Coolant change, has anything changed?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by paprius4030, Jun 13, 2013.

  1. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    I took my 2010 Prius in to my Toyota Quick Lube today for an oil change. So the new service writer comes out and asks if I want a coolant flush since it's due. I asked her, you mean drain and refill? Your not suppose to hook up the Prius to one of those flush machines (from my previous reading on here). So she says or no you can. So I declined anyway. Previously people in the regular maintaince side said you should just drain and refill. But I wanted to ask you all, nothing has changed right? Still no flush machine for the Prius, it's still drain and refill right?

    Thanks
     
    #1 paprius4030, Jun 13, 2013
  2. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    I have not heard of anyone doing a flush for either the engine or inverter coolant loops. It has always been a drain and fill. I guess you could hook up a flush machine and circulate out old coolant and push in new coolant. Those flush machines are just money makers for the dealers, though.

    I drained both of my coolant loops and pulled a vacuum before refilling to remove air from the systems.
     
    #2 jdcollins5, Jun 13, 2013
  3. BruceInOKC

    BruceInOKC Member

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    As far as I know, a coolant flush is allowed on the Prius, but not a transmission flush.
     
    #3 BruceInOKC, Jun 13, 2013
  4. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    just do it yourself very easy
     
    #4 tankyuong, Jun 13, 2013
  5. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    What she was trying to sell you was a wallet flush. Per Toyota a coolant change isn't due until 100,000 miles/10 years. That is a reasonable amount of time if your cooling system has been kept in good condition.

    You should always take the list of Toyota required services from your warranty manual with you when visiting a dealership's service department. All too many of them try to hose their customers with unneeded services.

    At least now you have the advantage of knowing that service adviser isn't to be trusted.

    If you keep the right coolant in your Prius and don't let leaks go unfixed, you shouldn't need to do more than a drain and fill. No flush required until the car gets really old.
     
    #5 xs650, Jun 14, 2013
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