Out of curiosity, has anyone ever drained and refilled their coolant without actually putting it into full Service Mode?

 

It's possible but it would. tougher than if you put the car into full service mode

 

HAYNES says nothing about putting the car into 'service mode'

you need to remove the 'undershield' but that is MUCH less than full service mode . . .

you need to find the lower rad' hose, cuz there is no drain on the rad' ... and disconnect at that connection. There is also a block drain on the rear of the block near the starter, if you want to get "as much as you can"

be advised that bleeding air out of the system when you fill can be a b i t c h . . . there are two bleed screws . . .

 

Pulling the bottom radiator hose and using the drain plug eliminate "most" of the old fluid. There is still a lot residual fluid in the block and hoses.

 

Do a search for the shop-vac coolant removal method. Worked surprisingly well for me. And I think I bought a wet/dry vac at Harbor Freight for $19.95 or something like that. Worked exactly perfectly.

But to answer your question, no you don't have to get into service mode at all. Just remove the lower plastic pan/shield, as was noted above.

 

Why do service mode??
All you need to do is unbolt/unscrew the splash guards by the radiator by the bumper....then disconnect the lower radiator hose....
Done.
A set of ramps, and a bucket to catch the coolant, and a 10mm wrench/socket (if I recall right),, a pair of plier's, and a new hose clamp (IMO) is all you need.