Make sure he is flushing the system with distilled water and not tap water out of the hose. That should tell you something about his work.
Just ask him how he flushes the system and what he uses. If he doesn't indicate he uses distilled water then I absolutely would not let him do it.
Tap water is a definite no-no in your cooling system as per all vehicle manufacturers.
I did this on my Toyotas this year and refilled using Toyota's OEM long life coolant.

 

How much distilled water would one need? Yes, I will ask him about his procedures. He worked on the brakes on my sister's car, took his time, used quality grease for the hardware, and had to carefully remove some rust off the caliper.

I am in agreement with you on doing the procedure correctly. The real question is should I wait? He did state that the recommended is 120,000 miles. Thank you.

 

Check owners manual on correct fluid. May just need a few of these, no distilled.

Amazon.com: Genuine 00272 SLLC2 Engine Coolant / Antifreeze : Automotive

Buy Genuine 00272 SLLC2 Engine Coolant / Antifreeze: Antifreezes & Coolants - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

smile.amazon.com

 

If the fluid visually looks pretty reddish, I'd say you could wait. Now, if it looks like a strawberry milkshake or chocolate, have it evaluated immediately.

Here is a tester...

Amazon.com: Prestone AF-1420 Antifreeze/Coolant Tester : Everything Else

Shop Amazon for Prestone AF-1420 Antifreeze/Coolant Tester and find millions of items, delivered faster than ever.

smile.amazon.com

 

SVT:

Does Coolant go bad? I actually have the 00272 Coolant and 3 quarts left. This must have been from my 05 Corolla and is probably about 3 years old. It has been opened and sitting in an insulated garage where the temperature ranges from 45 degrees to 90 degrees.

 

SVT:

Does Coolant go bad? I actually have the 00272 Coolant and 3 quarts left. This must have been from my 05 Corolla and is probably about 3 years old. It has been opened and sitting in an insulated garage where the temperature ranges from 45 degrees to 90 degrees.

It is probably ok for a top up. But on a full refill, I would pass. New coolant usually gets changed more often once replaced, so 3 years old, put in with 5 year coolant, lets say... you have depleted the new stuff.

Doing the flush above is a fine procedure, but having a mechanic flush it for a day or 2, they probably just won't in this case or just charge lots of labor. Do I want someone to do that in my garage, probably not if they can't contain it all. It may or may not be fully necessary given the conditions, but certainly does not hurt to ask him and see if he is ASE certed.

Ill add this video, some good procedures for this engine.

 

We are talking about a flush here not just a refill. MY technique is to drain the coolant from the radiator and engine block. Fill the radiator with distilled water and run the car for a day or at least until it has circulated completely through the system well (run heater while driving to allow the heater core also to be flushed while driving). Repeat (drain the radiator and fill again with distilled water and run the engine for a day or at least until it has had a chance to circulate completely through the system well).
Drain the radiator and engine block and refill with toyota OEM coolant. If the system is really dirty I add some radiator flush in with the first fill with distilled water and run it for a day or two. The idea with the flush is to get all the old coolant out and any contaminants in the system as they will likely have become acidic after a certain point and cause damage to your radiator and cooling system.

 

As far as waiting...that is totally up to you. IF the guy is available, does a good job, and fair price it certainly wouldn't hurt to have it done. Otherwise you would be fine also to wait until recommended interval if your book is saying 120,000 miles. Damage to your system occurs when people do not change out their coolant at the recommended time and it becomes acidic and begins to corrode and break down the cooling system components.

 

Sorry but I keep realizing I am not answering all your questions. Coolant on the shelf shouldn't go bad. I usually get 5 or 6 gallons of distilled water from the local grocery store for about $1 a gallon. How much you use depends on how many times you need to refill it and drain it to get it clean. If a car I am doing is really dirty and I can see some corrosion in the radiator I will flush and refill numerous times until what I am draining comes out clean when I drain it. Then I refill with OEM longlife coolant.

 

This mobile mechanic is pressed for time. He does not rush his work, but for him to come back is not the answer or solution. If I can get away with a drain/fill and add it myself, this may work out as well. I remember the old Lexus vehicles (1993 & 1994) I would loosen the drain valve on the bottom of the radiator, allow it to drain (carefully while hot), and refill it with new coolant, without the flushing part. I was kind of religious back in the day when I had time and the first one went over 225,000 miles without any issues before I sold it. The second one I never changed it and at like 170,000 miles the radiator was leaking. Purchased an aftermarket one for $180 and installed it with my BIL and put new coolant in. Eventually, I sold it as gas prices back in around 2009 reached an all-time high of $5 a gallon. I remember the dealer wanting $1,000 for the repair as they said it was an all-aluminum radiator (what a croc).

