I bought a used 2009 Prius in early this year and I had a couple of issues. First, the headlights would randomly cut off. I took it back to the dealer and they replaced the lights which led the the second issue. A strong smell of gasoline in the cabin and a quick loss of fuel. After returning to the dealer and having the service manager confirm the smell, he had it checked out and what he told me was that the fuel hose had some excess plastic one the clip at the end of it. They "fixed" the problem and it ran well up to this point. The smell returned and the fuel gague is quickly dropped again. so after returning it to the dealer, he told me that the fuel line is "worn out" and has to be replaced. This car has a lot of miles on it (80k) for a three-year old car, but is this really what I should expect every three years? Has anyone encountered this kind of problem?
This is not common and I would go as far to say extremely uncommon. I would suggest fixing it yourself so you can see what's going on with it. Obviously the mechanic at the dealer doesn't know what he/she's doing. My question is, why is it worn out? Is it rubbing on somthing because they took off some "excess plastic"? And of course that's out of warranty. I would ask to see the fuel hose. I'm very skeptical and cynical about dealer maintenance/repairs. They are out to make as much money off you as they can. This is a recurring problem and since you have the car, you can do yourself a big favor by learning what's going on so you can deal with it if it recurrs again.
The Gen III Prius had an innovative design and a "sealed" system with a fuel bladder. Unfortunately, the individual parts are not separately replacable. That means that you have an expensive repair and replacement. With the Gen III, the "fuel bladder" was eliminated. Sorry for the bad news, but those are the facts.
I get the feeling I'm being jerked around but I don't have much in the way of automotive knowledge, just basic stuff. The parts are being ordered and wont be available 'til Friday. I will want to see the new part(s) and when they remove the old ones I will definitely do a comparison to see exacty where the "wear" has occured. Thanks.
Fuel lines are about as simple as it gets (hoses attached to fittings via clamps). You're definitely being jerked around. My analysis is, they misdiagnosed it the first time and fixed it wrong causing it to break again.
Depends on where the line is and also the history of the car. Has it ever been wrecked? ANY honest repair facility will show you what is going on with your car so you can make an informed decision and feel comfortable with it. Get some pics, I'd like to see this. PC36100 ? 2
typo. he meant the gen 2 has a bladder in the gas tank. stupid idea and the gen 3 has eliminated the bladder. fyi: do not top off the gen 2 fuel tank. once the nozzle cuts off, you're done. topping it off can cause fuel to get between the tank and the internal bladder which will cause an expensive problem w/ your tank.
An interesting situation to be sure. First off, here's the Gen II Fuel & Evap System in all it's byzantine glory: http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/Hybrid13.pdf Probably designed by a committee under the direction of Rube Goldberg. If you looked at/read through the info on the Fuel & Evap System, you now know: * the fuel tank with bladder, pump, level sensor, and filter are an integral unit, no single element being individually fixable/replabeable. * if fuel gets in between the tank and bladder, the car won't start and a code is set. * overfilling the tank/bladder can screw up any number of bits in the various vent circuits. While posts about overfilling the Gen II tank are somewhat routine, there have been very few actual cases of overfilling causing damages. As to the specifics of this incident, I too wonder how a Prius fuel line can "wear out." Where? * along its length somewhere (rubbing), * deformation due heat/flame damage in engine bay (Do you really know the car's history?) * or at its ends (evidence of frequently being taken on/off) In the latter case, was there a fuel pressure/volume issue being inexpertly looked into? Lastly for either fuel between the tank and bladder, or low fuel pressure, I would expect codes to be set. Any word on this from this now suspect dealer/tech?
Getting back to the OP's issue. The fuel line on the Prius has a plastic coating over the steel line. The edge of this coating can get snagged when reconnecting the fuel line quick connect fitting, if the line and fitting are even slightly misaligned. If the plastic coating is snagged, it can bunch up and prevent the o-ring in the quick connect fitting to seal properly. This may be the "excess" plastic that was found and removed. If you were unlucky, the o-ring in the quick connect fitting may have been cut or otherwise damaged by the bunched-up plastic coating. Another possibility is that the o-ring had taken a set to the diameter of the fuel line with coating, and is now too large to seal without the thickness of the plastic coating. When you had your headlights repaired, did you have any service done that involved the fuel system?
This is a Toyota dealer, right? Try another one. Find out if possible what kind of accident the car was in.
Fuel is combustible. Especially fuel vapors. If you're smelling gas while you drive, you may be a spark away from becoming a rolling fireball. You may be not, but do you want to gamble your well-being? You should stress this point to your dealership... use the word liability... get their attention. Don't mess around with a fuel leak. Get it fixed before you drive any further.
