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I have a 1992 Toyota Camry; my owner's manual says that ethylene glycol is the coolant. I have a service receipt from garage work of a couple years ago that says "BTBC Coolant" was added. Is that Ethylene Glycol? I need to add coolant and want to be sure if i add the red/orange/pink stuff (ethylene glycol according to Kragen's) I will not be mixing with a different anti-freeze.

tonychristopher... No. As I quoted from the page about color by Goldman and Pasveer: "The dye color used in coolant traditionally used to signify the type of antifreeze, but that's no longer the case." The two most used colors in North America are orange and green, but the color will not positively identify the type. And, yes, if you can top off the coolant with a quart or less of water, you should be fine (barring freezing weather) until you have it serviced. *Note* Despite what conventional wisdom says, it is better if you can use distilled water, which is less likely to promote corrosion and rust than tap water - especially in a mix with decreased antifreeze. Distilled water is inexpensive, and available by the gallon at your local grocery store. Topping it off is much preferable to running with a lowered level of fluid.

tonychristopher... It is most likely ethylene glycol... The newer, more environmentally friendly, antifreeze is propylene glycol. According to this page, on autos.yahoo.com: "Though some auto makers were initially cautious about using PG when it was first introduced, GM has now said that propylene glycol may be used in GM vehicles without voiding the manufacturer's warranty coverage and will perform adequately under most vehicle operating conditions. Most vehicle manufacturers, however, don't currently use PG as a factory-fill antifreeze because of its higher cost (about $1 more per gallon at retail)." http://autos.yahoo.com/repair/results/ques012.html Perhaps the receipt shows the price to be higher than regular antifreeze? Or is the garage local? Perhaps you can call them and ascertain what BTBC might be. Since your owner's manual calls for ethylene glycol, it is very likely that this is what the garage used in your car. It would be very unusual for them to add propylene glycol without asking you or without you having asked. A search for BTBC in conjunction with coolant turned up no connection, so it is uncertain to what these letters refer...perhaps a brand name? The color may not be informative either, per this page by Lorne Goldman and Herbert Pasveer: "The likelihood of color confusion and unidentifiable mixtures is considerable among consumers and professional installers alike. The dye color used in coolant traditionally used to signify the type of antifreeze, but that's no longer the case." http://www.gomog.com/allmorgan/coolantcolors.html They also state that mixing antifreeze is not a good idea, however they note that the coolant system should be flushed every 2 years anyway. You state that the receipt is from a couple of years ago. Therefore, although it is very likely to be ethylene glycol currently in your radiator, it would be wiser to simply flush the system and add new coolant of your choice. The page from autos.yahoo.com, above, discusses the relative merits of ethylene vs propylene glycols. Searches done, via Google: BTBC coolant ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=BTBC+coolant ethylene glycol ://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=ethylene+glycol ethylene glycol btbc ://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=ethylene+glycol+btbc ethylene glycol tbc ://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=ethylene+glycol+tbc ethylene glycol btb ://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=ethylene+glycol+btb ethylene glycol bt bc ://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=ethylene+glycol+bt+bc ethylene glycol btb ://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=ethylene+glycol+btb ethylene glycol btb tbc ://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=ethylene+glycol+btb+tbc antifreeze ethylene glycol btb ://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=antifreeze+ethylene+glycol+btb "how to tell" "ethylene glycol" "propylene glycol" ://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=%22how+to+tell%22+%22ethylene+glycol%22+%22propylene+glycol%22 Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that the answer cannot be improved upon by means of a dialog with the researcher through the "Request for Clarification" process. sublime1-ga

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