P0128

Also this is what it looks like on the dash

 

Any thoughts?

 

I'm going to go ahead and say your thermostat is stuck open and needs replacing. It should open mechanically at 180°F (as someone else mentioned). Most are 160°F or 180°F, but you're not getting to that which tells me it is open or not completely shut.

 

Haha thats what i thought as well time yo order some oem!

 

Thank god at least its not over heating

 

Do i have to drain my radiator to replace it?

 

Yes, you will. But it is a good time to do a flush and replace the fluid anyway. It is a pretty simple job. Getting to it is likely harder than replacing it, but I'm not familiar with your particular engine.

 

yeah ima have to look up a vid for that i got a 2.4liter. thanks for the thoughts man

 

No, you don't have to fully drain the rad. You may want to drain a little (like below where the -stat is), but however you do it, you will lose a bit of coolant.
Unless you want to flush and fill while you are at it.

 

awesome i wanna see what color is my coolant anyway. any suggestions on coolant type?

 

I think most would recommend the pink coolant for Asian vehicles.

 

Whatever you use, it's cheaper to get the concentrate and dilute it yourself. 50/50 mix with water.

 

awesome ill do a 50/50 mix! is there like a level on the radiator that i should know when 50/50 is accomplished?

 

Very good point.

 

You mix it 50/50 BEFORE you put it into the cooling system.

 

Toyota Red is what your vehicle came with. Pink is for years 05+ (04 in some caes). You would be able to use any color if you do a full flush, but keeping it simple would be Red. Aisin and a few other brands make compatible coolants - it’ll say for Toyota / Lexus in your model year somewhere on the bottle.

136* is not what your engine is probably running after it’s completely warmed up - I’d drive it some and see what your scanner reads after normal use. The thermostat only opens to keep it in normal operating temperature but that doesn’t mean it won’t reach normal operating temperature with it open. If the scanner still says 136* or anything under 180* there’s a good chance your coolant sensor is giving incorrect readings and you could remove it and put it in some boiling water to test how accurate it is with a multi meter, but that’s a few steps down the line.

 

This. Get a second, empty, container. Empty the concentrate container roughly half way, then fill it back up with water and shake to mix. Do the same with the other container.

Also look for something that says it works with Toyota vehicles or says it is good for all makes and models.

 

Here is an easy way to do it: Buy the coolant, and a good funnel. Get a CLEAN bucket with a capacity of more than 2 gallons. Pour the coolant in the bucket, then fill the empty bottle with water. Pour that into the bucket and mix. Pour it carefully back into the original bottle using the funnel. Now you have it mixed 50/50. You then have 2 gallons to go in your cooling system via the radiator. Make sure the old coolant is all out before starting this part. Also, clean out the overflow tank, too, and fill it up when you put the new stuff in.

 

Correct, start with the cheap solutions. But, I'm willing to bet the sensor is fine. Definitely won't hurt to test or replace though

 

But he showed the picture of both the scanner and the temperature gauge and they each use a different sensor and they both showed a low temperature, so it's unlikely they are both wrong. More likely it's the thermostat.

You don't have to drain the coolant but when you remove the thermostat a lot of coolant will come out from there, so it's just a question of where you want the coolant to come out of. Draining the radiator will be less messy.

There is also a drain on the engine block on the passenger side more toward the front from the oil filter (2.4/2.7 engines). And this will dump a bunch of coolant on the ground unless you have a drain pan with a large surface area.