Coolant mixup

I have a 2012 rock warrior. After getting it inspected I noticed that my coolant was low. I had the dealership (a Hyundai dealer) top it off with their coolant. A couple days later I notice it was still at the low point like before they topped it off. I went and bought a bottle of expensive coolant and got my funnel in place and poured some in (maybe 2 cups at most) without checking the color like an idiot.

Previous coolant was pink, this stuff is green or yellow. I realize I definitely should have went straight to Toyota to buy coolant. But at this point I have driven the truck but my yellow coolant is still hovering above the pink stuff when I look at the reservoir. What do I do now?

Is it okay to let it go?

Should I drain the radiator drain petcock and then refill it with Toyota’s coolant?

or, Do I need to drain the radiator and both sides of the engine block petcocks? I don’t have the tools to do that at the moment.

let me know guys, and thanks for the help!

 

Drain it and refill it.

 

I would drain everything including the engine block and fill up with the correct coolant. The petcock alone would only drain about half of the total coolant.

 

IF what you put in is the Prestone All Makes coolant you should be fine since it's the same type and silicate free as Toyota.

More concerning I think is that you lost enough coolant in a couple days to need more.

Either way a flush/fill is never a bad choice.

 

FYI>>> Prestone All Makes formula doesn't have the additional anti wear additives that OEM and Zerex Asian has that our water pump likes.

 

I vote for a drain and refill as well... I'd check the radiator cap to ensure its good.. I'd inspect the hoses as well if those are also good, check your radiator as well and look for leaks then if none are found its a good idea to start considering the water pump is starting to go....

 

I’ve spent years driving in boonies. You ever get a leak, then repair in the field, you’ll pour swamp water in there. Modern Coolants to a certain degree are all ok for a while. Sounds like you just bought the truck. I’d be more worried that it’s not cycling air out of the system if it’s still low. You can drive it for a while without damage. Time comes, flush it well, blow it out well. Then make sure you have what you want on hand to do it properly. Check thermostat and seal - replace. Then you have a solid baseline

 

When I'm out in the boonies I bring along extra Zerex coolant among other things such as water.

 

My last truck was a old Dodge ram and when I got it, I decided to flush the coolant system because there were a myriad of issues pointing to the cooling system having some problems. There were at least four distinct varieties of coolant in the truck, with some not coming out until I pulled the lower radiator hose and used a garden hose to blow out the engine. Once I did that, I buttoned up the system and filled it with the garden hose and ran it for five minutes, then drained and repeated that process till clear water came out, then filled with undiluted coolant to mix with the water remaining in the system. This isn't all that expensive to do, but it sure took some time. Magically the issues I was chasing down on that day (you can never conquer all of a Dodge's issues in one day) went away once the coolant was filled with the proper type.

 

This^^^^^

 

So 16 ounces mixed in with 12+ quarts (384 ounces) of existing coolant = less than 4%. Hmmm, I wouldn't worry about that especially since the 16 oz was 'all models' type.

As several others said, find the leak or wait a few days and some of the green stuff will be gone too....