Should I replace the Coolant Heat Storage Water Pump?

Hello All,

I looked around the PriusChat site for specific information on the possible noises that could come from the Coolant Heat Storage Water Pump but I could not find any that really describe my issue.

My 2005 runs great but when I turn the car off, a relatively quite "hum" comes from the Coolant Heat Storage Water Pump (in the front left corner of the car where the Coolant Heat Storage Tank is) for several seconds but often becomes a loud "whine" that lasts until the pump turns off several seconds later. Sometimes, the loud “whine†starts at the beginning of the transfer and continues for the duration of the transfer. The loud “whine†has become more and more frequent over the last few months.

By looking around on this site and other sites on the web I found that there is T-SB-0087-08 for “Abnormal Noise from Coolant Heat Storage Water Pump†but the TSB speaks about the problem happening during cold ambient temperatures but where I live the temperatures have been from 50°F to 90°F.

Because the loud noise does not happen all of the time I was thinking that the pump may need bleeding but looking at the posts from several members it seems that once the system is bled it does not need to be bled again. The car had the coolant replaced with the Toyota Long Life Coolant at 15k miles back in 2008 but has not been drained since and the car now has about 65k.

I am thinking that the Coolant Heat Storage Water Pump needs to be replaced. What do you think?

Last year I had got my recall notice for the Inverter Coolant Pump replacement and I expect to have that done soon so I thought that I would call my local Toyota dealer and see if they could do the Coolant Heat Storage Water Pump in accordance with T-SB-0087-08 along with the Inverter Coolant Pump. They said that they would replace the Inverter Coolant Pump free of charge but that it would cost $540 parts and labor to replace the Coolant Heat Storage Water Pump.

Has anyone had any luck getting Toyota to replace the Coolant Heat Storage Water Pump without charge?

I checked on the price of the Coolant Heat Storage Water Pump and it looks like it is about $120. I talked to a friend that has done a lot of work on Prius cars and he said that replacing the pump is very easy so I am thinking that I will do it myself.

T-SB-0087-08 says that the “Current†(improved?) Coolant Heat Storage Water Pump part number is 16290-210011 but the TSB was issued in June 5, 2008 so I do not know if it is the latest, current part number. Is that really the latest, current part number or is there a newer one? What internet site would probably have the best price for a new genuine Toyota part?

Can anyone tell me what the steps are to replace the Coolant Heat Storage Water Pump?

Thanks,
Prius Cruzer

 

Thanks for the info Patrick!

I will let it go for now. I think I was reading that when the pump fails and cannot transfer the coolant, the car will set a code. Do you recall what the code is?

Thanks for the info on where you buy your parts and on the manual.

Dale