Coolant level: engine and inverter

Right after a change, you should make sure your engine coolant is at the F line. The mechanic may have started it there but sent you home with the system incompletely burped, and a couple bubbles found their way out later. So just top it back up to F and watch it for a while. Once the system's done burping, it should hold steady there for a long time. Any loss from F to L should be a multiple-year process.

To top it off, you can use some of the excess fluid from the inverter loop. That doesn't need to be higher than F.

If you lower it to F and later you notice it dropped further, it might also have had some burping left to do. Like the engine loop, once that's done, the (cold) coolant level should be very, very stable.

That excess coolant from the inverter jug might even be as much as you really need to top up the engine coolant, which doesn't look very low to me. If you look closely, the F line is really just above that seam. L is some distance below it.

Don't be led astray by the B line, which is up above F, but only ever used during the filling and burping process.

 

The brake fluid needs to be topped off.

 

If it has not had a start up shake since the overhaul just add coolant but watch it carefully. Any further drop is a concern that should be addressed while you have an engine guarantee. Its not unheard of to have a replacement engine fail. For one thing, the replacements are usually used engines that have had some reconditioning. All bolt on parts are typically from the original engine.

 

Brake fluid level looks ok to me. It should only be at MAX if (1) all the brake pads are new and (2) the accumulator has been zeroed down to return fluid to the reservoir.

It takes a little bit of planning to check the brake fluid level, because usually one will open the driver's door in order to pop the hood, so even if the fluid level had reached a mostly zeroed down level overnight, opening the door will have triggered the brake pump and the accumulator won't be zeroed when you look, and the level will be below MAX.

And at 160k miles, unless brake pads were recently replaced, it will be normal for even the zeroed fluid level to be somewhat below MAX.

 

I prefer to keep mine at the max level, as there is still space above that. Unlike engine oil. it just fine.

 

^ Yeah, this.

When doing non-Techstream brake fluid replacements, I make note of the level at the outset (after driver's door has been opened), then aim to return it to that level at the conclusion.

If you pop the hood first thing in morning, going into the car through the passenger side, you'll likely see the level up high. Then open driver's door and scoot back to the front, you'll see it dropping a good 1/2", accompanied by a whirring sound.

And the pad thickness: pads get thinner, fluid level drops. Replace pads with new, fluid level goes back up.

 

No objection to a personal preference that's different from what the manual specifies, as long as readers are informed which is which.

Toyota does specify zeroing down before checking the brake fluid level. There is a fair amount of head space in the reservoir. It probably doesn't hurt anything to "top off" during the lifetime of the pads; it can just end up above MAX when the pads are next replaced. If somebody topped off with pads near end-of-life and the accumulator not zeroed, that could be getting close to the available head space.

In any case, any personal preferences aside, there's nothing in the photo to suggest the brake fluid "needs" to be topped off.

 

I see your coolant level and raise you my coolant & brake fluid level.