When to check Liquids (oil & coolant)
 

Hi Guys,

My BRZ has about 7000km on the clock and I have a sneaky suspicion that it is consuming oil.

I just want to find out what time is best to check the oil. Is it when cold or after it has warmed up.

The reasons I ask this are two fold.

1. it seems the water level is best checked after the engine is warm as the water recedes in the reservoir over night and gets to the Full mark once warm.

2. A service personnel at Subaru said the oil is best checked when the car is cold.

So I am quite confused.

Thanks in advance.

P.S Is it normal that the car be consuming a significant amount of oil at such low mileage?

I don't think so.
I've done 37000 kms and I've never had to top up any fluids ever.
But I do change oil every 7500 kms because I track my car and it's S/C.
I check all fluid levels cold, and always at home rather than the filling station.
YMMV

Best is a few minutes after you park.

So the oil is still warm and it has had a few mins to drain back into the sump.

I try to do both. Check when its cold and when its hot.

Mine also does the same where the coolant level fluctuates depending on engine temp.
As long as its between the min and max at both times its fine by me

I always check when cold - never needed to top up oil, and coolant sitting on the cold mark.

thanks guys. I will keep an eye on it and see

Cool, I forgot to mention - the coolant did fluctuate quite a bit in the beginning. Just top up with distilled water or coolant from Subaru when cold.

Hi,


Does anyone have the part number for the Toyota Super Long Life BLUE coolant in South Africa?


Search the forums and found a discussion on it on the oil thread, but no part numbers.

You can get from Toyota but get ready to get a big tin thereof (5l I think) and over R300.

Thanks for the quick feedback - called 2 local dealers and they are adamant that the 86 uses the standard red Toyota coolant - do you maybe have a part number or can you recommend a dealer I can call?

Hey Dude

Toyota Strydom park know the coolant the 86 should use. THey only sell it in 5l and its Blue i think.

I enquired about it but did not take down the part number.

Alternatively, check with Subaru.

Dealers don't do themselves any favours sometimes. I mean I'm no expert on the subject but it is definitely blue!

Mine is Blue.

If it's 5l I'm assuming it's premix?

Same here.

I will post this here, since it's some questions that are quite probably really really stupid, but it occurred to me this morning:
My 86 is pretty accurately a year old, and I would like it to be serviced regularly.

1) Does this car have a service light/indicator of sorts, or do I simply have to remember myself? (probably a retarded question, but hey)
2) I want to change oil(s). Motor Oil and (if needed - not sure about this at all, maybe someone can enlighten me - gearbox oil as well). How do I ensure that our (frankly piss-poor) Toyota dealership puts the right oil in the parts?

1) No it doesnt. You need to remember. If its a year old and has not had a service, take it in. Mileage does not matter. If you leave it too long, you will need to pay for the service.
2) Ask the dealership to give you the empty containers

Yes, check after a few minutes. If I check right after turning off the engine it will not even register the first dot on the dipstick. If I wait a couple minutes it reads correctly, for me about halfway between the 2 dots.

They probably use bulk oil so no containers.

The oil comes in 1L bottles. I have not seen bigger. So you should always get containers as well as a bottle with a little extra inside...

Yep, it only comes in 1 Lt bottles, see http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...8&postcount=17

psssssshhh check oil and water? one of the perks of having a brand new car is not to worry about these things.

I save that energy for working on the MR

Even the pre delivery inspection states to check fluid level.

But hey, if you trust the dealer jockeys to do everything right and your car to be perfect more power to you.

Thanks, @Die$eL.
I thought that the empty container was the answer, but wasn't sure abotut he huge bottles and all.

Thanks again!

Yeah I know, sometimes these things may get forgotten or misfilled at the factory, remember we may be enthusiasts and these things will seem important, but for the other 99% of normal people out there theres nothing to check they just get in and drive, I would obviously make sure a day before i track the car etc, but for a vehicle with 6000kms and hasnt even been for its first service, Its not something im concerned about on a day to day basis.

My fiance had a mercedes A class for 6 years, not once did it ever cross my mind to check the oil and that car was perfectly fine, hell on my daily driver where i do 4000kms a month and drive it like i stole, it, its not something im concerned about, if everything is within factory spec then you shouldnt have a problem,

Have theses cars been noted for oil consumption in mass numbers? not that I know off,

Now my MR2 with the original 1zz engine was, that I checked fluids etc regularly, and now that i fitted a 2zzge crate motor to it, I still do it because its modified, and if something had to go wrong it would actually be my problem and not a warranty claim.

Dont get me wrong I plan to keep the 86 long term, but when its older and out of warranty etc. then I will worry


I dont expect a new factory stock car to take oil or water and if it did, then theres warranty for that, if you are supercharged or did some mods then by all means I agree, check everything for peace of mind.

