Coolant detected in exhaust

That is great news and thank you for the update.

Encouraging for us UK people who do not seem to be covered by the US TSB.

 

My neighbor recently acquired this 2017 Prius as his new daily and he may deal with the mysterious leak. He'll take it to the dealer next week when he returns from a trail trip. The new brake pads and mud tires are getting installed on to his Wrangler today and they'll off tomorrow. I'll pass this thread to him later.

 

It's always a good idea to check fluid levels every fill-up on newly acquired cars - to get an idea of it's current leaks and seepage.

 

Yeah, all fluids are fresh.

 

Got the car back yesterday, new CC and some gaskets. Drove 60 miles round trip to work. No coolant lost in the reservoir that I can notice. I a might put a mark with a sharpie ? I did notice some coolant on the garage floor this morning, I’m sure there is some residual still in the nooks and crannies underneath.
The whole repair was under warranty, so I am hoping to close the chapter on this. I will update any further problems.


FYI- today is exactly 6 weeks from the day I left it at the dealership.

 

Trying to diagnose and find a new engine coolant leak on our 2017. My wife backed out of the garage, and I noticed maybe two tablespoons of coolant on each side of the passenger wheel. The underside of that one fender was all wet with coolant, too. The reservoir was only about 1/4 inch below the FULL line. Only a splash of coolant topped it up. From the top of the engine, I see no signs of leaks. I need to change the oil this weekend, so will look more. And, of course, I can smell burning coolant in the garage. Does coolant in the areas that I mention sound like it could be this dreadful exhaust pipe problem? I don’t mind keeping an eye on it, but it sounds like if I let something like that go, then the cat converts could be ruined?

 

This is rear passenger wheel?

 

No, it's the front passenger wheel-well. (Oops.)

 

After more research, I think I'm realizing that the cat converter is just part of the long exhaust pipe that gets replaced when there's a leak in the heat transfer system; and its's not so much about the cat converter getting ruined. I'm still hoping that my leak is something else minor.

 

Today, I changed the oil, and did a coolant drain/refill (inverter & ICE.) Everything's super clean all around the engine bay; and all the exhaust pipe connections are clean. The water pump looked clean all-around, too. However, I never found the 'weep hole' on the WP. Is there one? Maybe my mirror skills aren't so good. But, I still have a feeling that the heat exchanger is leaking ever so slightly -- only because I smell coolant in the garage from time-to-time. An interesting note, when I was bleeding the ICE, I noticed that the reservoir goes down 1/4 inch when the heater's on; then it goes back up 1/4 inch when the heater's off. Also, ICE bleeding was a breeze when you fill, burp, fill again, burp again, then fill before running the engine in 2WD Inspection Mode (aka Maintenance Mode.) Burp, I mean squeeze the radiator hoses.) One weird thing, my engine turned off the first time I put it in Maintenance Mode. The second time, it stayed on. Somehow my wife got a lot of water on only the front passenger wheel-well, and I swear it smelled like coolant -- the garage did, too. I'll just keep an eye on it for now.

 

i don't think there's a weep hole on the electric pumps.
coolant in the front wheel well seems more like a hose leak

 

Thanks. Maybe there's a hose hidden behind the plastic wheel-well, but not visible in the engine bay? If I get another (what appears to be) a coolant puddle on the garage floor, and/or if the level goes down in 1 to 2 weeks, I'll start tearing it apart.

 

FWIW The ICE coolant reservoir is directly above that wheel well. Any chance the source of your leak is that?

 

Is it possible that these under the vehicle puddles are just condensate from the AC system drain tube?

 

The wife drove it about 80 miles today, and just got home. The level hasn't moved, and the garage doesn't even smell. The wheel-well is totally dry. I'm starting to think that when she took donations to Salvation Army on that smelly/wet wheel-well coolant day, she ran over a puddle of it in the back alley of that place. I have to leave it at that. Thanks everyone for your time, I learned a bit about the Prius, and if my exhaust heat transfer system ever breaks, then I'm throwing a bypass hose in there.

 

Just as I was experiencing something similar, I saw your post. I have a Gen4 (2017) and, lo and behold, I found my coolant level to be really low while I was refilling windshield washer fluid. At least, it wasn't low enough to trigger a MIL. I was monitoring it monthly since it was already on the low side. I bought a bottle of pink Toyota coolant and I filled it to to max line but, it looks like I'll be in touch with Toyota dealership soon. I found the TSB on the Internet. In USA, it's under Federal Emission Warranty, I think it's the same in Canada. Only way to know is to call them. I don't think the head gasket is involved since I never found any coolant in the oil.

 

I continued getting coolant under the car and took it back to the dealer. They said it had a leaky hose and clamp. I pressed the issue, and asked if I would be expected to change one hose at a time? The service manager reluctantly agreed, they replaced several hoses and clamps. This go round I was provided a loaner for 6 days.


FYI: Tomorrow will be 7 weeks, since I took it to the dealership.

 

Sounds like a dealership dropping the ball.