Problems with Water Pump and transmission 2007 Prius

Please bear with me because I know very little about cars. I have been taking my 2007 Prius to Dublin Toyota for 10 years. I've done every routine maintenance and repair suggested.

At the end of September I took my Prius in for its 160,000 mile service and 4 new tires. They told me I had a leaky water pump. I went back 2 weeks later and they replaced the water pump for about $650.

A week later my car started making a squeaking noise. I took it back to the dealership and they said they'd installed the pump wrong but fixed it and now it was fine.

A week later my car started making the squeaking noise again. I took it back and they said the belt was loose but they fixed it and now it was fine.

Yes, you guessed it, a week later my car started making the noise again. I took it back and they said the tensor pulley needed to be replaced but now it was fine. That was another $300.

Some of the noises went away but one didn't and then I had a couple more, so 3 weeks after the last repair I took the car back and today, after waiting for 6 hours, they told me I need a new TRANSMISSION. BTW they had the head mechanic take it for a test drive and the story the service rep told him about the history of the repairs was completely different than I'd been told. He said at first they thought it was the water pump but it was the inverter? and the belt had become wet and they had to replace it. When I asked him about it he denied it and said he meant the belt had become worn. He said when they replaced the pulley they replaced the belt at that time but there is no mention of that on my paperwork and I was not asked nor did I give consent for that repair.

I asked why they didn't catch the transmission problem in the last five visits and they said they don't test for that kind of thing. I find that really hard to believe.

I'm going for another opinion and filing a complaint with the State, but the whole thing sounds fishy to me. Any thoughts are very much appreciated.

Finally, they quoted me almost $5,000 to replace the transmission which I obviously would not do there. But given I've hardly done any repair to the car and it's paid for, I wonder if it would be worth it to have it fixed. I don't have the money right now to buy a new Prius.

 

Thank you, yes, I have a friend who goes to luscious garage so I will go there. I thought that was odd as well, no lights and aside from the noises the car runs fine. Anyway I've reported this to the BAR because I worry they may have damaged my car. I made this timeline which might give more hints. In particular at the last visit the Service Advisor slipped up and told the mechanic the serpentine belt came in soaked and had to be replace. Then he changed his story and said the belt was worn. Lots of mistakes going on.

8/27/18

Jonas Woodson Service Consultant

160,000 (10,000) mile service and 4 tires

Recommended Replace water pump (found coolant leak)



9/12/18

Jonas Woodson Service Consultant

Replace Water Pump



9/18/18

Scott Murphy Service Consultant

Whining noise while engine is running

(“Performed inspection found drive belt out of adjustment, adjusted belt no more noise”) however I was told at the time that the water pump was incorrectly installed.

Check lug nuts due to whirring noise on acceleration (verified torque on lug nuts)

I asked Scott at this visit if the serpentine belt needed replacement, he said no it was fine.



9/24/18

Scott Murphy Service Consultant

Loud screeching noise coming from car

Called and spoke to Scott Murphy who said it was probably a rock in the brakes, advised to drive around and see if rock dislodged. Drove around and sound went away.



10/12/18

William Martin Service Consultant

Whining noise while engine is running

Advised that car was unsafe to drive because it needed a new serpentine drive belt idler pulley bearing. Provided with rental car because they said they did not have the part.

I asked why this was missed at the last two visits and was told it just happened. I asked if it had to do with the belt being loose and was told no, it just went bad after the last visit. I asked if the car needed a new serpentine belt and was told no.



10/14/18

‘Big Al’ Service Consultant

Picked up car. I asked if the serpentine belt needed to be replaced. ‘Big Al’ told me there are 3 water pumps in the Prius and the one I had replaced does not require a belt.



11/16/18

William Martin Service Consultant

Same whirring noise on acceleration, intermittent rattling and humming noise.

