Coolant between low and full level on a new car cold !!

SLS Artemis · Jul 11, 2022

The coolant level on every Toyota and every vehicle I have ever owned is checked when the engine is cold. Even says to check it when "cold" in your owners manual. Perfectly aware that it expands as it warms up.

ZeroG · Jul 11, 2022

mikefocke said:
If you feel the need, pop into your dealer and ask that they add a wee bit. Just don't overfill as the anti-freeze expands when hot and could oveflow the expansion tank. Next time you are driving in hot weather, after 10 miles or so stop, pop the hood and look at where the coolant is relative to those lines. Should be higher than that picture.

i might just go into toyota and get a bottle myself since if i ask them to do it they will tell me wait till my car cools down, since i got two more other cars that i need to fill, car is perfect expect this. i will be doing some road trips soon so i wanna make sure everything is topped off and working good. thanks for everyone's feedback

espos4 · Jul 11, 2022

ZeroG said:
has not been driven for 24 hours when i took picture.

“Low” is the full cold level.
“Full” is the full hot level.
Your are fine.
Quit worrying and enjoy the car!

Dr. Dyno · Jul 11, 2022

I can't remember the last time I even looked at the coolant level on our 2006 RAV4 or my 2019 Accord Hybrid but do remember the Honda has two reservoirs.

ZeroG · Jul 11, 2022

espos4 said:
“Low” is the full cold level.
“Full” is the full hot level.
Your are fine.
Quit worrying and enjoy the car!

LOL U do that u do that ....all measurement are done when cold.

ZeroG · Jul 11, 2022

dealer called back and said they went through the check list and thats what toyota recommend. all 3 cars coolant levels are different they clearly didn't do the check. they said to come on by and they would check if there is a leak and top it off, just a pain in the ass i have to take 3 cars back one at a time the gas alone is prob enough to buy a bottle.

mww33458 · Jul 11, 2022

I don’t think there’s anything wrong. Per the owners manual pic that was posted, your coolant levels are fine. Not sure what the issue is.

ZeroG · Jul 11, 2022

mww33458 said:
I don’t think there’s anything wrong. Per the owners manual pic that was posted, your coolant levels are fine. Not sure what the issue is.

issue is its not topped off its pretty simple. yah the car is fine right now cause its above the low line but its not full. its a half ass job. do u like a C grade job on ur work or do u like A Grade job thats what it comes down to do u like a satisfactory review or u like a excellent review.

mww33458 · Jul 11, 2022

Grade A is between low and full.

Widgets · Jul 11, 2022

It is clear that some folks do not understand how the coolant reservoir works. It is a place for excess coolant to be temporarily stored when the coolant in the cooling system expands due to engine heat. As the engine cools and the coolant contracts, the reservoir is used to keep the cooling system full. If the level in the reservoir gets too low, it runs the risk of sucking air into the system. If the level in the reservoir gets too high, it runs the risk of dumping the overflow onto the ground.

On a previous vehicle, I could top off the reservoir to full and it would stay there as long as I just drove around town. As soon as I took an extended highway trip the reservoir would show half full when cold. It would go no lower with successive highway trips, and would always drop to half full if I filled it and took a highway trip. The active cooling system always remained full, and the reservoir would find a level that matched my driving.

If the reservoir level is stable, you should have no worries. If you insist on keeping it at the full level, you may need to keep a jug of coolant (diluted appropriately) to keep it topped off; just ignore the environmental impact of dumping that coolant on the roads when the reservoir overflows.

ZeroG · Jul 11, 2022

Widgets said:
It is clear that some folks do not understand how the coolant reservoir works. It is a place for excess coolant to be temporarily stored when the coolant in the cooling system expands due to engine heat. As the engine cools and the coolant contracts, the reservoir is used to keep the cooling system full. If the level in the reservoir gets too low, it runs the risk of sucking air into the system. If the level in the reservoir gets too high, it runs the risk of dumping the overflow onto the ground.

On a previous vehicle, I could top off the reservoir to full and it would stay there as long as I just drove around town. As soon as I took an extended highway trip the reservoir would show half full when cold. It would go no lower with successive highway trips, and would always drop to half full if I filled it and took a highway trip. The active cooling system always remained full, and the reservoir would find a level that matched my driving.

If the reservoir level is stable, you should have no worries. If you insist on keeping it at the full level, you may need to keep a jug of coolant (diluted appropriately) to keep it topped off; just ignore the environmental impact of dumping that coolant on the roads when the reservoir overflows.

it won't over flow because above the full line there is plenty of space for the coolant to expand the engineers thought of that. and even in the manual it says to fill to full when low.

