Coolant Top Off Dilemma (What would you do?)

[PlatinumVibe08]

Brief overview:1. Had an oil leak repaired under warranty (timing cover). Picked up the Vibe 9/25.2. Drove the Vibe today, 9/26, and looked under the hood when I got home to discover the coolant recovery tank empty.3. Let the Vibe cool down and removed the radiator cap to notice no coolant in the neck.4. No sign of leakage. My assumption is that the dealer never checked the coolant level after the job.5. Plan on visiting the dealership service department first thing Monday morning, 9/28.My dilemma:1. If I have the dealership finish their job, I'm assuming they'll top off the coolant with Dex-Cool.2. My Vibe has the original Toyota pink coolant in it and I don't feel comfortable mixing the two.3. Therefore, I have two choices: Let the dealer top off with the Dex-Cool or drive 15 miles to my Toyota dealership to purchase a gallon of the pink stuff and top it off myself.I do realize that if the dealer had been competent in the first place, I wouldn't have the luxury of this dilemma.So, what would you do if you had the same choice?Thanks!PlatinumVibe08

[PlatinumVibe08]

Quote, originally posted by joatmon »unfortunately, clicking on that link gives me the messageso what I'd do is maybe explain the problem better, that is if you want anyone to offer any useful responses joatmon,Yeah, unfortunately is correct. millster deleted the original post, presumably because this post had the same name. No worries, I edited this post to reflect the original content.Please give me your opinion if you are so inclined.Thanks,PlatinumVibe08

[TONY TAT2]

I would head over to wal-mart /advance/etc & buy a galon,put it in,then drive over to the dealership Mon , talk to the service manager away from the desk.Explain what happened.Show him the receipt also. Get a few "free" oil changes for your trouble. keep the service record & the anti freeze receipt & the person ya talked to about the problem in case some damage occures in the future. Sometimes you catch more fly's with sugar than vinegar.

[joatmon]

Today is sunday so no dealer service today. I don't know how much you need to drive the car. Until you know different you should assume the is zero coolant in there. You need to decide if the engine will get too hot on the drive to buy coolant or to the dealer.I have an extra vehicle, so if it were me I'd wait until monday, call the dealer and demand they send someone over to add some coolant, and the correct type. (I would be tempted to let it overheat and seize to get a free new engine, but I wouldn't actually do that)If you need the car sooner than that, then bum a ride to the store, buy the coolant you need, get the car right. If you do that then don't expect the dealer to reimburse you for the cost, because after you fix it yourself you won't be able to prove anything to the dealer.

[djkeev]

YOU put in the proper coolant before you drive the car.

[Vibe_dude]

Just get a bottle of prestone premixed and fill it......take pics if u have too.dont waste extra $$$ on toyota stuff.Then take it in to the dealer and explain what happened.

[PlatinumVibe08]

Thanks for the input from everyone. First and foremost, I do not plan on starting my Vibe again until I add coolant to the radiator and coolant recovery tank. If I need to go pickup a gallon of antifreeze, I'll take my motorcycle.I'm going to call the dealership first thing tomorrow (Mon.) morning and see what they want to do and take it from there.As it stands, I'm either going to add the Dex-Cool as recommended by the Vibe owner's manual or ride over to Toyota and get a gallon of the OEM coolant. I'm not concerned about a few extra dollars when it comes to my peace of mind. I cannot see adding any Prestone or otherwise since I'm not even comfortable mixing in the Dex-Cool as recommended by GM.I'll let you know what happens.PlatinumVibe08

[djb383]

Couldn't get rid of the Dex-Crud quick enough in both Vibes and our Vue. Drained and filled 3 times with distilled water (to flush the system of D-Crud) and put in the good stuff.....Prestone 5yr/150K mile extended life coolant. If you don't drain the block, don't use 50/50 premix. I sleep real good knowing that the good stuff's in there.

[joatmon]

Quote, originally posted by PlatinumVibe08 »As it stands, I'm either going to add the Dex-Cool as recommended by the Vibe owner's manual or ride over to Toyota and get a gallon of the OEM coolant. I'm not concerned about a few extra dollars when it comes to my peace of mind. I cannot see adding any Prestone or otherwise since I'm not even comfortable mixing in the Dex-Cool as recommended by GM.I wouldn't add dex cool, I'd add Prestone, or even just plain tap water before adding Dexcool, but that's me.

