So, it is time to change the coolant in your Toyota, but you are wondering what is better, Toyota Red Long Life Coolant or Toyota Pink Super Long Life Coolant. These are two main coolants available from Toyota and while they look similar, there are some differences.
Is Toyota Pink Coolant Just Premixed Red?
No, Toyota Pink Coolant is not just premixed Red. The pink coolant is an OAT (organic acid technology) that typically has a longer service life. The red coolant on the other hand is an IAT (inorganic acid technology) that is considered to be more “conventional” but still longer lasting than some other coolants on the market.
What Are the Ingredients of Each Coolant?
Toyota Pink Super Long Life Coolant:
- Water (7732-18-5)
- Ethylene Glycol (107-21-1)
- Diethylene Glycol (111-46-6)
- Sebacic Acid (111-20-6)
- Potassium Hydroxide (1310-58-3)
Toyota Red Long Life Coolant:
- Ethylene Glycol (107-21-1)
- Diethylene Glycol (111-46-6)
- Water (7732-18-5)
- Orangic Acid Salt (532-32-1)
- Hydrated Inorganic Salt (1310-58-3)
Which Toyota Coolant is the Longest Lasting?
Toyota claims that their Pink Coolant is good for up to 160,000 km (100,000 miles) or 10 years for the factory fill and then needs to be changed every 100,000 km (60,000 miles) or 5 years after that. The red coolant has a much shorter life and needs to be changed every 50,000 km (30,000 miles) or every 2 years.
Which Toyota Coolant is the Cheapest?
While Toyota Pink Coolant does last a lot longer than Red it is quite a bit more expensive. This is in part because it is only available as 50/50 pre-mixed formula whereas Toyota Red is not pre-diluted.
You can get a great deal on genuine Toyota Red coolant here on Amazon
Or go here for Toyota Pink coolant.
Which Toyota Coolant is Better for Older Cars?
It is generally recommended that you use Toyota Red in older vehicles. This is mainly due to the fact that older Toyotas usually have non-aluminium radiators and Pink is not formulated with the inhibitors necessary to protect them. The Red Long Life coolant had molybate and a triazole to protect the metals (copper, etc.) in the older radiators.
Toyota Red can also be used in later model cars, but from the factory they come with Pink. The Pink coolant was used in most Toyotas from the early to mid 2000s
So, Which Coolant is the Best?
This really comes down to the model and year of your car. If you have a modern Toyota with an aluminium radiator, Pink is probably the coolant you want to go for. However, if you do not mind changing the coolant frequently, Toyota Red can be used on newer cars if you want to save a few bucks (remember it needs to be mixed with water).
For older cars it is recommended that you use Toyota Red and not Pink as per the advice above.
Can I Mix Toyota Red & Pink?
Toyota does state that their two coolants are compatible, but we would always exercise caution when mixing coolants. If you are thinking about changing between them we would flush the system completely before adding the new, different coolant.
An excellent explanation about the difference between then. However, do you have a suggestion about others kind of coolants that can be used in a substitution from SLLC, obviously that maintain the same characteristc and have a good price? Regards from Brazil.
At last i got this information. Thank you.
No worries Jose, glad we could help. Thanks for reading!
Hello, in pink coolant there is a sentence in the label saying: “50/50 pre-mixed Anti-rust Anti-freeze”. Does it mean the water is already added to this product?
Anyway, I really put this item into my car (Toyota Yaris, model 2001) without adding water, is that safe? Can you please provide more details about this point? Thanks a lot.
Hi Ali, thanks for your question.
If it says “50-50 pre mixed” then you don’t need to add more water (if it says ‘concentrate’ then you need to add water). The idea of pre-mixed coolant is to avoid you having to work out the correct mix of water and coolant.
Thank you Sam so much, it’s very clear now.
To be continued– I learned that some products of engine coolant that specially formulated for Toyota vehicles (Pink Super Long Life Coolant-Part no: 08889-80082 ) do not provide protection for older models of vehicles. Is that correct?
Anyway, I really put this item into my car (Toyota Yaris 2001-Total miles travelled: 148728) is that safe? You will be very appreciated if you provide more details about this point.
Regards
What long lode colante is correct for Toyota Bj 40 pf year1980? Tank you
Gian, The Long Life Red would be for toyota vehicle prior to mid-1990’s- I paid $30 usd per gallon here in Kansas City at the toyota dealership. I have not seen this for sale at any auto parts stores.
Thanks for your helpful comment Shawn.
i am currently doing an experiment to settle the question, i have an 02 camry, it has a gallon of pink, a gallon of red, and topped with distilled water.
How’s the experiment going?
Yes keen to hear as well! Thanks for commenting Ed.
I have 2012 Camry it has pink coolant in but dealer sold me the red is it compatible and can you top off the clear container??
I have a question I have a 2000 Camry and just replace the radiator a few months ago can I use Toyota’s 50/50 antifreeze or what I have to use the concentrated?
Does anyone know what water I should mix with toyota long life red coolant concentrated , ( distilled or de ionised. – for an mr2 sw20 3sge 1995.
Hi Richard, this is one of those questions that does seem to draw up a lot of conflicting information/answers (in fact it’s given me the inspiration for our next article!). Both distilled and de-ionised are a better bet than using tap water. I have always used distilled water for mixing concentrate coolant and not had any problems, but some do say that de-ionized water is the correct choice.
I wouldn’t be surprised if many shops doing coolant work for customers are just using tap water, and getting away with it no problems. Distilled is going to be better than that.
You could also call your local Toyota dealer/specialist and ask what they use?
i do purified water for a living. distilled water is always the best option. deionized water can have leakage especially when the bottles are nearing the end of a run and need a regeneration. and you would not know unless you have the tools to measure. two things about the deionizers: 1-there is always a pH shift as the bottles get used, 2-worst of all one of the first things to leak through deonizers is the very weakly ionized silicates. when the silicates start leaking they can come out at a higher concentration than what is actually in the supply tap water.
most mfg specify no silicates in the water as these have been determined to shorten water pump bearing life. consider this, sand is silicate and some other stuff. sandpaper in your pump bearings.
stick with distilled water, zero silicates.
Thanks for the insightful and helpful comment!
i changed my radiator for my Toyota voxy 2008 model engine 3ZR FAE which coolant should i change
hi. which one should i use for my 2013 toyota fielder. the red one or the pink one. your help will be really appreciated. thanks
I have a toyota celica 1.8 vvti, with plate license of 09-2000, can i use the Toyota long life coolant?
I have another car a toyota Corolla 2.0D, with plate license of 06-1998, can I use the Toyota long life coolant?
Hi Sam,
What is the best coolant to use for a 1999 Lexus LX470? The pink or the red?
According to your article it states that the pink coolant is best for an aluminum radiator. I’m guessing the 1999 Lexus LX470 has an aluminum radiator so I should be using the pink, correct?
Thanks for any info.
Ik heb een Yaris Hybride van 2012, welke vloeistof zit er in?
ik heb een yaris hybrid uit 2019
Dziwne, jest Pan pewien że różowy nie zawiera fosforanów? Toyota zaleca ze względu na pozytywny wpływ na aluminiową chłodnicę i pompę wody