Mechanic was requested by William Martin to take car for test drive. I began to tell the mechanic the history of the problem and William Martin interrupted me and told him “The car came in with the serpentine belt soaked and needed a new belt and idler pulley.” I told William Martin I had not been advised of this and he said he made a mistake, he meant the belt was worn, not soaked. I asked why the belt had not been replaced at the 3 prior visits if it were worn and he said it just became worn after the last visit. I asked why there was no mention of the serpentine belt on my invoice. He said it was a mistake.

Was told “Located noise to final drive gears in transmission. Recommend transmission assembly.”

I asked why this had not been found before and was told ‘We don’t test for these things.”

 

Right, I would never go back there for sure. I hope the BAR can get to the bottom of what they did or didn't do!

 

Thank you for helping me with this!
OK, here we go
The part number for the pump was 16100-29157-83 for $97.50
Super long-life coolant part (they call if FP) number 00272-SLLC2 for $36.04
Labor 508.97

The screeching sound did go away, but now I wonder if that was the tension pulley failing.
I said the same thing, the belt and pulley would not go bad all of a sudden, William insisted they do! I figured the same, that the water pump was leaking because the pulley (and possibly the belt) needed replacement all along. I asked William why they weren't replaced in the first place and he said the mechanic only does what the service order says, so if they saw the belt or pulley needed replacing they wouldn't do it or say anything (?!!) Honestly to lie like that with a straight face, I can't imagine.

Thank you Ray! No lights at all, either when the water pump was supposedly leaking or now. It all started after my 160,000 mile checkup which is a 10,000 mile service. No problems at all with lights, noises or performance before that. I used to live close to Dublin so when I moved to Napa I kept going there, if it's only every 6 months I don't mind and I can have lunch, go shopping and see a movie while they have the car so it's actually a nice day. No way I'd ever go back there, the distance and the craziness are too much.

That's a good idea, I just don't know what would make it right other than a new car. Even if they give me all my money back I don't know the extent of the damage. I guess I will take it to an independent garage for evaluation and see what the BAR has to say. It really bothers me that they take advantage of women. From now on if someone says there is a problem I want to see it and also get all my old parts back.

 

That would make sense. If they missed the pulley bearing it could have caused the belt to become loose. Do you think it might have caused the water pump to leak again? I don't think the Service Advisor saying the belt was soaked was incorrect, although I'm sure he regrets saying it. I also find it very fishy they didn't put anything about replacing the belt on the receipt.

Another question I have - if the water pump assembly was badly broken, might it affect the transmission? I had zero problems with the car before they worked on it and I find it hard to believe the transmission would just go like that.

 

I thought it was a lot too! They'd sent me a coupon for 20% off after the repair was already done so I made them give me that refund anyway. I wish I'd never gone to them though, seems like my car might be ruined by what they did. Even when I bought tires there and tried to get their 'we'll beat any deal' thing they tried to get out of it until I argued with them. Bunch of shysters!!!

 

Wow, thank you! That's what I thought about the belt too, that guy was such a liar! I think the screeching sound I heard was the pulley bearing giving out.

 

Thank you everyone, I can't tell you how helpful this has been. I will have to look back at my records to see when they last checked the transmission fluid, but 2 weeks before the water pump replacement I had a 10,000 mile checkup. You'd think when they told me the tranny was bad they would have mentioned if the fluid was low but honestly I don't expect much from them at this point. One of the things I wanted to find out from the experts here is if the water pump leaking or non-functioning could affect the transmission and it sounds like no. I had the serpentine belt replaced before but not the water pump or the pulley so I think that was probably due but feel like they should have recommended that and the water pump at the service so this kind of thing wouldn't happen. I got a call from the BAR yesterday so I will call him back this morning. Thanks for the ideas about letters and tweets! I posted on Yelp and FB already but I'm going to slam them with complaints. My friend also sent me contact information for some news outlets she used when her identity was stolen. Thank you all you very kind people and have a happy Thanksgiving. I will be working (I'm a nurse) but thinking about all the good people out there instead of the bad ones!