Posting from the side of the road, could use some advice

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by wowbobwow, Jul 12, 2015.

  1. wowbobwow

    wowbobwow Junior Member

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    I've got a 2008 Touring Edition with 99.5k miles. Just had the HUGE, expensive 100k services performed by my local dealership this past week, including new belts and water pump. Picked it up on Wednesday and now this. :-(

    Was driving along on the freeway just now when my dash lit up with the big red <!> symbol along with a temp / coolant symbol. Pulled over and now I see what looks like coolant sprayed all over the engine compartment, steaming away.

    I'm gonna call the dealership and explain the situation, but since they've shown nothing but horrible service so far, I'm not confident that I'll get far. Any info you guys can suggest before I call (the service department doesn't open for another hour) would be great.
     
    #1 wowbobwow, Jul 12, 2015
  2. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Can you do a quick visual check and see if the belt is still in place?

    There have been similar cases reported here where the belt wasn't tensioned correctly and came off soon after the service.
     
    #2 uart, Jul 12, 2015
  3. wowbobwow

    wowbobwow Junior Member

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    Hi uart- thanks for replying!

    As best I can tell the belt is still there. There is pink fluid sprayed all over the passenger side of the engine compartment and pooled in all the lower areas below the engine. I noticed yesterday that the passenger-side headlamp has been turning off, and only coming back on when I manually fiddle with the switch. I can now see that the fluid (I'm guessing coolant but can't be sure) has been sprayed / dripped all over the cables leading to the headlight. Arrrrrgh.
     
    #3 wowbobwow, Jul 12, 2015
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like they didn't correctly install something. can you gt the cover off the radiator to look under the cap after it cools off?
     
    #4 bisco, Jul 12, 2015
  5. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Ok, then it sounds like the new water pump was faulty (or a faulty install) and it has leaked badly. It mightn't be too bad, if you stopped as soon as the lights appeared then there is a fair chance that you've got a nice mess but no actual engine damage. The dealer should clean it all up and replace the pump and coolant. Hopefully there's no other damage done.
     
    #5 uart, Jul 12, 2015
    bisco likes this.
  6. wowbobwow

    wowbobwow Junior Member

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    Very helpful - thank you! Just took a look and as far as I can tell the coolant tank (white translucent plastic one) is completely empty. Yay.

    I did immediately reduce speed (was doing ~70 when the errors happened) and took the next available exit, so I'm guessing 3-4 minutes between error and parking. Hopefully not enough to have damaged anything beyond the point of failure...
     
    #6 wowbobwow, Jul 12, 2015
  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Have the dealer tow it back to them
     
    #7 JC91006, Jul 12, 2015
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    whatever damage there is, it's their responsibility. all the best.(y)
     
    #8 bisco, Jul 12, 2015
  9. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Tell us which dealership this incompetent service department is associated with, so that other SF Bay Area members will know to avoid it.
     
    #9 Patrick Wong, Jul 12, 2015
  10. wowbobwow

    wowbobwow Junior Member

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    Patrick - it's One Toyota of Oakland. Incompetent service technicians managed by clueless idiots. Inconsistent quotes, no callbacks to messages, left my car covered in grease (including on the dashboard and door panels), etc. Utterly ridiculous.
     
    #10 wowbobwow, Jul 12, 2015
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    wow.
     
    #11 bisco, Jul 12, 2015
  12. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Thanks - you have two independents in your area - Art's Automotive in Berkeley, and Luscious Garage in SF.

    I don't know the Toyota dealerships in the East Bay, but when I lived in Sunnyvale (from the late 70's until 2000) the Toyota dealers in that city and Cupertino were OK.
     
    #12 Patrick Wong, Jul 12, 2015
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