2008 Prius radiator - replace at 210K miles?

Are you experiencing overheating problems with your car? Otherwise, draining and replacing the coolant every 100k miles (using Toyota's SLLC) should keep your radiator in good working order. We are at 291k miles on our Gen 2, have never replaced the radiator, and have no engine overheating problems. I did replace the coolant 80k miles ago, right after we bought the car.

 

I did a bunch of research on this once... Was wondering how often a radiator flush was needed. What I learned is that radiator failure due to internal corrosion was once common but no longer a concern. As in never a need to flush these more modern systems. Periodically changing fluids can be good but no need to flush or replace anymore.

 

Having trouble downloading the 2nd gen maintenance booklet on my phone, but if it’s sim to 3rd gen, Toyota USA recommends:

Engine coolant change:
10 years or 100k miles, 5 years or 50k miles thereafter

Inverter coolant change:
15 years or 150k miles, 5 years or 50k miles thereafter

 

If it's not leaking and the fins aren't damaged then just change the coolant every 100k and don't worry about it until you have to.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

My two cents is to consider the outside of the radiator as much as the inside, if not more so.

I am considering replacing my wife's radiator in her 2008 with 140k miles due to fin damage. I decided to clean the radiator in preparing it for her trip this week. I got a lot of junk out CAREFULLY using a pressure washer. However, I was surprised by the tiny rocks and debris that remained. More surprising was the damage to the fins I saw on close examination. At least 40% of the fins in the lower portion of the radiator, which are open to direct hits, were either closed by damage or still plugged with debris.

If I had any significant mechanical skills I would probably remove it and air/pressure wash it from inner side. But, alas, not in this life. In the mean time, I had my wife take my truck and leave me her Prius (with the big chrome eyelashes over the headlights - argggh!)

First I tried repairing/opening the fins with a tiny screwdriver and, when that didn't work, a tiny plastic tool I made and, when that didn't work, I used a very small set of needle nose pliers to tear out 1/16 to 1/8" of the front portion of the fins. Once I learned how to do that without damaging it, it worked pretty good. Except that it was so time consuming, it just wasn't worth it. On the other hand, I have not gotten a quote for replacing the radiator yet.

 

Replacing seems like a wise move, especially considering how hot it gets where you live... And seeing as a new radiator is only $80 here: Radiator Assembly Aluminum Tank & Core Direct Fit for 04-09 Toyota Prius New | eBay You've inspired me to put this on my list of things to do before I hit 300K miles. I bet all my mostly freeway miles have been the worst kind of miles for my radiator.

Are you gonna do your own radiator, or have someone else do it? Seems like it'd be a pretty easy DIY if you have a solid strategy for purging air from the system, which has been a huge hassle to some.

 

If you were doing all this from in front of the car, you were straightening fins on the air conditioning condenser. The engine radiator is behind that (so it's also better protected from rocks etc.).

So if you're thinking of replacing, probably the condenser is what you're thinking to replace. The thought process doesn't change much, but it matters for getting the right part, and making sure the A/C refrigerant gets recovered out of the system first, and recharged properly after.

 

As I indicated, I am not mechanically inclined (as ChapmanF's comment demonstrates). I probably could with a little help from a manual and Youtube, but it would take me forever. So I will definitely have it done by someone else.

 

I first searched youtube for radiator cleaning, but almost all videos I watched made it clear that it was a condenser, which made sense from what I had seen in my previous vehicles. But when I searched for a replacement "condenser" just to get an idea on the cost, the parts site I looked at showed me a pic that looked exactly like the condenser but was labeled a radiator. Confused, I went down to the garage and looked at the opposite side with a flashlight and could not tell if there were 2 separate units like I had seen in previous cars. Being it's a Prius, I figured "whatever" (LOL). Obviously, I will need a mechanic to do this and so you may rest easy knowing that my wife, our Prius and the ozone are safe from me (LOL!).