01 Ls 430: Pink Or Red Coolant?

[Crusty1]

I need to top off the coolant in my 01 LS430. Taking a paper towell and twisting it into a paper "dip stick" it looks like the stuff in there now is pink...but not 100% sure. I don't have my repair manaul yet so I'll have to trust the wisdom/experience of you Lexus wizards. Also, is the pink and red compatible? I've read here on the internet that a lot of technicians don't like the "pink stuff." Last, car has barely 73k on it. Don't know if it's had a coolant flush. If it's the pink stuff that's supposed to go 100k, would it still be a good idea to drain and refil at this point? What's the capacity? The pink stuff is like $25/gallon at the local Toy dealer. Thanks.

PS. I'll probably have a lot less questions I hope after I receive my 2 volume repair maunals in the mail this next week. DP

PPS. Anybody got a accurate part#? I saw this on the internet for the pink but then someone commented that this was the red not the pink. part # 00272-SLLC2 I thought the "SLLC" would stand for super long life, ie the "pink stuff."

[Lexusfreak]

The pink stuff is Toyota Super Long Life Coolant & should not be mixed with the red (Toyota Long Life Coolant). Double check your owners manual (it will tell you the capacity as well).....it will tell you what you have (I'm 99.9% sure it's pink though). Capacity should be around 11 qt's.

If you can get ahold of service records for the car that will tell you if the coolant has been done yet....if not, it will not hurt anything by having it changed (I changed mine on my 2005 ES 330 with the pink coolant with only 42k miles....just for piece of mind).

$25 per gallon? Might want to call a few dealers (Lexus & Toyota) that is way overpriced.....it should be in the range.....if not only slightly more than what you can buy stuff in any auto parts store. The coolant should be pre-mixed already with 50/50 coolant & water. Hope this helps.

[python]

how much are we talking about topping off? just a little? put water in it if its just a small amount, also check your coolant first thing in the morning before u start it up

[Crusty1]

The pink stuff is Toyota Super Long Life Coolant & should not be mixed with the red (Toyota Long Life Coolant). Double check your owners manual (it will tell you the capacity as well).....it will tell you what you have (I'm 99.9% sure it's pink though). Capacity should be around 11 qt's.

If you can get ahold of service records for the car that will tell you if the coolant has been done yet....if not, it will not hurt anything by having it changed (I changed mine on my 2005 ES 330 with the pink coolant with only 42k miles....just for piece of mind).

$25 per gallon? Might want to call a few dealers (Lexus & Toyota) that is way overpriced.....it should be in the range.....if not only slightly more than what you can buy stuff in any auto parts store. The coolant should be pre-mixed already with 50/50 coolant & water. Hope this helps.

Maybe 1/2 qt. max. I just topped off with distilled water and will monitor it as the days go by. This was first thing in the morning when oviously it's going to be at it's lowest point. As I ran the engine with the rad cap off there was no sign of "froathing" or bubbles so it looks good to go until I see something that's worth worrying about. Thanks for the feeback.

As far as the type, the manual states: "Your coolant must contain ethyelene-gycol type coolant for a proper corrosion protection of your engine that contains aluminium components. Use Toyota Long Life Coolant or equivalent...Total cap. is 10qts." I must be in the "trasitional period" between LLC and SLLC. I was just guessing that Lexus would be ahead of the Toyota curve for upgrading the coolant which occured mid year 04 for the Toys. I guess I was wrong. I'm still going to talk to the service dept. at Lexus of Portland and see what they recommend when I drain and refill.

[Crusty1]

The pink stuff is Toyota Super Long Life Coolant & should not be mixed with the red (Toyota Long Life Coolant). Double check your owners manual (it will tell you the capacity as well).....it will tell you what you have (I'm 99.9% sure it's pink though). Capacity should be around 11 qt's.

Just talked to the service mgr. for Lexus of Portland. He said mine's got the "red" stuff. Said Lexus didn't switch over to the pink unitl 2003. And he did advise against mixing the two. Here at the Toy dealer the red stuff goes for $21.37/gal. Ouch!!! Hence the durogatory slang for dealer of "stealer."

[90LS400Lexus]

The coolant in my 91' LS400 appears to be pink in color. It was put in by the dealer when the timing belt/water pump was replaced 13K ago.