Datsa Noydb · Jul 11, 2022

First thing is to see if you can see exaclty what the checklist says. If it says "Ensure the fluid level is between LOW and FULL marks", you have nothing to worry about. However, if it says "Ensure that the fluid level is exactly at the FULL mark", you might have something to gripe about.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with any of your pictures. In fact, I would spend more time and effort on getting a new keyboard. Your "Y" and "O" keys are not working all the time.

ZeroG said:
usually the leave the tire psi high for delivery so ur tires don't go flat but the dealer suppose to lower it to the right psi for the county ur in when they receive it.

ZeroG said:
i've driven old cars where u need to keep a quart of oil in the trunk too but common u bought a 40k car and they can't even have the fluids topped ?

ZeroG said:
..., but see when ur tire prssure is at 50psi its maxed out so when u drive it will heatup and the numbers will be alot higher and risk poping and ur handling must not be very good the amount of traction u get with high tire pressure is very little. but you will get good rolling i guess for mpg.

ZeroG said:
LOL U do that u do that ....all measurement are done when cold.

ZeroG said:
issue is its not topped off its pretty simple. yah the car is fine right now cause its above the low line but its not full. its a half ass job. do u like a C grade job on ur work or do u like A Grade job thats what it comes down to do u like a satisfactory review or u like a excellent review.

ZeroG · Jul 11, 2022

mww33458 said:
Grade A is between low and full.

thats not what the manual says it says satisfactory is not grade A sir.

mww33458 · Jul 11, 2022

Reminds me of the person who insisted that the shop plug the A/C drain pipe because it was leaking water. She kept insisting so they did it.

ZeroG · Jul 11, 2022

Datsa Noydb said:
First thing is to see if you can see exaclty what the checklist says. If it says "Ensure the fluid level is between LOW and FULL marks", you have nothing to worry about. However, if it says "Ensure that the fluid level is exactly at the FULL mark", you might have something to gripe about.

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with any of your pictures. In fact, I would spend more time and effort on getting a new keyboard. Your "Y" and "O" keys are not working all the time.

well the dealer is so cheap to no even print me my copies so i don't even have it they gave it to me on a usb stick !! so i can't really read my check list and i can't find my the usb stick

ZeroG · Jul 11, 2022

mww33458 said:
Reminds me of the person who insisted that the shop plug the A/C drain pipe because it was leaking water. She kept insisting so they did it.

this has nothing to do with a/c water condensation drips, now ur just assuming everyone is dumb cause they like it to be perfect just cause u don't care doesn't me i have to also. am i wrong to wanting to fill it to the full line where the manual says? now u are just trying to prove something complete different from what i am talking about.

Widgets · Jul 11, 2022

ZeroG said:
it won't over flow because above the full line there is plenty of space for the coolant to expand the engineers thought of that. and even in the manual it says to fill to full when low.

My previous vehicle also had a full line with plenty of space for the expanded coolant. The engineers had thought about the expansion, but that did not prevent the system from dumping coolant on the road.

I did my own engineering and shortened the drain tube where the reservoir overflow would be discarded onto the road. The shorter drain tube reduced the loss (increased the normal reservoir level). My assumption was that the air rushing past the end of the tube was creating suction from the venturi effect. The shorter tube was in less wind and formed less suction. Factory engineers can (and do) make mistakes. The only way to stop that car from dumping the excess coolant was to plug the drain tube so everything stayed in the reservoir. The reservoir cap was loose enough that any true overflow could still escape.

That said, the system worked perfectly with the reduced level in the reservoir, so long as it was not below the low mark. The engineers designed that into the system.

ZeroG · Jul 11, 2022

Widgets said:
My previous vehicle also had a full line with plenty of space for the expanded coolant. The engineers had thought about the expansion, but that did not prevent the system from dumping coolant on the road.

I did my own engineering and shortened the drain tube where the reservoir overflow would be discarded onto the road. The shorter drain tube reduced the loss (increased the normal reservoir level). My assumption was that the air rushing past the end of the tube was creating suction from the venturi effect. The shorter tube was in less wind and formed less suction. Factory engineers can (and do) make mistakes. The only way to stop that car from dumping the excess coolant was to plug the drain tube so everything stayed in the reservoir. The reservoir cap was loose enough that any true overflow could still escape.

That said, the system worked perfectly with the reduced level in the reservoir, so long as it was not below the low mark. The engineers designed that into the system.

oh that is a good note i will do that to my reservoir too thanks for the info.

espos4 · Jul 12, 2022

Would it make any difference if the lines were marked “cold” and “hot”?? Many other cars are marked like that. If you spend this much time on something as trivial as this, ………….never mind.

Widgets · Jul 12, 2022

espos4 said:
Would it make any difference if the lines were marked “cold” and “hot”?? Many other cars are marked like that. If you spend this much time on something as trivial as this, ………….never mind.

Better labels would be "suck air into the radiator" and "dump extra coolant on the ground". It is best to be midway between the two.

Coolant between low and full level on a new car cold !!

SLS Artemis

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