The coolant icon lights up when I start the car after the engine is cool..Wondering Why? Is that normal?

Asked by Echoing Jun 21, 2013 at 01:02 PM about the Toyota ECHO

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

2005 automatic ECHO- recently purchased from a private seller with no previous records.
This car and these type of icons are new to me.
I've been driving this car about a week and the light comes on every time I start up but after I drive in 4 blocks it goes off.
I checked the coolant and it's full- almost to the cap.
Thanks!

6 Answers

95

Your owner's manual may have some information about that specific condition. Check out page 87 at the following link: http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM52598U/pdf/01omso ur/2005/05echoom/16.pdf The owners manual seems to suggest that the blue light will stay on until the car warms up to normal operating temperature. Based on your description of that light going out, you seem to be in the ballpark. When you say your coolant level is full, does that mean it is AT or ABOVE the "Full" line on the bottle? Overfilling the coolant could cause excessive pressure and damage your cooling system. The liquid needs room to expand into a gas and back again. If it's above the FULL line, you'll need to drain some of the coolant. Otherwise, it sounds like everything is normal.

6 people found this helpful.

dispose of the coolant in an environmentally responsible fashion..either put it right back into the bottle or bring it to an autoparts store...they are always happy to get old coolant...they can run their "rejuvenating" machine and resell the stuff~

3 people found this helpful.

there's a very good reason why the bottle is translucent...so you can SEE the level in there from the outside of the bottle~

2 people found this helpful.
30

Excessive coolant in the recovery bottle will not hurt anything. With an overfilled recovery bottle, the worst case scenario is that it will puke coolant onto the ground as the coolant gets hot and expands into the bottle. Your actual cooling system NEEDS to be full to the top. The system will not "build excess pressure and damage your cooling system" unless you have an issue like a blown head gasket, bad radiator cap, or stuck thermostat. The cap is designed to vent the pressure...into the recovery bottle, and then as it cools and contracts, the little check valve in the cap opens to allow the system to draw the coolant from the bottle back into the cooling system. The caps have a P.S.I. rating, usually somewhere between 13 and 18 P.S.I. Yes, the coolant will expand & contract as it heats and cools, but the system is pressurized to PREVENT the coolant from becoming a gas...pressurizing the system raises the boiling point of the coolant.

3 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

ECHO

Looking for a Used ECHO in your area?

CarGurus has 7 nationwide ECHO listings starting at $2,995.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    schalk diedericks
    Reputation
    190
  • #2
    Blake Peterson
    Reputation
    120
  • #3
    Mohammad Ovaise
    Reputation
    90
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Toyota Yaris
13 Great Deals out of 189 listings starting at $3,450
Used Toyota Corolla
129 Great Deals out of 2,267 listings starting at $1,999
Used Honda Civic
187 Great Deals out of 3,999 listings starting at $440
Used Toyota Camry
43 Great Deals out of 1,133 listings starting at $4,795
Used Toyota Matrix
9 Great Deals out of 112 listings starting at $2,990
Used Honda Fit
9 Great Deals out of 177 listings starting at $6,289
Used Toyota Sienna
44 Great Deals out of 620 listings starting at $2,499
Used Toyota Supra
49 listings starting at $55,995
Used Toyota Tercel
2 listings
Used Toyota C-HR
22 Great Deals out of 389 listings starting at $15,250
Used Toyota Corolla Hatchback
19 Great Deals out of 352 listings starting at $11,990
Used Toyota Corolla Cross
7 Great Deals out of 189 listings starting at $27,945

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.