water pump leak

I suggest that you read the terms of the 5 year/60K mile powertrain warranty to see whether or not the engine coolant pump is included - if your car is less than 5 years old.

 

It's mileage and/or time. My 2007 was covered last month with 55,000 km on it. The inverter coolant pump is a recall (though they call it a "customer satisfaction campaign").

$450 is a reasonable cost these days, if you had to pay.

There are four "water pumps", more correctly coolant pumps, in the GII Prius. One is an electric "coolant transfer pump", #2 is an electric coolant pump for the interior heater, #3 is an electric inverter coolant pump, and #4 is the engine coolant pump, belt driven from the crankshaft.

 

I had mine preemptively replaced (due to corrosion) at 125,000 miles for around $300.00 bucks (Toyota dealership in El Cerrito CA). Still need to do the recalled pump...

 

$300 sounds right for the engine water pump replacement. Labor guide is 1.8 hours for R&R, and the parts are about $100. $450 is utterly outrageous.

This seems to be an increasinly common occurrence, having the engine water pump replaced at the time of the inverter pump service. Perhaps some dealers think that since the customer is coming in for the inverter water pump, then they will easily believe that the engine water pump is also faulty? 125,000 miles is a reasonable interval for preemptive replacement. Anything less than 100,000 miles, tell your service advisor that you expect to see the defective part.

 

Hi all,

I just took my 2004 in for the water pump recall and they did also mention that the engine water pump needed to be replaced because they could see dried up coolant coming from a small hole on the pump. They quoted me 478.00 including the drive belt. My prius has 163K miles already so I alsmost had them do it but I waited instead. I might have to tacke this on my own once I find the right proceedure.

Thanks

-Juan

 

Same experience here at 65K miles. Mine cost $385 which included the pump assembly and the belt. The labor charge was 3hr. Where do you find recommended labor times?

Is this going to be like the tail pipe of the old Camrys? I had an '89 and it was perfect except the tail pipe would corrode and needed to be replaced every 4-5 years.


Rob

 

Juan, at 163K on the original pump, and dried coolant at the weep hole, you should get it replaced soon. A Toyota specialty shop or a different dealer is your best bet. If you've never had all of the coolant replaced, this is a good time to do it, but having the coolant thermos in the loop makes a complete drain/refill difficult without a Techstream scan tool. It's possible that the scan tool hookup is the reason that some dealers charge an extra $100. The ballpark for this job is $300-$350 based on parts MSRP and 2 hours of labor. If you've changed out water pumps before, you can get the parts online for $75 and $20 for a gallon of Super Long Life Coolant from your dealer, just don't drain the thermos.

Robert, including the belt, $385 is a little high but not as bad as Juan's quote for $478! I do think 65K miles is early for a failure, though. Did they show/give you the old pump? As far as labor guide times, I have a MOTOR subscription. ALLDATADIY.com would also have it and is another great resource.

 

Rob,

All mechanical water pumps in cars have a limited life. They are normally replaced every time the timing belt is replaced (60k-100k miles) but our Prii have a timing chain which has a very long life. I replaced my engine water pump at 150k miles to lower the risk of being stranded on the highway. My VW Jetta just got a new timing belt and the dealer replaced it's water pump as part of their standard job.

JeffD

 

I got a quote of 750.00 at Toyota of Tustin. Could you give me the name of your service advisor please. I looked up your dealership and it said it was power toyota cerritos is that right?

 

That is funny, I just took mine in yesterday for the recall pump and they told me the same thing. that my water pump for the engin had a leak. I took to my Toyota dealer in Tustin Ca. and they wanted 750.00 to fix it. That is crazy.

 

^woah,my cousin there was quoted a whooping $1000 for that. same concerns. wonder how their prices vary.

 

$1000! That is crazy!

I'm in San Diego and just took my 2004 in for the recall. They said another water pump (didn't specify which) was leaking and they would replace it for about $650. I'm at 90k, just had my 90K service in August (at another local dealership) in which they found NO leaks, cracks or anything else. And I've never seen any leaks under the car. Makes me wonder...anyway, I'll take it somewhere else for a second opinion.

 

I took my 2007 Prius in today for service and to have the water pump under warranty replaced and got a call and heard the same thing- water pump is leaking and needs to be replaced. They quoted $479. How can I tell if the pump really does need to be replaced? I authorized the service since I don't feel like I have very many options if it really does need to be replaced.
Thanks,

 

My 2005 with 85,000 was just diagnosed with coolant seepage from the water pump. Quoted repair price was $367.

 

It was my turn today. Toyota of Naperville IL. Yesterday I was driving to work early in the morning, check engine light came on, short term mild electrical smell, then no noticeable difference beyond that. I scheduled it in for the recall items (electric water pump and gas pedal) and diagnostic on the engine light. They told me some code ending in 303 that signals new spark plugs ($44 for the plugs, somewhere north of 100 to install them), then also.. My engine water pump is also leaking. We land about $600 for the whole ball of wax. I checked at Napa, the plugs can be from about $3.50 each, to $8.50 depending on if I want them kissed or winked at. The water pump is about $65.

The big question is... how hard is it to change the water pump? Anyone know or have done it? Is there a step by step anywhere?

Almost forgot.. 2006 prius, 108,000 miles.

Thanks!!

 

Although you've already authorized the repair, one possibility would be to ask the tech to show you where the engine coolant pump is leaking. You should see a pinkish or whitish coolant stain coming from the pump bearing, if the pump bearing is bad.

Probably DTC P0303 which means that the third spark plug is misfiring. At your odometer reading it is not surprising that the spark plugs need to be replaced. However I suggest that you buy the correct iridium NGK or Denso spark plugs as their service life is much longer than less-expensive alternative spark plugs that you might buy. I also suggest that you replace the serpentine drive belt while you are at it.

Regarding the engine coolant pump, the basic procedure is to remove the plastic cover over the radiator and the RH engine under cover. Drain the engine coolant. Loosen the water pump pulley bolts while the serpentine belt is still attached. Remove the serpentine belt. Remove the water pump pulley. Remove the water pump. "Installation is reverse of disassembly." 8.1 ft.-lb torque on the three water pump bolts and two water pump nuts. Pulley mounting bolt torque is 11 ft.-lb.

If the engine coolant is original, then you should discard it and use new Toyota SLLC. I suggest that you open the drain at the coolant heat recovery system canister which will drain >95% of the coolant. This is located in front of the LH front tire in the wheel well so you will have to remove the front of the wheel well liner for access. Engine coolant capacity is ~9 quarts but only ~6.5 quarts will drain out even if you open all three drains.

The other two drains are located at the radiator and engine block. If the engine coolant had been changed at 100K miles (as per the maint. schedule) then as an alternative to draining all coolant, you can attach a rubber hose to the radiator drain, open the drain and let 2-3 quarts of the coolant flow into a clean plastic container for reuse - enough so that when you remove the engine coolant pump you don't have coolant spilling everywhere.

I have previously posted on how to replace the serpentine drive belt and engine coolant, and purge air out of the system, which is not easy because of the presence of the CHRS canister and pump.

Also refer to techinfo.toyota.com for official repair manual info. Good luck.