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Need help diagnosing my 2016 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by PowerPrius443, Mar 22, 2024.

  1. PowerPrius443

    PowerPrius443 New Member

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    Hey all, I have a 2016 Prius hybrid and started noticing a few issues:

    *all issues started in the past 2 days. I’ve owned the car for 3 months and the car was previously crashed in the front. No external leaks are present

    1. going regular speeds are fine but at ~60-65mph I see a lot of dense smoke coming out of the exhaust.

    2. My coolant light comes on every 40-50 miles and I have to refill it.

    3. my engine has massive blow by(not sure if normal with these engines)

    4. Codes for engine coolant temperature low circuit low input; insufficient coolant temperature for closed loop fuel control

    I already checked with a combustion leak tester in the coolant reserviour and no exhaust gas there.

    HELP!!
     
    #1 PowerPrius443, Mar 22, 2024
  2. sclevine

    sclevine Active Member

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    Search this site for heat exchanger
     
    #2 sclevine, Mar 22, 2024
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  3. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    You're losing coolant through the heat exchanger in the exhaust pipe. There's a work-around that involves bypassing the heat exchanger circuit with a U-shaped coolant hose. The other option is replacing the portion of the exhaust pipe with the heat exchanger.
     
    #3 FuelMiser, Mar 23, 2024
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Those are incentives for solving this problem as quickly as possible, and not continuing to drive unnecessarily.

    2. The "coolant light" isn't a warning about the coolant, it's about the engine being too hot right now. The right time for a coolant warning would be earlier. The light coming on is bad.

    4. The coolant temperature sensor is a "negative-temperature-coefficient thermistor", which means the input goes lower for higher temperatures. When you get the code about the input being so low the ECM thinks it's a sensor or wiring problem, in this case it's the engine getting so hot the ECM doubts that could even be a real reading. That's hot....
     
    #4 ChapmanF, Mar 23, 2024
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  5. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    There's a TSB on the 2016 exhaust gas heat exchanger and may be covered under state or federal emissions warranty. If the car has a salvage title all bets are off.... That's assuming you haven't blow or burnt up the engine by continuously running it HOT.

    Hope this helps....
     
    #5 BiomedO1, Mar 23, 2024
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  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    #6 Mendel Leisk, Mar 23, 2024
  7. PowerPrius443

    PowerPrius443 New Member

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    I did the reroute via a YouTube tutorial. I tried driving on it for a day but I’m still getting white smoke out the exhaust and losing coolant, any ideas?

    I did the reroute via a YouTube tutorial. I tried driving on it for a day but I’m still getting white smoke out the exhaust and losing coolant, any ideas?
     
    #7 PowerPrius443, Mar 26, 2024
    Last edited by a moderator: May 1, 2024
  8. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    If the coolant is not entering the exhaust via the heat exchanger, then the only other way is if there is a blown head gasket, Blown Head Gasket Symptoms & Causes | Fel-Pro Gaskets
     
    #8 FuelMiser, Mar 27, 2024
  9. Tim_HI

    Tim_HI New Member

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    You will get white smoke for couple more days until that coolant burns in exaust

    could you tell what kinda combustion leak tester did you use?
     
    #9 Tim_HI, May 1, 2024
    Last edited by a moderator: May 1, 2024
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