[PlatinumVibe08]

Quote, originally posted by djb383 »Couldn't get rid of the Dex-Crud quick enough in both Vibes and our Vue. Drained and filled 3 times with distilled water (to flush the system of D-Crud) and put in the good stuff.....Prestone 5yr/150K mile extended life coolant. If you don't drain the block, don't use 50/50 premix. I sleep real good knowing that the good stuff's in there.djb383,You are aware that the Vibes did not come new with Dex-Cool. They are Toyota products and are filled at the NUMMI factory with the exact same Toyota coolant as the Corolla and Tacoma. My 2008 Vibe has the same pink Toyota 5yr/150K mile extended life coolant as your 2009 Corolla. Nothing against Prestone, and as long as it is silicate-free, it will work fine in the Vibe. I simply tend to trust that Toyota has installed a quality coolant in their products and have not heard anything to dispute that.Quote, originally posted by joatmon »I wouldn't add dex cool, I'd add Prestone, or even just plain tap water before adding Dexcool, but that's me.I feel best with what I ended up doing which was purchase a gallon of the Toyota coolant and topped it off. The dealership did not quibble one bit and reimbursed me the cost of the coolant with cash.It all worked out and I'm happy.Thanks to everyone for your input and opinions.PlatinumVibe08

[djkeev]

Quote, originally posted by PlatinumVibe08 »djb383,You are aware that the Vibes did not come new with Dex-Cool. They are Toyota products and are filled at the NUMMI factory with the exact same Toyota coolant as the Corolla and Tacoma. My 2008 Vibe has the same pink Toyota 5yr/150K mile extended life coolant as your 2009 Corolla. Nothing against Prestone, and as long as it is silicate-free, it will work fine in the Vibe. I simply tend to trust that Toyota has installed a quality coolant in their products and have not heard anything to dispute that.I feel best with what I ended up doing which was purchase a gallon of the Toyota coolant and topped it off. The dealership did not quibble one bit and reimbursed me the cost of the coolant with cash.It all worked out and I'm happy.Thanks to everyone for your input and opinions.PlatinumVibe08FYI,My 2008, never had coolant service work done, has Dex-Cool in. It's Not the Red Toyota coolant by any means. It is the orange-ish GM coolant.Dave

[TONY TAT2]

RED ... >>> MACK TRUCKS & SOME NISSAN FORK LIFTS.IF I GET A CHANCE I'LL GET A PIC,IT'S NO WHERE NEAR THE TOYOTA PINK COLOR,I HAVE THE PINK IN THE VIBE,ORANGE IN THE G6,GREEN IN THE 85 & 78, THE RED IN WORK

[PlatinumVibe08]

Quote, originally posted by djkeev »FYI,My 2008, never had coolant service work done, has Dex-Cool in. It's Not the Red Toyota coolant by any means. It is the orange-ish GM coolant.DaveDave,Your right about your coolant not being red. My 2002 Camry came with the Toyota red long life coolant, while my 2008 Vibe came with the Toyota pink super long life coolant installed at the NUMMI plant. If your Vibe has the orange dex-cool in the recovery tank, then someone (perhaps a GM dealer) has added it at some time.Any time a GM dealer adds coolant to a Vibe, they put in dex-cool since they don't stock Toyota pink. Also, that is what the Vibe owner's manual recommends. I preferred to not mix the dex-cool with the original Toyota pink coolant although I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't the same stuff, just with a different colored dye.Greg

[djkeev]

Quote, originally posted by PlatinumVibe08 »Dave,Your right about your coolant not being red. My 2002 Camry came with the Toyota red long life coolant, while my 2008 Vibe came with the Toyota pink super long life coolant installed at the NUMMI plant. If your Vibe has the orange dex-cool in the recovery tank, then someone (perhaps a GM dealer) has added it at some time.Any time a GM dealer adds coolant to a Vibe, they put in dex-cool since they don't stock Toyota pink. Also, that is what the Vibe owner's manual recommends. I preferred to not mix the dex-cool with the original Toyota pink coolant although I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't the same stuff, just with a different colored dye.GregThis car has never darkened the door of a dealership since I drove it off the lot with 14 miles on it. It has never been in any shop except for tires during my entire ownership. They didn't mess with the coolant at that time, I was there watching.It's now got well over 50,000 miles and over 2 years of running, I'd think what's in the tank has been well circulated into the engine by now and it isn't just a few drops added during the pre-delivery inspection. The many heat / cool cylcles would have mixed up in the expansion tank by now.The possibility exists that some serious repair work was done before I got it but there aren't any signs of that. Any wreck would have had to have been disclosed by the selling dealer. He could be a crook too but his reputation is too good to do that to people.Dave

[Sublimewind]

Dude, just add distilled water, until you can get it sorted... It's not cold enough yet for you to worry about it... /thread