G48 Blue Anitfreeze

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Philly RAV4 EV

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 25, 2013
Messages
86
Can anyone help me out, I live in Pa. and cannot buy the Toyota G48 antifreeze in this state it's not available here. California dealers won't ship it to me. Can someone on this forum buy it for me and ship it to me, I'm willing to pay for your time and costs!
 
There are a number of parts resellers that show up in the results that will all ship to you directly. No need to involve a dealer at all.
 
Took your advice went to Tesla and they were very accommodating. They sold me a gallon. They also said they couldn't believe that I could not buy it from a local Toyota dealer. I told them what several Toyota dealers told me, they called Toyota to order the coolant and was told by them it is a west coast item and they could not send it to them. The Tesla person just shook their head. The Tesla person said they had more if I ever needed it. Hooray for Tesla and F**k Toyota!
 
This is for second generation RAV4-EV owners, like myself who have taken their RAV4-EVs to states other than California where Toyota does not provide service.

Routine service like tires, wiper blades, etc. are  not a problem. One more routine thing that seems to be problematic is fluid levels. Apparent to the casual observer is the presence of a beer colored fluid,a pink fluid and a blue fluid. The beer colored fluid in a reservoir  closest to the firewall is brake fluid. The pink fluid is part of the cabin heating system. Both of these are readily available anywhere in the country.

It is the blue fluid closest to the front of the car which is contained in two reservoirs, one on the drivers side for the traction battery and one on the passengers side for the motor thermal management systems.

I have attempted to order 00289-G48VC G-48 COOLANT $21.50 from Toyota Parts Factory in Arizona. Forty five minutes after successfully placing the order I received this response.

"Toyota Parts Factory - Order Cancelled - Order #8442
Hello, G48

Per our shipping policy we do not ship coolant. Your order has been cancelled and you will be issued a full refund. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Thank you,
Toyota Parts Factory"

This is an interesting response from a supplier in Arizona concerning a part only needed in California.

Blue G48 coolant is not readily available from part stores such as Auto Zone here in the US. Zerex G48 referred to in the RrAV4-EV Owners Manual  is available in Europe. This product is designed for use in engines with aluminum heads and I imagine this is why Tesla has chosen this coolant for its aluminum traction battery frame. Blue G48 is often used by European car manufacturers.

This has led me to to my local BMW dealer's parts department as the source for this G48 coolant.
BMW PART NUMBER 82 14 2 209 769 meets ASTM D 3306 Standard which is compatible with G48. I found the Zerex spec sheet for their G48 product helpful.

http://www.whitfieldoil.com/downloads/ZerexAntifreezeLineupChart.pdf

At this point I am fairly confident that a 50/50 mix of the Blue BMW Coolant mixed with deionized water water can be safely mixed with the original coolant in the RAV4-EV.

I am interested in any input this group can provide regarding my conclusion.

I also have this question. Since the traction battery thermal management system is a closed system, where does the fluid go such that the reservoir level is low. Is it like a lead acid battery where the electrolyte level falls  due to water evaporation. So that all that need be added is distilled water.

Can we in the case of the RAV4-EV G48 Motor or Traction Battery coolant simply continuously add deionized water to keep the level up?

Is it necessary to bring the level up with a 50/50 mix of G48 and deionized water? Does this have the affect increasing the concentration of coolant in the thermal management system?

In my view,either approach probably makes little difference where I live and use the car in Winter Haven, Florida, assuming the coolant used is appropriate.

Of course if there is any doubt about the coolant, the safer approach would be to add deionized water only. This leaves only the questions of diluting coolant concentration and does it matter?

Of course in the case of a leaking system the 50/50 mix would be appropriate after the leak is fixes. The 50/50 mix would also be required after draining the system.

Cheers,
Al Lococo
2012 RAV4-EV
2012 LEAF
Florida

Sent from my Android Eee Transformer Prime using maildroid

"Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know."
M. King Hubbert
 
Yes just go to your local BMW dealer and buy the g48 from them this is the "right stuff" mix with 1 part DI water and just top off . My local Tesla service center buys it from the same BMW parts counter that I get it from.
 
I ended up buying my g48 coolant from Tesla. This was after a toyota dealer in California told me that's what they use when they do work on the Rav4 EV
 
not exactly, but it may be good enough for this application?
but,
I have a Reverse Osmoses/Deionization filtration system (RODI) for my Aquarium so I just used that water.
You can buy deionized water for about $12 a gallon just to be safe.
 
I needed some G48 also and called Roseville Toyota for some. They had it in stock and were willing to sell it to me but being 3 hours away, I asked that they ship it, which they would not do. They were willing to work with me though and had it sent (on their truck to the Toyota place in Chico which is where I picked it up (going there anyway).
It said Tesla on it, it was not a Toyota product. Also, It stated that it was ready to use...nothing about diluting it with distilled water. After 12 months, I only needed a few ounces and will be curious to see if it drops more over time.

I'm willing to ship some to folks in need as I'm not drinking this stuff and can't imagine needing a gallon.
 
Thanks to all for help.i have found in my quest for answers to my question about using deionized water only, I stumbled on the PDF which contains the Toyota DIY Service manual which is very clear about using the 50/50 G48/DI water.

http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM42833U/pdf/sec_04-03.pdf

This information combined with my BMW sourced G48 available in quart or gallon, I got the quart for $9.00, will solve my problem.

Cheers,
Al Lococo
2012 RAV4-EV
2012 LEAF
Florida
 
ground_gainer said:
So can the BMW stuff be shipped? Is there anywhere to get this stuff online shipped to your house?
I think the problem is that UPS doesn't want to handle it. You may have to pay special handling to FedEx Ground or some such thing. Is there no BMW dealer or Tesla Service Center close enough to you to go get it in person?
 
Isn't this the stuff? It shows as compatible with Teslas...

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/AFZA/G485050/N0496.oap?ck=Search_N0496_-1_-1&pt=N0496&ppt=C0059
 
The link to O'reilly Auto Parts does show the correct antifreeze, but it is the 50/50 mixture and not the concentrate. I believe when the dealership did the coolant change out on my RAV4 EV they used a little over 2 gallons of the concentrate since I provided 3 gallons (two were used plus the third was open). I got my G-48 coolant from the local NAPA store.
 
TonyWilliams said:
How to test your G48 coolant:

http://www.acustrip.com/cgi-bin/proddesc.cgi?s=40240
Wow. 300 tests for $600

I could pay for a few tests at $2 but $600 to start is a bit steep.
 
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