OMG coolant reservoir bone dry!
 

2013 Limited. Car runs just fine. Had too much time at hand today and took a look and was astonished. The reservoir is bone dry. I put a flashlight against the white plastic reservoir and cannot find any indication where the fluid level is. Instantly feels uneasy about driving the car now. A few questions, hopefully somebody with experience can help.

1. Where to get OEM coolant? The dealers nearby are all blood suckers, asking $80 for oil changes. So need some help here. I know some would say Pentofrost A3 is the same stuff, but is there anything official, trustworthy evidence for that?

2. How to take off the radiator cap? I twisted about 1/4 turn and pulled it up. However, there seems to be some metal clips to hold it. I did not want to risk anything so I stopped. Is there any tricks?

3. BTW, what is the use of that black plastic strip in the window washer fluid reservoir? I can easily take it out of the reservoir. So pretty puzzled.

Thanks for the help.

Genuine Toyota Fluid

As for the radiator cap, from what I remember you push down slightly, turn and it should pop off. If it doesn't come right off just wiggle it gently until it does.

I'm sure someone will chime in about the black plastic as I'm not sure what you're referring to without taking another look in my reservoir.

Just refill it with distilled water. You're fine.

1. Just as said before you can use distilled water to fill up. It only needs about 4 cups. If you have to buy coolant go with the oem stuff. It's pricy but you'll have peace of mind.

2. You don't need to take the radiator cap off. Just use the reservoir to fill.

3. The long black plastic thing is a dip stick. There are marking towards the bottom.

4. Read your manual.

Okay, back from a Subaru dealer now. I called around before I left. The quotes were $26, $31 and $34. I am surprised by this kind of variation. At $26, it is only $10 more than Pentonsin A3. I can live with it.

The reservoir is small. It literally was bone dry. But I only needed about half a quart to fill it to slightly below 'full'. Maybe I can use distilled water like I did last time. But the speed at which the coolant is used is a bit alarming, so I went with the real deal this time. (Last time it was just below 'low'.)

I am pretty sure that it is not just evaporation. All my other cars don't use coolant so fast. I don't think it is easier to evaporate from BRZ than my other cars. (One is close to 20 years old.) So if engine is burning a small amount of actual coolant (instead of just water evaporating from reservoir), replenish with actual coolant makes a lot of sense than water. That is just my 2 cents.

Also the radiator cap needs to be turned about 120 degree, not 1/4 turn. Slightly different from my other cars. All good now. The coolant was totally full in the radiator. I am glad that I took a look today and potentially avoided some big issues. To those who did not check recently, 'Please take a look at your coolant'.

mine shows low coolant also... its not in my oil just got the lab test back no water or coolant. probably just evaporating a little

The coolant should be very obvious and easy to see in the reservoir.

1. I recommend just buying OEM super coolant. Most dealers price match with online offers from other dealers. It's about $25 Subaru sells their coolant for cheaper than the identical Toyota one. I have no idea why.
Toyota: 00272-GTBC1
Subaru: SOA868V9270

2. Don't open the radiator cap to refill the reservoir. There is a yellow cap nearby that is for the reservoir. If you really need to open the radiator cap, you have to spin until you feel resistance twice and the cap tabs line up with the radiator slots.

3. The strip is the windshield washer dipstick. Tells you your washer fluid level (same idea as oil dipstick)

Like someone else already said, PLEASE take some time and read your owners manual from cover to cover.

Sorry, if it was that dry it simply just means you did not keep an eye on it until it was too late. Just because the rate of evaporation is slower or faster doesn't mean anything. And I'm not sure I can trust your opinion about what makes sense on coolant if you can't even take off the radiator cap without freaking out.

You should always keep an eye on your fluids once a month, if not more.

-alex

You'll also want to note that coolant level changes with engine temperature.

When the engine has been sitting and is cold, coolant returns to the block (lower reservoir level). When your engine is warmed up, coolant moves into the reservoir, raising the level. Based on the manual, check coolant level during cold and ensure it's within the lines

You'll never save enough money on cheap coolant to cover the cost of even 1 coolant system repair. Use the right stuff.

NEVER put tap water in the coolant. Distilled only or you will destroy your cooling system over time.

This is a known "issue". Check it when you check your oil every couple fill ups at the gas pump. Jist fill it as needed with OEM and dont worry about it.

Fwiw, Ive used a gallon in 135k miles

These cars do loose coolant quickly. We have 2 twins and both had low coolant below 10k miles.

You have put 135k miles on your 86? Wow ...

Actually I am fine with burning coolant and to me the rate is kinda slow. If I can burn through 8 quarts of coolant in 11 years, does it mean we no longer need to replace coolant?

Haha, yeah. I really racked up the mileage when it was my only car. It does seem to burn up much faster when driving hard (track/autox/touge) so I would check it more often in the days after doing any of those.

The same question crossed my mind since it's due at 137.5k haha