As temps are getting cool, I noticed we had no heat at all, looked at the coolant level and there was nothing there no pink visible at all. I never got a low coolant notification odd, I will top it off but we have been possibly driving like this all summer. who knows if more damages have been done. I guess this afternoon I will know better after I see how much fluid it takes.
How many miles are on your car? Are you the 1st owner? Coolant just doesn't disappear, you should check for leaks
there have been reports of leaking coolant from the exhaust heat exchanger. if you never got a temp light, hopefully it is just low
I had same issue back in January - leak inside the catalytic converter - had to be replaced - $$$2100 - but they can be very hard to find. Lots of threads on this.
IIRC dealerships will replace what’s needed for free, authorized by Toyota. Dealerships have been misdiagnosing as head gasket failure too, so tread carefully.
It’s a 2017 with 129555 km I managed to put in the entire jug of slid in 3.7l or about a gallon. Heat did come back in after a few too ups, but there is clearly some issue. Now the exhaust it smoking like someone did a burnout on a muscle car. It’s mixing somehow with the exhaust. Engine oil if fine no foaming. it looks like the bulletin is up to 80/miles which I’m past by ~ 1000km
Those symptoms indicate almost certainly that it’s the exhaust heat exchanger keep an eye on that reservoir and don’t drive it too long without refilling. It can be bypassed if needed. There are several threads on this. Do report this to Toyota. In my opinion, they need to extend this to 150k or 10 years. It’s not a small function and very expensive to fix if going with OEM for the part alone. This hose will work in a pinch without any lights or modifications if you are up to the rather easy task. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000C2U8Q2/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_5?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
Even if Toyota will cover the catalytic converter (heat exchanger), there's a supply chain issue and they aren't readily available; so, if you need to drive your car regularly, I'd order the U-shaped coolant hose from Amazon and perform the bypass. It can always be reversed if you do come across a new catalytic convert with the heat exchanger.
It’s been reported here, dealership service departments won’t install a bypass; it’d “compromise pollution controls”. I guess their hands are tied, but I’d suspect they could get a permission, with a little bit of effort, considering the supply issues, and the consequence of bricked cars.
Bypass hose is a really creative workaround. I wonder how much that will effect warm up time In cold versus hot climates....
I had mine bypassed while waiting for the new part to come in on backorder (private shop not dealership). A delay in warmup was noticeable but not a big deal
Update: it was the heat exchanger Vehicle had 129980km when Parker the dealer warranty goes to 130k they fixed it no charge Aparently it’s an expensive repair.
That sure would be nice if that was extended to 150k or 10 yr along with the hybrid battery. I can dream… . Hope I won’t have to do either.
