Going to the dealer later this week. What could I be facing?

Well I would say get the jug filled up to the full mark and be keeping an eye on it like a hawk this is when things get interesting with this particular engine and these particular series of car. You're 1600 mi road trip may go fine if you blow a head gasket 800 mi away from home no matter it's going to be costly no matter where you are and the Toyota dealer is not going to be the people to help except for leave you of a bunch of cash. This is a real common problem with these cars so you'll want to be thinking about making arrangements and it sounds like to me the arrangements be will probably a another automobile? If so nowadays look to the world famous as always Corolla The gas mileage hit that you take with the Corolla you'll make up for by not having to do any work or your mechanic not having to do any work I've driven Corollas for 40 years I've never known American car problems personally My friends have but the money that I've saved with Corollas over my 44 years of driving they have well paid for themselves I've never had a car payment etc so forth. The Prius on the other hand is one of the most expensive cars the generation 3 I've ever dealt with and it was reasonable it was just more than I've ever had to deal with and very little workarounds but then again this was all after $200,000 miles so you can't really talk to Toyota about it they did their job they got me to 200k with no work tires and batteries the 12 volts. But my Corollas would go 400,000 mi with the same level of maintenance basically.

 

You don't state how many miles you have on it.
Likely the head gasket. But, you should check for any hoses or the radiator
for leaks.

You normally won't see the normal head gasket signs with the Prius.
Does it knock when the engine starts when it's cold? Or has sat for a short period?

Getting the gasket change sooner rather than later lowers the risk of a warped head and/or
damaging the cylinder walls or the engine block from a rod going through it.

 

It’s a little early for head gasket failure. In my experience both the engine and inverter coolant reservoirs had dropped to low line by around 50k miles, and stabilized with a top up. Do look into EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) components cleaning, including the EGR passages in the intake manifold.

Now would be timely. It’s moderately “involved”, more difficult than an oil or coolant change, requires a fair bit of wrenching, and raising the front might be needed. It took me about a day, plus some wrapping up a second day, and sort of learned along the way. I’m definitely not a pro?

What’s your DIY ability; do you have a garage, any tools, know anyone (besides dealership) who could help.

see first two links in my signature; on a phone turn it landscape to see signature.

 

You’ll be in good hands.

they do EGR cleaning, and deeper stuff too, like head gasket replacement, if I’m not mistaken.

@jerrymildred worked for them, may comment.

 

Joanne, I spotted a Gen 5 this week too.
You can't go wrong with Tampa Hybrids. Also, Thomas owns Clearwater Hybrids. He does mobile repair, and charges a bit less than the Toyota Stealerships. I trust him.

 

Does the Gen 3 have two coolant reservoirs like the Gen 4? One goes to the traction (hybrid) system and one goes to the engine coolant system.
Good job keeping an eye on it. Keep a jug of coolant in the car just in case she decides to drain the coolant a lot...don't want to be driving with it low.
If you have a strong flashlight, you could shine some light in there and inspect all the hoses and look for anything pinkish or reddish in color. The cars have plastic covers underneath so can make it hard to see leaks early-on.
Great job on getting the oil changed every 5,000 miles!

 

Gosh usually these head gaskets and things generally happen right around that mileage You should make it to very close to 200K before this happens.we had 235 on the 13 and the 2010 just hit 360K and rattled first time ever 3 days ago . No coolant loss nothing . No engine work ever spark plugs put in when I got it I even think it's the original water pump and the only reason this mileage with this model maybe because it's an early 2010 and because it's been in the wind all of its life all of it.

 

Sorry for the late reply. Tomas doesn't own a website. Here's his phone number - 727 686 1943.

 

You're welcome. Were you able to reach him?

 

Another easy test is to put a clean cloth in front of the exhaust tailpipe. After it cools...smell it. Does it smell like coolant? If so you could have a head gasket leak. It sounds like this is not your issue. I would definitely schedule a EGR cleaning at Tampa Hybrids... If they are busy during the time you are there maybe @jerrymildred could help out?

 

I'm on a long road trip so I'm just getting caught up during my stay in Ohio. To answer that question with some background, Thomas used to work for Todd at Tampa Hybrids. They are on good terms still and Tomas sometimes brings over excess used parts and offers them to Todd.

From what I've seen of their work, Tampa Hybrids is more conscientious about small but potentially important details. I may be a little biased after having bought six cars at Tampa Hybrids and then working there part time after I retired. But I can tell you from inside experience, those guys really care about the car and the customer, as well as each other.

One of my criteria for deciding on a service provider is how they treat their employees because that's an indication of how they treat their customers. I don't know anything about Clearwater Hybrids, but Tampa Hybrids treats their people great.

Just my two percent of a dollar's worth.

 

Don’t kid yourself though. If you don’t get the EGR and intake manifold EGR passages cleaned promptly, and every 50k thereafter, you will be blowing the head gasket, possibly by 150k, guaranteed by 200k.

see my signature. On a phone turn landscape to see signature.

ok see your post is some time back, sounds like you’re on it. I’ve had the dubious privilege of seeing this EGR train wreck unfold here.