2018 Prius gen 4 heat exchanger issue

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Patar, Nov 18, 2024.

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  1. Patar

    Patar New Member

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    I’m sorry I accidentally posted on the gen 3 forum instead and I don’t know how to remove that post.

    Hello as this title states I have a coolant burn up issue that goes into the heat exchanger. I have to fill up on coolant constantly. I get only a temp light for low coolant but I don't have a check engine light.

    Toyota dealership only has a California 150,000 emissions warranty if I have a check engine light. I'm at 115,000 miles.

    Question: Should I wait until my check engine light comes on (would this affect my vehicle negatively) or replace the catalytic converter which costs $2400 from the dealership?

    I just find it backwards that I have to ruin my car to get my issue covered and I'm worried that I will have further issues. Just trying to find reassurance that by doing this I won't actually make bigger problems.
     
    #1 Patar, Nov 18, 2024
  2. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    NO, dealership is requited to fix it - it's part of your emissions system. No CEL is required, just a proper diagnostic. Ask to speak to their service manager. Tell him/her that your going to call Toyota corporate, Cal EPA, BAR, and consumer protection agency on them if they don't fix it. OR just try another dealership.
    You've got Maita-, Roseville-, Elk Grove-, and Folsom Lake- Toyota within Sacramento.
    Do not wait; you may damage the engine. The heat exchanger is behind the CAT and sold as a single unit part. There's a TSB out for the 2016-2017 model years, but your still under emissions warranty.

    Good Luck....

    You should tell the dealership person that they are responsible for any further damage to the power train, because they told you to keep driving the car until it throws codes. I hope you got that in writing.
     
    #2 BiomedO1, Nov 18, 2024
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2024
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would just do the bypass, f they won't cover it, but i would not wait, as you could easily blow the engine
     
    #3 bisco, Nov 19, 2024
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  4. Patar

    Patar New Member

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    Hello Biomed,

    For further clarification, I did bring it to the Roseville Toyota before I made this post. The dealership told me the temp light is not enough under the emissions warranty and I need an engine warning. I called Toyota corporate and they gave me a run around there too and stated some stuff that was similar to what I heard at the dealership. I just know this is not true as this is a common issue and I've seen many on here get it replaced or bypass it.

    Thank you for also giving me good advice that I should go higher and further and to also reach out to the other agencies. And thank you for letting me know that I should not wait to damage the engine. I didn't get the information about drive until my car throws codes in writing. I wish... However after the quick lookup on the TSB I believe I can go through with railing them further.

    It seems based off of this TSB there was a question that states:

    Is the vehicle exhibiting ANY of the following conditions?
    The conditions listed are:
    • Low coolant level (or coolant was recently added to address a low-level condition)
    • MIL ON accompanied by Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) P148F00
    • Poor heater performance
    Of course I don't have MIL ON and I don"t know if I have poor heater performance but I have low coolant levels and I communicated to the dealership that many times. So it seems that they might have misinterpreted the TSB or they just don't want to do their job. I am going to communicate with the dealership again and go up the chain of command afterwards.

    If I am missing anything in my logic please let me know and that would help me tremendously.

    Again thank you Biomed and thank you bisco for the responses. If all fails I'll just bypass it.
     
    #4 Patar, Nov 19, 2024
  5. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    They seem to be poor readers or aren’t even listening. The coolant doesn’t even have to be low, just that you added coolant because it was low. That’s the tsb.
     
    #5 Mr.Vanvandenburg, Nov 20, 2024
  6. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    You may want to try these guys, but I believe they have a 2-3 week backlog. Nobody likes bad press. I used them a couple of years ago, when DMV was giving me the run-around and claimed I owed them penalty fees based on their screw-up. Luckily I had documentation to counter their assertions, but they didn't care and tried to steam-roll over me.

    Submit Your Issue To Call Kurtis - CBS Sacramento

    Good Luck..
     
    #6 BiomedO1, Nov 20, 2024
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    Just hit the report button on first post (in your previous thread) and moderator would have fixed. Hopefully he can still merge the two.

    Toyota competence and responsibility seems to be slipping. Similar to Gen 3 EGR, they just ignore customers with legitimate problems.

    similar story:

    Coolant detected in exhaust | PriusChat
     
    #7 Mendel Leisk, Nov 21, 2024
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2024
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  8. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    You shouldn't try to bypass the EGHE; that should be your last ditch option:
    1. because it's under warranty.
    2. It's technically a violation of CARB, when/if your require to smog your car and get caught. You'll probably out of warranty and on the hook for $3000+ to get it to pass smog and re-registered (legal to drive on Ca. roads). The car can be legal/registered in a non-CARB state in that condition.
    I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure any smog shop that see that by-pass will fail the car. Someone drilled a hole in the air box of a car I was flipping; so I plug it up and the smog station failed it for that. Had to make a trip to the junk yard for a perfect OEM air box to get the sign-off.

    Hope this helps....

    Also check this thread, it covers your year: TSB: Coolant leakage at front exhaust pipe (Prius & Prius Prime) | PriusChat
     
    #8 BiomedO1, Nov 21, 2024
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2024
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    Toyota in their wisdom combined the exhaust heat recover system with the catalytic converter. necessitating pricey replacement of both. Too, if you "present" at a dealership with an coolant leak in the EHR system, good luck getting an expedient, forthright response. Ditto for entreaties to Toyota USA. All of this the earmarks of a company that no longer cares?
     
    #9 Mendel Leisk, Nov 21, 2024
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