Repair Advice-- or not.

All those issues seem pretty minor.

The engine coolant pump and belt can be fixed fairly easily with some basic tools and $70.
AC power flush is not necessary
Coolant flow control valve....you should first try to fill your radiator with the proper fluid and see if it doesn't correct itself.

If those are your only issues, then you're in good shape. Keep the car.

 

Certainly the Coolant Control Valve and the Water Pump replacement both 'open' the Coolant loop and should be done together so you only pay for new antifreeze once. Since they have to remove the Drive belt to get to the Water Pump, that makes sense as well.

Unless you are having A/C issues, I suspect the Power Flush of being a wallet flush.

Toyota Safety Recall and Car Service Information can help you find any Service issues Toyota may pay for.

 

It may be worth while to bring it to an independent mechanic to do the repairs. You already know what needs to be done, so shop around.

1. engine coolant pump
2. belt
3. coolant flow control valve.
4. flush coolant (but that would be a given seeing you are doing the pump and coolant valve)

There's your shopping list. Call and see who can do it best and with the best price.

 

Nothing big here. The check engine light is probably the coolant flow control valve. Repair at an independent shop should be about $150. If there is a water pump leak, about the same for that. Maybe $300 total. If its the hybrid water pump, it should be covered by a recall. Drive belt would be normal maintenance at this mileage, probably hasn't ever been changed. Another $30. The AC is most likely the dealership trying to make money since it doesn't fix anything. I am assuming the AC works normally. My 2005 has 231,000 miles and has only had 2 repairs in its lifetime. The coolant flow valve was one of them. Rubber and fluids are maintenance and don't count.

 

Hey woody,

At what odometer reading did your coolant flow control valve fail? My 05 has 220K miles on it and the CFCV has not failed on mine (yet anyway).

Yo Rob5h,

Stealerships are notorious for recommending unnecessary or early repairs. The best way to tell if the ICE water pump is actually leaking is to monitor the level of the coolant in the overflow tank. If it maintains a steady level when either hot or cold - then the water pump is good. They fail by leaking or by making too much noise (which why I replaced the WP in my car).

The stealership provided you with accurate cost estimates. But if you can do it yourself, do so. The belt and water pump are easy to access and replace. You could save $400 by DIY.

 

You cannot, but if you realize an error (duplicate post, wrong forum, etc.) you can click on Report just under the offending post and you will get a pop up where you can ask the powers that be to move/delete the post or thread. It is not just for spam.

I report myself a lot.

 

i don't think any of those things are causing your check engine light. after tightening the gas cap, it can take a number of drives to turn the light off.

 

Of course you should also check your oil level too

SM-N900P ?

 

Where is Chase City, VA ? Not in NoVA I guess...OK I see your region.
Well I think we have a good hybrid shop in Ashland VA called MAC's.
Anyways, pretty much all Gen2 Prii have replaced water pumps.
That's excepting me and you! Mine is not leaking now at 135k miles, but it has leaked before.
So I keep and eye on it...I am trying to set the record and now it looks like you are my competition.
You can do the water pump yourself for cost of parts ($70) but it's a little out of my DIY capabilities/desires too.
But we have to use the Toyota special coolant fluid for refills if low.

 

I had a Gen II Prius. Been down the road you are on.

Go ahead and fix it. You can change the belt yourself and the ICE water pump at the same time. Patrick Wong posted some detailed information on how to do the repair. Search with Google and you should find it here on Prius Chat.

The coolant flow control valve is a common repair on the Gen II Prius. Had to change ours also. Seems like a lot of the Gen II's suffer the same thing, that stupid valve. It will cause the CEL to light up and also set a DTC or MIL code. A decent Prius aware scanner can read all of the codes. The best scanner out there for DIY is the "mini vci". Google search and purchase this on Amazon. Avoid Ebay, as some of them seem to be infected with malware.

The coolant flow control valve can be changed also DIY. It is a little more labor intensive. I believe again that Patrick Wong posted the repair online here on Prius Chat. When you change the valve along with the ICE water pump you must replenish the coolant. It is recommended to use the Toyota SLLC (Super Long Life Coolant). It is imperative that you also bleed out ALL of the air pockets within the system. Again this procedure has been posted by Patrick Wong. A Google search will reveal it. A "air lift" tool or the "Lyle Funnel" are helpful when bleeding the ICE coolant loop. Don't get confused by thinking you only need to look at the overflow bottle on the Gen II to check the coolant level on your Prius. At times the bottle will be full, but the radiator will be low. You must remove the splash guard over the radiator, then remove the cap. The fluid should be level with the top of the neck just below the cap. Observe the picture below for a example of what a full radiator will look like on your Gen II Prius.



As long as the A/C is working, leave it alone.

Change the cabin filter or at least clean it. It is easy to access. Behind the glove box. Instructions can be found by doing a Google search. Also have the transaxle drained and refilled with four (4) quarts of Toyota WS fluid. The dealer usually charges about $75 to $80 for the job. A flush is not necessary. A simple drain and refill is all that is needed. If you DIY, make certain you replace both crush washers on the transaxle. Also be certain that you remove the correct drain plug. If you remove the wrong one, you will drain the "inverter" and transaxle coolant loop. The Prius actually has two (2) coolant loops and the radiator is actually divided into two sections internally. The top portion is for the ICE. The bottom portion is for the inverter/transaxle. It is recommended to drain and refill both loops of the coolant at 100K and again every 50K after that. Remember to use the Toyota SLLC for BOTH coolant loops. Also both loops have to be bled out properly. All instructions on these procedures are documented here on Prius Chat. Google search and you will find it all. Change spark plugs at 100K and then again at 200K. Other than all of that simple oil changes and tire rotation every 5K. Synthetic oil is recommended unless you are burning oil. At that mileage your Prius is probably using oil. Max capacity on your Prius is 3.9 quarts with a filter change. 4 quarts is TOO much oil. Overfilling the crankcase can and will cause problems over time. Stick with 5W-30 oil for best results.

Best advice is this. Make the repairs, then try to find out if the plugs have been changed and if the coolant loops have been serviced. If the maintenance is not up to date, get it taken care of.

Depending on the location and topography of where the Prius has been, you may be fine on the traction battery for a while, or you may find later on you will need to address that also. A traction battery failure does NOT mean RIP Prius. There are a lot of alternatives out there rather than a new battery at $3000 to $4000.

Best of luck to you, and welcome to Prius Chat!

Ron (dorunron)

 

I do believe that threads can be combined by the moderators, as one of the first threads I read on this site started by a moderator saying that the thread was a merge of two similar threads.

As Jimbo says, this is done by using the report feature to request the threads to be combined and a moderator will action. Of course if one of the threads has no replies you can edit it to "Duplicate post" or something and then request it to be deleted like Jimbo said also.

hope this helps.