How to change Coolant in 1998 MK1 Prius

N.B.: All the instructions here are for a 1998 MK1 car for New Zealand where we use Right Hand drive.

Hi Guys,
I have changed the coolant of my 1998 Prius. I have used Toyota Long Life Coolant (Pink in Color). Do not use the nasty green color type Coolants. It is important to buy the recommended coolant so that Aluminium Engine does not get corroded. I live in Auckland, New Zealand and temperature never goes below 5 degrees (centigrade) hence I used a mix as 40% Coolant and 60% Tap water. Please see the pics under my album. These pics are taken when the car was up in the hoist. There are 3 separate bolts to get all the old coolants out. The user manual says that total amount of coolant required is 7.5 litre (4.9 litre for Engine and 2.6 for the Inverter unit) however I was only able to put 5 litre all together. Believe that even when the coolants are drained there would be good 2 - 2.5 litres still be left in the system. When you fill in the Inverter Coolant (it's on the passenger side), make sure to open bleeder caps and attach two plastic pipes the way it's shown in the pic otherwise it will make a mess. First we fill in the Inverter and then the Engine. When the Inverter is filled in initially, get the ignition on (caution: please do not start the engine because the engine does not have any coolant left at this stage) and wait for a couple of seconds. The inverter coolant pump would start and you will see the coolant level will decrease. Fill in again and replace the coolant cap. Do not forget to replace the caps for the bleeders as well. I understand in some models the bleeders are on the right side of the Hybrid unit. In my case it was in the left side (as shown in the pic).

Now fill in the engine with coolant. It’s on the driver side. After it’s filled in, replace the coolant cap and start the engine when the car is in the “P†mode. Get the heater dial to Max and Air Flow dial to the Max. After about 5 mins the radiator pump will start. It helps if the accelerator is depressed a little. Switch off the car after 10 secs after the radiator pump starts. Wait for 10-15 mins for the Engine Coolant to cool down. Open the cap and fill in more coolant. Replace the cap. There is another white coolant top up container at the driver side. Top it up as well. Drive the car for a little while and put it in your garage.

Next morning when the car is cold, please check the coolant level. You may find that the Inverter and the Engine both can take a bit more coolant (I found that in my car this morning). Top it up accordingly.

All the related pics are here:

http://www.priuschat.com/forums/album_pers...hp?user_id=2236

Please sort the pics by Time and Order: Ascending.

 

You are right. It was only sold in Japan however later on used cars had been exported in many countries including New Zealand. Danny if you feel, you can move this article to the knowledge base.