P1121 Valve Replacement/Time to move on?

I traded cars to avoid the tire valve stem issue. So yes they get really expensive to maintain past a certain point. You might get lucky and find an independent mechanic that can diagnose this for you. Be careful driving with a coolant flow problem.
Dealer item for parts. 185K you did well. As always depends on your finances.

Does it use oil?
If it hasn't been dripping then it is sucking or blowing coolant somewhere. Not good.

 

1. Did you check the engine coolant level at the radiator itself? It is not sufficient just to look at the coolant in the reservoir.
2. If the engine coolant is correct in the radiator and you do not hear air bubbling in the cabin heater core then you can drive the car as-is until the valve is replaced.
3. The replacement of the coolant control valve should not be a very costly repair...
4. The resale value of your car is very low so you'd might as well drive it until it requires a repair costing serious $$$$, then you can tow it to a salvage yard and be done.

 

Since you are changing out the 3 way valve, just drain the system and add new coolant. Toyota recommends the coolant be changed at 100k miles and every 50k after that. You normally would have to drain the coolant when replacing the valve (unless you clamp the hoses).

Don't waste money in refilling the radiator now, that new fluid will just go down the drain later when you replace the valve

 

I see fluid in the radiator, that is not your problem. The problem you have a P1121, which is the valve problem. That requires you to drain the coolant and change the valve. The only way to avoid changing the coolant is if you clamp the hoses while changing the valve.

The only reason you would want to not change the coolant is if you serviced it recently and don't want to waste it. If it's been over 50k miles, you should change the coolant along with the valve.

 

yes, your car won't have any problems driving with p1121.

Seeing that your coolant seems a bit low and there's no coolant in the reservoir tank (from what you described), there may be a leak in the water pump. If it's leaking, there should be some pinkish/whitish residue on the pump itself. If that's the case, you should change that out at the same time......since you would normally drain the coolant for that service too.

 

I get all my OEM parts from parts.camelbacktoyota.com They are in AZ and there's no tax added for CA people. If you purchase $150, you get free shipping. I just ordered the same valve from them at $64.57 a month ago


















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If your check engine light has turned off, then adding coolant and burping the system might have solved your problem. I would not replace it if the check engine light is not on anymore

 

just change the valve

 

When I had that code the valve or pump made an annoying whooping noise all the time and the heat didn't work but was fine to drive. It was a worthwhile fix.

 

Good luck. If so you got lucky. I still have a problem with where all your fluid went.
Could be after they replaced your water pump it was not filled correctly. TBD Also I would never run the radiator low on fluid.

 

If the dealer says ok then yes. I think it may be a water pump swap out issue on the refill. TBD.I would add to a cold radiator what is needed to fill it and check underneath the vehicle and around the engine area for suspicious fluids.

 

check with your local dealer and see how much they'll charge you first.

You would also want to change out the coolant if you haven't done so in the last 50k miles.