I went through the book and put the maintenance schedule on a spreadsheet. Mine needs changing at 100,000 miles. It is scheduled for January 2121, at 12,000 miles/year. So far I am on schedule.

 

In Canada it says you have to replace the engine coolant at 160,000 km, or 120 months. After that it is to be replaced every 80,000 km or 60 months. I presume which ever comes first. And for the inverter coolant system the frequency is the same. See link below, document page 25 (Adobe 27).

Owner's Manual Supplement

 

Fascinating. There seems to be significant differences between the US and Canadian maintenance and the intervals, even beyond the oil change intervals. For instance, we have no recommended interval -- at least that I can find in the warranty book -- for brake fluid replacement.

Do you have a sticker on your inverter coolant reservoir like the above? If so, what does it say?

 

This is interesting. The top line says 200,000 kilometers or 15 years in Japanese.
The bottom line says 240,000 kilometers in what must be Chinese. Somebody on here must know Chinese.

My experience living in Japan was that they traded perfectly good cars every two years to avoid having to pay for an expensive safety inspection required at 24 months. But that was thirty years ago and things may have changed. But my guess is no one in Japan ever sees 200,000 km on a vehicle.

 

It says "inspect" not "replace".

If the inspection looks bad (discolored or anything abnormal) then replace it. It's a long life coolant doesn't make sense to replace every 30k.

 

The water pump will probably fail long before any of these service intervals anyway...

I'm curious to see if they have done anything to the design on that component. Time will tell...

 

I thought the Generic 1 water pump was belt driven, but the Generic 2 (2012 - 2013) pumps are electric. So, we'll see in a few years if these are more reliable (and how their cost compares to the conventional design).

 

My XLE TCH maintenance booklet shows to change the engine/inverter coolant at 100,000 miles or 120 months. That's something like every 10 years. I will probably be wanting a new car in about 5 years.

 

Today, I popped open the hood of my TCH and noticed that the inverter coolant fluid level was between "Full" and "Low". It has only been 1000 miles till now. I don't think I noticed its level carefully when I bought it. I guess it is OK since the fluid level is above "Low" but just wanted to ask around here. Should I get it "filled up" at the dealer to the "Full" level? Or just keep monitoring it if it falls lower?

 

it's fine as it is.

 

When I popped the hood of my brand new TCH for the first time (in the garage after driving it home), I noticed the inverter coolant level was right on the "low" mark. It has remained there for the past 5000 miles. Tuesday I take the car in for its free 5000 mile service. One of the things I am going to ask them to do is fill it up to the "full" mark.

I'd keep my eye on it, but I'd venture that you'll find there is no leak. It's really something the factory or dealer should have addressed when they prepped the car before you took possession of it.

 

Look in the DIY Maintenance section of the manual. When cold any level between full and low is acceptable. There is no advantage to add any fluid unless it drops below Low. The level will go higher when it is hot.

 

I usually use a multimeter to determine if I need coolant change.

 

Serious? What do you measure?

 

I bought my 2007 TCH about 2 months ago. I noticed the coolant resevoir for the engine (or is that an expansion tank?) was empty, so went to the dealer yesterday and bought a jug of Toyota long life coolant, just because I figured it should be the 'best' for the car. Wow. Canadian dealer price, jug of pre-mixed, (so it's about 40% water) is $21.04, tax in! Anyone recommend an aftermarket coolant that meets the spec and is priced somewhere below this?

 

Toyota specifies:

"Genuine Toyota Super Long-Life Coolant or similar high-quality non-silicate, non-amine, non-borate ethylene-glycol coolant with long-life hybrid organic acid technology (i.e., a combination of low phosphates and organic acids)."

I suspect any universal long life (5 years) antifreeze would meet this specification. However this product was the only one I found on a quick look that says all the right things.

Recochem Turbo Power Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant

The wording is so similar, perhaps they are the manufacturer for the Toyota product???

Prestone which is the popular one is not that specific in their product description. You could e-mail them and ask if their Long Life coolant meets the Toyota requirements.

 

On my parent's 2009 TCH the Service Manual recommends to do the initial engine/power control unit coolant change at 100k and then 50k afterwards. I personally don't understand, nor has anyone on the various automotive forums or at the dealership/shop been able to explain why the interval changes by 50% if I'm using the same fluid.

Based on the above I'm sticking to 45k-50k intervals which the vehicle just hit. Dealership wanted $100 for the engine coolant drain and fill and $120 for the pcu coolant change which according to TIS requires the use of the TIS scan tool in order to turn on the pcu water pump, whereas the engine coolant drain and fill doesn't require TIS.

 

On my parent's 2009 TCH the Service Manual recommends to do the initial engine/power control unit coolant change at 100k and then 50k afterwards. I personally don't understand, nor has anyone on the various automotive forums or at the dealership/shop been able to explain why the interval changes by 50% if I'm using the same fluid.

I suspect they are accounting for the fact that most coolant changes are not 100%. In other words a portion of the original fluid stays in the engine. Often the service manual will list an initial fill volume of fluid, and then a second lower volume for a refill. Also they may be concerned that on a drain and refill the glycol may be mixed with tap water instead of demineralized water.