Is this coolant loss normal!

Hey y’all I bought my 2015 Tacoma about 4 months ago with 83k miles on the odo currently at 87k, when I got it I noticed the coolant resivor was low like almost empty and I pointed it out to the stealership and asked them and they claimed it probably had a coolant change and wasn’t burped. It did seem believable because it was one owner and per the car fax he did an oil change at the stealership every 5k miles on the clock and he even had the dealer do a drain and fill on the tranny at 50k he did take it to an independent shop around 80k miles but they didn’t specify what they did on the carfax, also took my blue driver and ran it for any stored codes ever and came up empty

anyway so when I took it home of course I filled the coolant tank (radiator itself was full) I’m the type of guy who looks to pop the hood every few weeks just for the case because today I noticed it was a tiny bit below the full line (after I was driving it for a while) oil looks good and no visible signs of a leak anywhere, I did drive it in Death Valley about a month ago on a 500 mile road trip and no over heating

is this normal or do i possibly have a leak somewhere?

 

That's in line with normal coolant fluctuation.
I'd keep an eye on it, just because it was empty when you bought it.

I wouldn't get concerned about it now. If it goes dry again, look for a leak.

You can check the bottom of the reservoir. There is a little drain cap.
It's known to leak with age. It's just a rubber cap with small a light duty clamp on it.

 

Agree^^^^. I had a similar thing happen. I kept noticing my reservoir was down a little bit. When it would get about half way down I’d put more coolant in. Did this a couple times and then I knew there must be a leak somewhere. Did a thorough inspection and noticed a slight seeping from around my water pump. It wasn’t easy to spot. There was never any coolant on the ground. Put a new water pump in, problem resolved. Just keep an eye on it.

 

I topped it off will keep an eye on it, probably going to do another drain and fill on it anyway soon or at least check the acidity of it with the ph strips

 

The maintenance schedule to replace the coolant is 100K. Thus, I doubt the previous owner changed it. My 07 manual says to check the level in the reservoir when the engine is cold. That could explain some difference in the level you see.

 

The odd thing is he took it to the dealer every 5k miles and did every major service at the dealer according to the carfax, wouldn’t they mention it to the previous owner or even top off the coolant if they noticed it was low I mean I know the techs can be pretty brain dead but it’s hard to ignore.

 

Over the course of a year or so, I lose a few ounces of coolant. I know it's a closed system but it happens.

 

The strategy is to maintain the coolant level between the "full hot" and "full cold" marks on the overflow container. Check it when it has sat all night/full cold before starting it. If it is at or near the "full-cold" line, don't add any coolant: check it again when fully hot/warmed up and running. If it is below the "full hot" line when fully warmed up, add coolant. If it keeps dropping below the full cold line, look for a leak or replace the radiator cap.

 

If the coolant level is between the top/low line, they will not add coolant. They add only if at or below the low line. From my manual, “The coolant level in the reservoir will vary with engine temperature. However, if the level is on or below the “LOW” line, add coolant. Bring the level up to the “FULL” line.”