedules of maintenance that they follow. You can also help by performing a couple procedures yourself.

Checking the Coolant Level

Every month or so, and certainly before leaving on long trips, it's a good idea to check your car's coolant level. The coolant level doesn't change often but it will if you have a small leak somewhere. You can check the level at the coolant reservoir where there are indicator lines that will show you what level it should be at. If you are unfamiliar with this process, consult your owner's manual or go online. If the coolant is low in the reservoir, a 50/50 mixture of approved antifreeze and water should be added until it meets the 'full' line.

Visual Inspection

When the coolant level is checked, also do a visual inspection of hoses and belts for age cracks in the rubber and the radiator for leaks of any sort. If you see any fluid under the spot where your Toyota is parked at night and it looks like "green water", it may be anti-freeze. It's a good idea to have a mechanic look at your car soon if you see leaks like this. Another obvious sign of a cooling system problem is when the temperature gauge on the dash rises near the red (danger) zone. If the gauge does rise into the red zone, you can be almost certain that you have a cooling system problem and you should get your car to a mechanic right away. (Driving a car for any length of time with the cooling system in the red zone will usually damage the engine.)

Summary

The coolant systems in today's Toyotas are extremely reliable. If you bring your car in at regular factory maintenance intervals and perform visual inspections periodically, your car's coolant system should last as long as your car does.