Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior question about Antifreeze...

Do we have to use Toyota antifreeze or is there a different brand that'll work the same, with the same color of course..i saw one at an autopart store here in town but don't know if it's a good idea to mix toyota with something else..oh yeah toyota antifreeze cost $16.97+tax.

as long as its echol-glycos based <sorry about the spelling for got the word but i know thats close>

Toyota, of course, would like you to use their product, but I severely doubt they could really say anything warranty wise if you didn't: So long as you can prove you have used the right type (again ethelene-glycol), right mixture and changed it at the factory's recommended intervals. What I can tell you is that when I worked at Toyota we sold the red to customers, but if you asked a tech about what was in their own car many wouldn't use it. They CLAIMED (note I never substantiated this) that they were seeing things like radiator corrosion and water pump leaks before it should be happening; those cars always had factory red.

PS: Regardless, a Toyota dealer will be much less likely to argue a warranty claim (in fact may go out of their way to goodwill stuff) if you have an extensive service history with them... but that requires going to the dealer

^^^thanks for the info, when you talk about mixture, how much water and how much antifreeze should i mix together?? i never understand this concept..and the direction on the bottle itself just don't make sense to me at all..

LoL, that will be tougher for me to answer... It is supposed to be dependent on the ambient temparatures where you live. I'm in a more temparate part of California so a lot of shops do a 50/50 mix, a common standard. Now I'm assuming that you are talking about antifreeze for an import car, which will be ethylene-glycol (Newer GM cars use Dex-Cool a long life coolant of a different composition) and ethylene-glycol coolants can, if need be, mixed up to 70/30 for colder climates. But this can negatively affect heat dissipation... you may want to check with a local shop.
Many shops also recommend using distilled water as opposed to tap water due to the lower amount of mineral impurities. Hope this helped!

What does it say on the bottle?

i don't have the bottle with me because i just moved in with my bro a week ago..but the last time i read it i couldn't understand it..takin that english is not my native tongue it's kinda impossible for me to understand.