Tools you need for coolant flush on a 2014-2019 Toyota Corolla

This is one of the easiest jobs on the E170 Corolla. The only fasteners you touch are the 10 mm bolts and plastic clips holding the engine under-cover, and the drain itself is a plastic petcock at the lower driver's side of the radiator. There is no block drain you can realistically reach, so a single drain-and-refill swaps about 80% of the coolant - fine for a maintenance change, not a real flush if the old fluid is brown or rusty.

The part people get wrong is bleeding. The 2ZR has no bleeder screw, so you have to idle the engine with the cap off and a spill-free funnel attached until the thermostat opens and the fans cycle, then recheck the level cold the next morning. Also stick with pink Toyota Super Long Life Coolant in pre-diluted form; the green stuff and concentrate poured in neat are the two mistakes that cause trouble later.

Complete tool and parts list

Differences within the 2014-2019 generation

The whole generation uses the same 1.8 L 2ZR family, so tool sizes are identical across L, LE, LE Eco (2ZR-FAE with Valvematic) and S trims. Manual-transmission and CVT cars differ only slightly in total system capacity, and 2014-2016 cars may have the filler cap on the radiator while some later builds route filling through the reservoir tank - look before you buy a funnel adapter.

Torque specs

How the job goes

1. Park on level ground, chock the rear wheels, and let the engine cool completely. Opening a hot system will spray scalding coolant.
2. Raise the front of the car and support it on jack stands under the pinch welds or subframe points.
3. Remove the plastic engine under-cover: 10 mm bolts plus several plastic push-pin clips across the front and sides. Keep the fasteners sorted; the clips break easily if you pry at the wrong point.
4. Slide a wide drain pan under the driver's side of the radiator. The drain cock is a black plastic spigot at the lower left corner of the radiator tank.
5. Remove the radiator cap (top of the radiator on most E170 cars; if your car has a pressurized reservoir tank, open that cap instead) so the system will drain freely.
6. Turn the drain cock counterclockwise about a half to full turn by hand or with pliers - do not remove it entirely. Let the radiator drain, roughly 4-5 quarts.
7. Suck the old coolant out of the plastic overflow reservoir with a baster, or unclip the tank and dump it, then reinstall.
8. Optional deeper flush: close the drain, fill with distilled water, run the engine with the heater on high to full temperature, cool, then drain again. Repeat until the drain runs clear.
9. Close the drain cock hand tight and confirm it is seated. Check the lower radiator hose clamp while you are under there.
10. Attach the spill-free funnel to the filler neck with the correct adapter and pour in pre-diluted Toyota SLLC until the funnel holds a couple inches of coolant. Expect about 5 quarts to go in on a drain-and-refill.
11. Start the engine with the funnel still attached and the heater set to max heat, highest fan. Let it idle until the thermostat opens and the upper hose gets hot and the cooling fans cycle - usually 10-20 minutes.
12. Air will burp up through the funnel as the level drops; keep adding coolant. Gently squeeze the upper radiator hose a few times to help move trapped air.
13. Once the level stabilizes and no more bubbles appear, shut the engine off, drain the funnel back to the correct level, remove it, and install the cap to the second stop.
14. Fill the overflow reservoir to the F line with pre-diluted coolant.
15. Reinstall the engine under-cover, lower the car, and run a short drive with the heater on to confirm hot air and a normal temperature gauge.
16. Let it cool fully overnight, then recheck the reservoir level and top off. Check again after a few days of driving; the level often drops once the last air pocket clears.

Watch out

The 10 mm under-cover fasteners and the plastic lower-driver-side radiator drain cock are correct for all 2014-2019 E170 Corollas with the 1.8; confirm your car's exact refill capacity and whether it has a radiator cap or a pressurized reservoir cap before you start, since Toyota varied this by build.

Other jobs on the 2014-2019 Toyota Corolla

Coolant Flush on other vehicles