put dye in it and see where the leak is Merged your posts @tankyuong Please edit your original post and add the extra info when only 4 minutes apart and the original post it still editable. looks like its coming from reservoir, does it have a lot of built up pressure when you open it, if so you probably have a bad headgasket
Matt, you were saying in your other thread: P0116 | PriusChat that you had the reservoir unbolted and out of the way, and code P0116. Maybe clarify that in this thread? Probably too late now, but just posting this new info and pics in that other thread, responders would have more of the back story.
check the radiator level. not sure if that is coolant. if it is low, clean the engine and look for leaks.
There's no cap on the radiator. Yeah: I looked, in vain, lol. Danny Have to wait 78 seconds to post, oh joy... 29 seconds... 15 seconds... c'mon...
It was a wait-a-sec moment for me. I even took the plastic trim piece off, thinking there might be a cap hiding under there, but nope.
Ok. Let me clarify and give the complete picture. I had to replace a low beam bulb so I unbolted the reservoir tank to access. Somewhere in the timeline and I don't remember the sequence ( I had a lot going on with the car as my back window was smashed and all my tools stolen), I noticed the coolant stains on and around the coolant reservoir and got a P0116 code. I noticed that the coolant was well below the "Low" point with engine cold and bought some coolant to fill. It really didn't seem to take very much, but it's full now and I cleaned the area to see if leaks return which they haven't as of yet. Could this be a thermostat issue, maybe stuck closed. Shouldn't you be able to feel fluid running through the hose to radiator. Hose feels slightly warm, engine hot???
There's only one hose connecting to the reservoir I think? It's still secure, not cracked or anything? I keep thinking this is due to shifting it for the lightbulb install, but maybe just a red herring?
Could be. Hoses seem fine. I've just been monitoring my coolant temps and it sits right around 194 on the hwy. and around 170-180 in city traffic. Is this normal? San Francisco
Sounds normal to me. I'm in Fairfield and those temps are close to what I get. If the engine is off for periods of time, you'll see the temp dip down. The key is the upper end that it maintains around 190-195. When did your head gasket get replaced? I think you said recently. Did you check the reservoir and area around it after the head gasket was changed? Could this be a remnant from that work?
It's possible I just didn't notice it, but the P0116 code has got me wondering. Could just be hypervigilence, I really can't afford to dump any more dough into this car. Head gasket was $2600 (two weeks ago) and I'm an Uber driver so I need it for work.
How many miles have you put on in the last 2 weeks? Did this just come on the one time, or is it intermittent? One thing I would check is connections as maybe there is a wire that might be loose or exposed. After that look up P0116 and see what others have done, but I think it will be the thermostat or ECT monitor. To do either, you'll need to drain the engine coolant. Keep us posted.
Matt, was your head gasket replaced or did you do an engine swap? I'd rinse that engine bay so further driving can determine if you have an external coolant leak at current time, and possibly give you a chance to spot it before it's all over the place. If that is coolant in the pic, hopefully it's not pressure sprayed out the reservoir overflow. Since you are loosing coolant again, an external leak would be ideal. P0116 could simply be a low coolant flag. The high coolant temp in your scan history may be something P0116 sets regardless of actuality. Personal experience with moving the coolant bottle around leads me to think it's very unlikely you damaged anything. But it is possible, and it was probably moved around a bunch and possibly banged up when the HG work was done.
I'm pretty new to the Prius community, but I'd recommend replacing the cap, since they seem to go bad and not hold the pressure. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
