any resource showing the actual coolant that came in these cars FROM FACTORY? This whole coolant non sense is crazy. Mine is a base 2005 vibe, 1zzFE..I need to flush and switch back to original coolant from the current green. I have touched on this before but is there a definitive "your car had this coolant in it at time of production"? or is this all opinion...
OK, there is no confusion. Everyone stop thinking there is. One short answer: Toyota Pink. It does not matter if you have the first or second generation Vibe. It is Toyota Pink Super Long Life Coolant. That's what was shoved into our cars at NUMMI. Period. You can either go to the Toyota dealer and keep these dinosaurs in business, or you can go to any parts store and get the Xerex Asian. Same stuff. Skip the dealer.
What I want to know is what is the deal with "green stuff" that people say will destroy parts.
Is it the same as universal type fluid or ??? A coolant flush is one thing I haven't had my mechanic do yet, but putting Toyota "pink" fluid in there is gonna be expensive and all.......
The Toyota pink and Xerex Asian (and some others I'm sure) are Borate and Silicate free. I believe those are the two offenders you do not want in Asian built aluminum radiators. Countering the other post on here, the Toyota pink is a SLLC (super long life coolant) and is "good for" 5 years or 150,000 miles. I would stick to the 5 year side of those numbers and forget about trying to achieve 150,000 miles out of the OEM factory or replacement fluid. "Prestone" yellow/green I believe is also free of the two offenders, but is only "built to last" 3 years or 50,000 miles at best. I don't believe it is a problem for our Vibes, and on a positive note, it shows that the fluid has been changed in your car, which as long as it wasn't Dexcool or some other junk which will clog your radiator, is helping to keep your system clean. I don't agree that it will be any more expensive for you to do another flush back to "pink" Zerex Asian. Just buy the bottles from your local store and bring them to your mechanic. All you will get charged for is labor. Just be prepared for your overflow jug to look tan and not pink given the color mixture of pink and any leftover green. Oh and one more thing: make SURE you pick up Xerex ASIAN, not the regular Xerex. It is easy to make that mistake when you go to grab it off the shelf.