Coolant is color black?
 

It’s only been less than 5 months since I purchased a new Toyota 86 2018 that I noticed that the coolant color in the reservoir is black. What should I do and why is it black?


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Well, it shouldn't be black, blue but not black.


I'd suggest you take it back to the dealer and ask them to check it.


humfrz

I wonder if it's just mold... It could also be a sign of a leaky head gasket... In any case, coolant shouldn't be black... Take it back to the dealer to find out Lol

Have you actually drawn any out to look at it in a clear cup to be sure it's black? Looking at my reservoir it appears black from the outside because the reservoir is translucent, but it's definitely blue coolant.

Is it black because it's in the engine bay and there is shade making it appear black?

If you pop the lid, you can look inside and it should appear blue. Shine a flashlight to confirm.

^that

The coolant the car use is light pink in color and I used a flashlight while checking both day and night. The coolant is between full and low. A day before I asked the question, I went to the dealer to buy a coolant and the employee there said that it should be light pink and that I should have it flushed and filled with the coolant I bought but... I thought it was too early for that since it’s only been 5 months. So I went here to ask. [emoji16] I will do the things you guys suggested.


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You used the wrong stuff.


Drain.


Flush until clear.


Refill with the correct blue stuff.

Because you are in the Philippines things might be different for you; however in Canada and the USA ALL Toyota 86 / FRS / BRZ uses the dark blue/turquoise blue Subaru coolant, or "Scion blue" / "Toyota Blue" coolant (That is only used by the FRS, because Scion TC, iM, xB, etc uses Toyota pink coolant). Yes, even the "Toyota" 86 uses blue Subaru coolant and NOT the pink coolant that every other Toyota uses, I was just at the dealership today and a new 86 had blue coolant in the overflow reservoir.


I'm thinking someone accidentally put Toyota pink into your car and it mixed with the blue, making it black.

Thank you. I will get the blue coolant you’re talking about at the Subaru dealership and have my 86 flushed and filled with the blue one. I’ll also talk about it at the Toyota dealership where I got it.


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This car is known for disappearing coolant especially when the car is new. Factory fill is typically halfway between max and min at cold. My guess is the coolant level was low after a bit of driving, you brought your car in for service, they saw the coolant was low, and topped it off with the pink toyota coolant literally every other Toyota uses. The subaru coolant is already very dark to begin with, the pink must mixed made it near black.



As well, every FRS/BRZ/86 is made in the same factory in Japan. I'm very confident this is what happened and even for a hot country like the Philippines, it still uses the same "blue" coolant as the ones sold in North America, but you can always read the manual to make sure.


EDIT: I just read the Australian 86 owners manual and it also calls for Toyota Blue. Yes, the person at the dealership MESSED UP by telling you it needed pink coolant.

Looks like another case of a dealership being clueless about this platform.

Thank you so much... [emoji1430] Blue coolant it is.


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Ah, stealer, I mean dealership monkeys strike again, here is my oil filter after the first attempt at removal, ham fisted greasers strike again, the old hammer and screwdriver managed to get it off.

Did you try removing it using one of those "claw" oil filter wrenches?


https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/2CkAA...ys~/s-l300.jpg





I also had this problem. I managed to get it off using a 3 claw oil filter wrench. (Normally I don't have a problem getting oil filters off, but this one wasn't moving at all)


https://dccf75d8gej24.cloudfront.net...3652-large.jpg

Negative on the claw, one of the "seat belt" strap items.

This >

So here’s an updated. Before going (which did not happen) to Subaru for the blue coolant, I went to Toyota to ask questions about why my coolant is dark/black-ish, three staff members (all of them their go to guys in this kind of matter) there told me that it is okay to use their pink coolant, which they also told me they used to the 86’s before, for coolant refill. I told them that it should be the blue coolant, that it has a Subaru engine, that it mixed with blue and pink so it came out black and that it’s their fault, that it came from a Subaru factory in Japan, etc etc. Also, they told me that the specs for the pink coolant is the same as the blue coolant except for their colors. Also, I don’t want to compromise the warranty of the car by putting/doing stuff in it by me or from others (like Subaru), so I thought it’s safe to let only Toyota touch my car. I have no idea what to do after that so I thought I can just use their pink coolant always? It’s also much cheaper. But I don’t know guys, what’s your opinion/advice?



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Aqualynx, I think you're overthinking this - ;)


I'd suggest you use whatever is recommended in your car's maintenance manual.


humfrz

AFAIK pink coolant is organic while blue is hybrid and you should not mix them according to Subaru!
But this should not be your absolute guide as only the exact specifications can tell you if they are mixable.

The colour really doesn't mean a thing anymore. The pink and the blue could be exactly the same depending on who makes it. What is important is to use the same composition not colour. As stated in the attached article (ignore the brand name sales pitch) getting the same composition is made much more difficult because the colour no longer indicates what type was used.
Soooo... ignore the colour and just make sure you get the recommended formula.


https://www.holtsauto.com/prestone/n...erent-colours/
https://www.autoserviceworld.com/job...rrect-coolant/

From what I am finding there might have been a change to the Toyota pink coolant at some point.

Some bottles specifically state on the back "for Toyota engines (except Scion FR-S engines)" while some pictures I found online no longer have that wording on the back.

It is written in the paragraph on the back of the bottle. If you buy some just check for that and should be good since Toyota is the one who does your warranty, not Subaru.

The manual is very clear:


“TOYOTA Genuine 50/50 Premixed Super Long Life Coolant BLUE


or


similar high-quality ethylene glycol-based nonsilicate, non-amine, non-nitrite and non-borate coolant with longlife hybrid organic acid technology."


Yes, the original is blue but any coolant meeting the requirements will work regardless of colour.

Yes, that's true about the "or" alternative.

However, why are some folks making life so fucking difficult for themselves!

It's not like a lot of this stuff is consumed per 100,000 miles of driving.

Yes, the 'OR" stuff may be chemically equivalent to the "blue" stuff, but how much research time are you going to spend to verify that?

Even then, you might run into an ingredient on the MSDS or chemical compound disclosure sheet that an ingredient is stated as "proprietary".

Then you're screwed unless you know someone at a University or chemical research facility that has access to a mass spectrometer.

I suggest we make life simpler and just buy the "blue stuff".

:thumbsup:


humfrz

That is my point! There are blue ones out there that do not meet the requirements. If you mean buy the specific blue stuff from the manual I agree but it has to be THAT blue one not just a blue one. As Finch said they are all well labeled for what vehicles it should be used in.

Do you have a corporate phone number in your region?

Call them and explain and ask their opinion if you do.

I agree - what I meant by the "blue stuff" was indeed the "TOYOTA Genuine 50/50 Premixed Super Long Life Coolant BLUE", Maybe I just shortened it's name a bit too much - :iono:


:)


humfrz

Did you change yours?

The service department did. I have no clue what they put in there since I trust they know what they are doing and feel no need to follow them around questioning things.

Holly crap how do you do that...