HELP me identify this?!?

Water pump is leaking. Typical of the Gen II. Ours did it too. Probably have a little stripe underneath the hood on the insulation also which looks like it runs from the front of the car towards the windshield. Get the water pump changed, and have the coolant replenished and or replaced. Don't forget to bleed the system to get the air out.

Don't be surprised if the overflow bottle is still full. A lot of times the radiator will be low, but the bottle be full. Remove the splash guard over the radiator and check the fluid level under the cap when the ICE is cold. Should look like the picture below when it is full.



Yes, just one belt. Gen III has no belts on her.

Also remember the Prius has two (2) separate coolant loops. One for the inverter, and one for the ICE. Just because they changed the inverter pump does not mean they changed the fluid. They are supposed to, but some dealers simply pinch off the hoses with vise grips, then slip the new pump in, and just top off the fluid and bleed if necessary. When they did ours, I requested the fluid to be changed. I could tell they did, because the color was nice and pink. A lot cleaner than what was in there before the work was done.

Best of luck to you,
Ron

 

1. The engine coolant pump is leaking pink Toyota Super Long Life Coolant, and that should be replaced now.
2. Yes, the serpentine drive belt drives the engine coolant pump. That is the only accessory which is mechanically driven.
3. The inverter coolant may or may not have been replaced. Either way, it should be replaced now or when the odometer hits 100K miles. This is because the change interval for Toyota SLLC is at 50K mile intervals, after the factory fill has been replaced. The factory fill change interval is at 100K miles.

 

you're right, a lot of dealers recommend pump change at the first sign of coolant, whether it needs it or not.

 

Nothing particularly special about changing the ICE's water pump. They just need to get the coolant loop bled after the change. There are some example of both the water pump, serp. belt and coolant bleeding done on YouTube so you can see what you are in for.

 

Here is my thread about how to replace the engine coolant pump. The pump replacement itself is not particularly difficult.

The difficulty comes during replacing the engine coolant and getting all air out of the cylinder head, cabin heater core, and the coolant heat recovery system. You'd be surprised how many people have trouble with that, even dealer techs who don't bother to run the engine enough to get all air out of the system. There are many PriusChat posts to that effect if you do a search. My link below will lead to another link which explains what is required to get air out of the engine coolant system.
How to replace engine coolant pump and thermostat | PriusChat

The Toyota maintenance schedule requires that the engine coolant and the inverter coolant should both be replaced at 100K miles, then at 50K mile intervals beyond that.

Replace the serpentine drive belt when the engine coolant pump is replaced.

Has the transaxle ATF been replaced in the last 60K miles? If not that should be done now. Also, you could add PCV valve replacement to the list of maintenance activities.

If you need to add coolant to get the car to your dealer, just use water. I assume that the ambient temperature is well above freezing point in your area (in fact your high temps are probably 100 degrees F right now) and the coolant will be drained and replaced as soon as the car is worked on. Check the radiator itself, not just the overflow container. The radiator should be full to the top of the neck and the overflow container has a full mark on it.

 

The transaxle ATF needs to be replaced and it is an easy DIY job - easier than the PCV valve. There are no Prius failures reported after a change and there is no reason for a failure to occur if this is done correctly.

It is true that the transaxle ATF replacement is not in the maintenance schedule, but does Toyota really care that much about the longevity of your drivetrain beyond 120K miles? You can see plenty of posts here from owners who are surprised at how dark the transaxle ATF is, when they drain it out and look at the used fluid in the drain pan. If you look at the used transaxle ATF analysis reports, they will show plenty of Si, Fe and Cu content in the used oil, evidence of dirt and gear wear and perhaps some erosion of the motor generator stator windings.

The PCV valve is hiding under the engine wiring harness that runs over the valve cover. Why is replacement required? Because the PCV valve gets coated by HC deposits from the engine crankcase which flow through the valve into the intake manifold.

 

You are right, drain/fill.

You will need 4 quarts of Toyota ATF WS and two aluminum washers for the drain and fill plugs, which you can source from your Toyota dealer. Regarding tools, you will need a 24 mm (or 15/16") socket and a 10 mm hex key socket, the associated ratchet wrench and cheater bar, and ideally a torque wrench so you can tighten to 29 ft.-lb. You also need a plastic funnel with a 3 ft. long tail and two jackstands (I use a long black plastic transmission oil funnel with a supplemental hose at the bottom, secured with black electrical tape.)

Raise up the front of the car with jackstands and look at the transaxle case. The transaxle ATF drain plug has a 10 mm hex indentation (do not confuse with the inverter/transaxle coolant drain plug which has a 24 mm hex head.) The transaxle ATF fill plug has a 24 mm hex head, on the side of the transaxle case which faces forward, towards the radiator.

Loosen and remove the fill plug first. Then loosen and remove the drain plug and drain the used fluid into a suitable container for recycling. Wipe off the magnetic tip on the drain plug and install a new aluminum gasket. After all used fluid is drained out, replace the drain plug and tighten to 29 ft.-lb.

Position the plastic funnel near the inverter and let the tail drop down. Get under the car and insert the tail into the fill hole. Pour the 4 quarts of ATF WS into the funnel and hence, into the transaxle. The capacity of the transaxle is 3.9 quarts so fill until the new fluid starts to drip out of the fill hole. Remove the funnel, install a new aluminum washer on the fill plug, and replace the fill plug, tightening to 29 ft.-lb. Lower the car and you are done.

 

I did the transaxle fluid drain/fill last week. This is what the old fluid looked like at 37k miles:



By many accounts, this is typical of the first change. Then the service interval can be extended to 60k miles thereafter.

SCH-I535

 

CHANGE!

There shouldn't be any debate, especially if you can do it yourself. The ATF WS fluid will cost about $40. New is reddish in color. I'll betcha your near-100k fluid will be black.

Dare you to pour some of it on a couple coffee filter or such and see how much grime is actually there.

Regardless of the car, I've always changed the trannie fluid. What's there to debate? Clean fluid to circulate through and lubricate a very expensive system. Same concept as an oil or coolant or brake fluid change.

Cheap maintenance. Cheap insurance.

RE: PCV replacement. PC member Writes123 and I just exchanged notes on it.
Just bought a 2009 prius with 100k miles. What are your best tips? | PriusChat

Enjoy the ride after she's all clean!!!