I will watch the video and see how it goes. This is a one-time thing, where he probably will spend 4 hours at my home for the complete brake job and coolant.

 

The recommend coolant change interval is 100K miles and 120 months, and subsequently 50K miles and 60 months. You can check your maintenance manual. You have 101K miles, so your cooling system should still be pristine.

Therefore I would just drain and refill the coolant with Toyota Pink or Pentofrost A4. You can check rockauto for the coolant as well. I would not use those all-makes "universal" coolants.

The reason of not flushing is because there'll water left in the system, and the coolant concentration will be below 50%, and may be something like 35%. That will speed up corrosion.

2016 TOYOTA AVALON 3.5L V6 Coolant / Antifreeze | Shop Now at RockAuto

Cooling System Parts and More for Your 2016 TOYOTA AVALON at Reliably Low Prices. Fast Online Catalog. DIY-Easy. Your Choice of Quality. Full Manufacturer Warranty.

www.rockauto.com

Rockauto 5% off discount code if you buy there, scroll to the latest post:
RockAuto Discount Code

While the Pink coolant's service interval is a lot longer, it doesn't protect all metals as well as the older Red. But in newer all-aluminum systems it's fine. So with the Pink (or any coolant) stay with the 50%-50% mix, not lower.

Driveability Corner | Calculated Engine Load | MOTOR Magazine
"Results of industry standard tests of the new Toyota extended-life coolant now show a substantial weight loss (corrosion), both in a 50-50 mix and in a 33% coolant mixture (solder corrosion is much greater in this more diluted solution). If you have to change a radiator or heater core, use aluminum."

If I can get away with a drain/fill and add it myself, this may work out as well.

 

If you're in area where temps go below freezing be cautious about too much distilled in the system because it can freeze and that could be bad bad

 

Toyota OEM pink LL can be had for about 17$ a jug with no extra shipping if you buy a certain amount from one of the online discount yota parts dealers

Which makes a d&f now and a d&f in a year not a very cost prohibitive thing to do

 

One point that was brought up but not elaborated on is avoid using any tap water. Do not use it to flush your system unless it is with engine flush solution and you are going to flush it again with distilled water and do not use it for diluting concentred coolant or to top off your system. The minerals in the water will have your radiator clogged and corroded in no time at all. When filling or topping off, I only use 50/50 premix or concentrate that I have mixed 50/50 with distilled water.

 

The Toyota Fluid is already mixed 50%/50%. I will not be using any distilled or regular tap water, just drain/fill and bleed out as with the video from the Car Care Nut. I still have time as the coolant is in really good shape.

 

Use Toyota pink cap antifreeze. It’s not that much more. 5 years or 50k as per the car care nut. No water pump failures! Cheap insurance!
Good luck!

 

I use a set of test strips that you dip into the coolant and it tells you the coolants boiling point and its acidity, I just keep an eye on how clean the coolant is and about every oil change I do a test strip. when the PH of the coolant gets close to needing to be changed I just go ahead and do a simple drain and fill, no full flush, with Toyota Long Life coolant 50/50 mix. I think I pick it up for $25 a gallon. I do not think there is need for a full flush unless you have a neglected system with rust/goop etc in it.
These are the strips I use, one side is for Coolant and the other for monitoring the moisture content of your brake fluid. HERE $22 for 15, pretty cheap considering they should last you at least a couple years for one vehicle or still a long time for multiple vehicles, keep your fluids in good shape and they will save you big $$ by extending the life of your cooling and heating system and brake system.

The test strip will tell you if you can put off a coolant change or not. If it is in need of a change out, I would not put it off. But I would also not pay someone to do something that is so simple to do yourself unless you have some kind of disability or physical difficulty.

