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Did the shop kill my Daughter's Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by ticedoff8, Sep 6, 2021.

  1. Sal43

    Sal43 Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2018
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    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I've always called this guy "Professor Charles Xavier". If I ever have kids I'll tell them that this guys was Professor X not Patrick Stewart. He'll always be Captain Jean Luc Picard to me anyway.
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  2. ticedoff8

    ticedoff8 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2010
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    Location:
    San Jose
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Final update on this thread.
    The "Purple Devil Head Gasket Sealer" lasted for about as long as expected - about 12 months.
    Then the motor started misfiring, bucking and being a pill about 3 weeks ago - basically the same as it was before the head gasket in a can was added. And, I could see the coolant in the radiator overflow tank bubbling and stank of fumes when the engine was running - so it was worse than before.
    One main difference this time is that the "Hybrid System Warning" message came up on the console and the car wouldn't run after that. I was told this was because the misfire was so bad (this time), it would cause the engine to stall while it was in drive. That was a signal to the car that things where over the edge.
    I had scheduled an appointment with Gasket Masters in Manteca to bring the car in on a Monday, and the "Hybrid System Warning" came on the Sunday night before the appointment. But, to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the drive (climbing the Sunol Grade and the Altamont Pass was going to be tough), but I didn't want to have the car totally disabled.
    I ended up at a shop in Santa Clara named "The Original Prius Hybrid Battery Of San Jose" on El Camino Real. It's based in an old gas-station on the corner of El Camino and Lawrence Expy and has 5 stars on Yelp, so I thought I get the car towed over there. It looks like what you would expect from a shop run by a guy who knows everything there is to know about Prius, Tesla, Honda and a Viper (based on the cars in the lot).
    They said they confirmed there was nothing wrong with the Hybrid System, the main battery was okay, pulled the head and machined it, new head gasket replaced the water pump and radiator for $2,800. It took about 1 week.
    The guys at Gasket Masters were swamped with work. They were scheduling the in-shop visits 7 days out and the mobile visits 10 to 14 days out.
    I called the guy at "The Original Prius Hybrid Battery Of San Jose", on Wednesday and dropped the car off the next morning. If you are in the Bay Area, look them up on Yelp.
    Anyway... Case Closed
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    congrats, all the best!(y)
     
  4. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
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    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Seems like it was egr rip off time back in September. So maybe six months of sealer?