Inverter radiator leaking/replacement

I'm thinking you should get another opinion or at least get the dealer to show you the damage with the vehicle in situ.

Surely they'd put through a warranty claim if it was a faulty item.

 

I went out and looked at mine, as you said the slots in the upper grill are not very big. Unfortunately they line right up with the inverter radiator.

 

You might have it checked out at a radiator shop. They may be able to weld it, or maybe even glue it with JB Weld or some such.

 

Flan why would you have to pay for this problem if car is under warranty?

 

If it is only around 400-500 bucks to get a new one why take a chance repairing the old one to save a few bucks? it cools the inverter a several thousand dollar part plut the $6,000+ trans axel.

 

"Stone damage" same reason why Toyota does not pay to fix hail damage, or a car accident.

 

Yeah. A stone damaging something would be road hazard. It doesn't mean the part's defective, which is what warranties cover: defects in parts and/or workmanship/assembly.

 

I understand that it is a wear and tear item but here in Florida the dealerships will do everything in there power to warranty these types of things while vehicle is under warranty. The more warranty work and sales they show the better it looks to the manufacturer.

 

Several impacts? Do you have a monkey banging around inside the drive compartment? or are any of the underbody panels missing?

 

It sounds strange to me. I've done 48k miles and the front of my car (bumper and bonnet/hood) is peppered with stone chips - and I mean peppered.

 

No Your dealers/ workers make less when it is a warranty repair. They make more money when it is not. And toyota would not be happy about them turning in Stone damage as warranty work. The dealer does have to turn in parts prove it needed to be done. Sorry but dealers can't be great in FL were they are stealerships in the other states.

If it made Toyota happy to do more repairs the owners manual would also say this....

All stone/rock roadway damage to the car is fully covered for 100k no questions asked.

 

Wish you luck, but should you have to pay, a radiator shop can fix that easily. A additional screen might prevent future damage.

 

This is becoming a standard answer so Toyota doesn't have pay for these. I just left my dealership with a quote of $865 for a replacement. And I cannot even see any damage! The car has 38K miles on it. Also, something else to think about is: how many radiators have you had to replace in your lifetime due to "rock" damage? Doesn't add up to me.

These new radiators are made of plastic and some type of light weight metal (aluminum). Plastic does not hold up well. I've had to replace radiators on my BMW's because the plastic cracks but usually that's not until over 100K miles. Although I did have one replaced at around 75K miles under the CPO warranty. Glad they didn't try to claim "rock" damage. Good luck to all! I have a claim into Toyota about this. I told them I did not agree with the claim that a "rock" hit it. I'll update when I get a response.

 

My 2013 Prius had a coolant leak over a week ago and had to be towed to the dealer. They said a rock hit the inverter radiator and the unit has to be replaced. They quoted me $738.16 to fix the problem. I'm concerned how a rock can cause this kind of damage and also concerned about how well the radiator is made. The dealer suggested I call Toyota Corporate and ask for help. After waiting 8 days, they informed me they would not help or cover the cost of repair. So I googled this problem and found that it seems to be more common than I thought. I would like to hear from others who are having the same issue with this. I have not had a chance to look at the part yet, but will when I get it fixed.

 

I don't understand. There's rock damage to the inverter radiator? Why would this be a warranty item? And the charge doesn't seem that much out of line.