 

I bought a spill free funnel with the clear air bubble tube attached. I did not want to mess with the bleeder nut if needed . Drain and fill took a lttle more than a gallon and a half. There was quite a lot of air pockets and bubbles in the system for about 20 minutes at 2000 rpm,with just a radiator drain and fill. at 60,000 miles. I plan to drain and fill again next spring. Owners Manual Specifications says 9. 7 quarts capacity (near page 432 ) plus the reservoir was not inclulded. Just draining the rad. was easier for me. I just should have drained the block also, and no flush. at 60,000 miles.

 

I bought a spill free funnel with the clear air bubble tube attached. I did not want to mess with the bleeder nut if needed . Drain and fill took a lttle more than a gallon and a half. There was quite a lot of air pockets and bubbles in the system for about 20 minutes at 2000 rpm,with just a radiator drain and fill. at 60,000 miles. I plan to drain and fill again next spring. Owners Manual Specifications says 9. 7 quarts capacity (near page 432 ) plus the reservoir was not inclulded. Just draining the rad. was easier for me. I just should have drained the block also, and no flush. at 60,000 miles.

The Spill free funnel is the bomb. Glad I eventually tried one out after years of passing it up in the aisles thinking it was another junk gimmick.

 

If you replace any type of liquid/fluid prior to the recommended interval, that is not a problem. If you do it too soon, then you are wasting money. A good rule of thumb (IMO) is 50% of the recommended interval. So Coolant at 50,000 miles along with transmission service, and oil changes at 5,000 miles.

I waited too long on the 100K transmission service, but no one wanted to touch it beforehand and I was not taking any risk with an Indy. Now I have to increase the frequency.

Getting back to my coolant drain/fill. I will follow the Car Care Nut procedures and nothing else. I will not use distilled water to flush the system, and spending another $25-$40 on Toyota's Coolant is worth it.

Does anyone know how much coolant the drain/fill takes based on the CCN procedure? I doubt highly he will ever answer any questions. If he was local, I would be using him.

 

No!
Car Care Nut. Change at 5 year/50k if you want no water pump issues. Check it out.
Happy New Year!

 

2 Gallons of 50/50 is enough if your not draining the block. That includes dumping out the old in the reservoir.

 

^ but in that case 100K initially and 50K subsequently should suffice.

That said, if on a high mileage vehicle, maybe around 50-60K should do it?

 

IDK!
Surely do not want any potential head gasket issues in the many years ahead Lol

 

$16.54. OEM SLL

https://parts.lewistoyota.com/p/Toyota-5050-Pre-Diluted-Super-Long-LifeAntifreezeCoolant/69276658/00272SLLC2.html?clickSource=relatedProduct

 

Ouch, I just looked that up, $16 for the coolant, shipping to me... another $28 lol. I got 2 bottles off of amazon with free shipping, but it was still expensive, $67 for the 2 jugs. I had thought I paid $25 ea, must have remembered that wrong. Maybe I should have just went to the local toyota shop, I wonder what they charge.

 

$16.54 is a pretty good price. But whatever they charge for the shipping might ruin the deal.

 

Just order 75$ total of discount parts and they still have no extra shipping, even for coolant jugs. But I am not sure about distance shipping that weight from Kansas, it says Up to $200 shipping is no charge. Weight and distance could be a factor

It was even less at the November cyber weekend 41 off sale about 14$ per gallon

 

But there are some in 4 years time will only have 20k miles or perhaps less

 

I think that's the reason for both the time and mileage in the maintenance schedule. For most people, who might drive 12-15k a year, 4 years is going to be about 48-60K miles.

In the high mileage case, don't go over 50K. And in the low mileage case, don't go over 60 months, at least according to the factory schedule for 2nd and subsequent changes.

So in my opinion, 4 years or say about 50-60K miles if the car's a keeper.

 

On oil and trans fluid, I go strictly on Time/mileage. (my own conservative numbers not industry-recommended) For coolant, PS fluid, and Brake fluid I go by the condition of the fluid and ignore time/mileage, I usually change/flush way before the time/mileage recommendations. I go by visual, how clean and clear the fluids are and I use test strips periodically, usually at my regular oil changes to check brake fluid moisture and copper content and coolants boiling point and PH level. As long as those things check out well, I do not change anything, if I find any of those fluids getting dark or reading degrading condition I will then do a drain/fill on coolant or flush of PS fluid and brake fluid. Every car is different, not everyone drives their car the same or under the same conditions, so those standard time/mileage recommendations mean nothing to me. Just keep an eye on the condition of your fluids and maintain them accordingly.