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Trouble in 3s. Water pump/drive shaft and brakes.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Titus, Jan 5, 2013.

  1. Titus

    Titus New Member

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    I've taken on repairing my mother in laws '07 Prius after a drive-shaft broke and once at the dealers the quote was heading towards £2k with the worn discs/pads and leaking water pump added on.
    The discs and pads were a breeze and a drive shaft should be with me on Monday (it broke off in the outer cv, probably due to being hammered into the hub after a backstreet garage changed the spit boot) but the water pump or should i say coolant is proving tricky. I drained coolant from the rad and back of the petrol engine block and got about 2.5l or 3 quarts. I then removed the leaking pump, virtually no coolant came out of the pump housing and I fitted the new pump. To refill the system I open the breather on the rad and slowly replaced all the fluid. I also refilled the petrol engine reservoir and put a drop in the inverter reservoir but that had not drained out. I reckon near enough the same amount went back in as came out. I read a post by Pat Wong and started the petrol engine in inspection mode and it seemed to run fine but just cut out after around 4-5 mins. All along the VSC, ABS, yellow exclamation mark in circle and yellow square with sliding car in warning lights were on but not the big red triangle or yellow engine light. Also, the red exclamation in circle (handbrake?) will not go off. The inspection mode procedure still works but there seems a long delay with chirping sounds before the engine fires. It still runs fine but again cuts out after a few mins. Could it be shutting off due to brake/driveshaft issues or has air crept into the inverter? Maybe disconnecting the battery for five mins will reset the lights?
     
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    It sounds like you need to reset the skid control ECU given the warning lights. If you did not disconnect the 12V battery prior to working on the brake system, your removing the calipers probably caused a fault code to be logged. Do a search to determine how to reset the skid control DTC, using a jumper wire on pins 4 and 13 of the OBD-II connector.

    I assume you are in England since you mentioned a £2k repair price. Fortunately your car does not have the coolant heat recovery system, so it should be pretty easy to fill the engine coolant system.

    After you have figured out how to clear the skid control DTC and have replaced the axleshaft, take the car for a drive and see what happens. Make sure the cabin heat works and you do not hear any air bubbling in the heater core. If you do then you will need to work more on getting air out of the system.
     
    Titus and SteveLee like this.
  3. Titus

    Titus New Member

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    Thanks Patrick, that makes sense. Post shaft breakage the car was towed to the dealer with an 'A' frame so with only one shaft rotating it may have sent skid signals. Anyway, I'll get looking into resetting the DTC.
    Thanks again.
     
  4. Titus

    Titus New Member

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    But will the engine cutting out and delayed start up be related to this? And yes, I'm in the UK and fix old Italian cars for a living, modern car mechanics or should i say electronics scare me. Give me a pair of DCOE Webers to sort and I'm happy.
     
  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The engine should not stop running when the Prius is in inspection mode, but it is possible that UK-spec cars may demonstrate different behavior than US-spec.

    If electronics scare you, then the Prius is the wrong car for you since the electronics content is exceptionally high...
     
  6. Titus

    Titus New Member

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    Tell me about it! This is my mother in laws car and only took it on due to the £2k bill and brake discs/pads, pump and drive shaft are fairly traditional. Surprisingly, the rear brake set up is very similar to 105 series '63-'78 Alfa Romeo. I have a feeling most cars post 80s are designed to be short lived and primarily dealer maintained. I cant imagine trying to restore one of these in 40 years time unless the 3D printer comes the shop tool of the future. I diagnose most faults with all five senses and a dash of the 6th. Driving the old bangers is a similar kick.
    Thanks again.
     
  7. mehrshadvr4

    mehrshadvr4 Junior Member

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    reset the ecu. if it didn't go away then you probably damaged the wheel sensor or the wire. about the brake light it might be related to that or check your brake fluids too.