I did that once and nearly shat myself! :bonk:

Blue Coolant Part number: 08889-01203
 

My coolant levels were at the min level this weekend,

I went to the dealership that I purchased my vehicle from: McCarthy Toyota Gateway (Umhlanga)

They insisted that the Toyota 86 uses the red coolant, they then said I must call Subaru and ask them for the "Blue coolant" that I requested.

Called Subaru Dbn: They said they use Red coolant in all their BRZ's

I then drove the Gateway Toyota (Who still denied there being a Toyota Blue Coolant in existence) and called Imperial Toyota Randburg (Infront of the Gateway Toyota Parts manager) who assisted me with the following part number: (Blue coolant part number)

08889-01203

Toyota Gateway parts said its the first time they heard about this coolant - Not sure if it was ignorance or stupidity.

I then drove to Durban South Toyota to buy it as they where the closest dealer in KZN to have stock.

Not sure if this is the correct coolant or not:iono:
But my car hasnt exploded as yet lol so it should be fine...:bonk:

Cost R311.48 (Excluding VAT) - 4L
Attachment 112697

Looks like that can has stood the test of time.

Lol the coolant was still fresh ...despite the possible expired 'use by' date in Japanese :D

Durban South Toyota provided an 8% discount as well (I guess coz its old stock)

That's such a specific number. I wonder how they sucked an 8% instead of just giving you a round 10%. Anyway, mine's definitely blue.

Here you go

Turns out I have coolant usage issues as well, I also went to toyota and they insisted that I either changed the coolant myself to Blue because all toyotas have red.... After a mini shouting match I just said what ever fill the pink. But I intend to flush and fill the system with the pink stuff. I'm sure mixing them isn't an issue but for myself I think I want to do that.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Toyota SA lack of knowledge of the 86 (+3 years of production and sales) is sad and ridiculous.

If you want we can all rock up to that dealership and show them our blue coolant :bonk:. When I bought my car from Lynwood branch I gave them a bad review about the knowledge base on the 86 and the DP got offended (the truth hurts but it is my experience that the dealerships I've been to know very little about the car). I would expect it to be better now.

It's still not as bad as getting assistance on an MR2.... You know thinks are going to get bad when people ask you.... What car is that?

My coolant is also blue - don't know if they filled it at the service in Dec but the fluid level is on full

So I had Toyo Woodmead topup my coolant with Pink before I could stop them. I brushed it aside saying that I will ask them to flush the system and replace at the next service which I did.

The lady helping me ordered the coolant etc. and advised I must come back the next day when the stock of the blue coolant arrives (i provided them with part number. She was not aware of the existence of blue coolant).

Then the parts guy says that I need to pay for it. So I spoke to the service manager (Johan i think) and explained that they mixed the coolant and they should pay.

Now the fun starts.

He advises the following:
- TSA has acknowledged a problem of the first models of the 86 using coolant and has found it to be a loose clamp. They have also provided 99.9% of those owners with an extra bottle of coolant to compensate. No mention was made of repairing the said clamp or doing any sort of recall.
- TSA advised them to top-up with pink coolant until they got stock of blue which had to be imported etc. and they only got stock 4 months ago (2.5 years after the car was launched).
- TSA advised that they should not top-up with more than 1L of pink coolant to the existing blue.

I gave up arguing and said that if he says its fine that my coolant was mixed then lets just leave it as it.

The blue coolant bottle that I purchased from Durban South Toyota looked like it was lying there for years (From the rust and layers of dust on the coolant TIN/container), - makes me wonder if that is the correct coolant...
Ryan posted a picture of a plastic 5L bottle of blue coolant.

They have been providing customers with "an extra bottle" (I am assuming 1 L bottle) of Pink coolant? as the blue coolant only sells in 4 / 5L bottles?

I don't have much respect for car dealerships, a result of many years of poor service from them both from the sales side and the service side. Reading this thread hasn't changed my opinion of them unfortunately. My experiences were one of the reasons why I voided my warranty after 18 months and fitted an RGM vortech supercharger plus exhaust, catch can and brake upgrade.

When I picked my car up it was noted that the coolant level was low and needed topped up. RGM arranged for me to stop off at Imperial Toyota's service department and they topped it up with the correct blue coolant at no charge.

I'm therefore grateful to both for helping out, but have no other experience of Imperial Toyota Randberg. Is this typical of their customer service?

I'm not sure which one they provided.

Has anyone here received the "complimentary bottle of coolant"?

Seeing that 99.9% of owners were given this there must be a few on here at least?

Nope, no complimentary coolant here, but I've never asked, and I've never needed any.

In 50,000 kms, I've never had to top up coolant.
Maybe wringing the guts out of your car on racetracks is good for it. :bonk:

I didn't receive a complimentary bottle of coolant neither. When I enquired if RGM had any to top up my coolant they said no, it was Toyota specific and that I shouldn't mix coolants. To use a different coolant would require a complete coolant flush.

It's a little disturbing the number of dealers who don't seem to know which coolant to use, or perhaps I just expect too much from them :sigh: