Transmission fluid leak

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Allyiou, Dec 9, 2024.

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  1. Allyiou

    Allyiou Junior Member

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    I purchased a used 2008 Prius in June of this year. 215k miles for 6k all in. Very well kept up prior to me purchasing and got a 1yr hybrid battery warranty.
    Just got my oil changed for the first time since buying it (I don’t drive much) and the general inspection came back as having low coolant and a transmission fluid leak on the left side cover gasket. They quoted me 2.3k for the transmission fluid fix. Is this reasonable? I am having a hard time googling much about this fix, and usually I do fixes myself on my cars. I know the part itself is like $20 so I am just baffled at the quoted price. Attached is the estimate I was given for all the things they wanna fix along with the photo of the transmission leak.

    They said it’s a fix that needs done ASAP as they have no way of knowing how fast the leak is or how much transmission fluid I have left, but also said that they could do a transmission flush and coolant pressure check in the meantime which could help determine if the whole had gasket is bad? I’m not sure what any of this REALLY means, as this is a problem I’ve never had to work with on my previous Priuses even though the worker said it was common with Priuses? I have noticed the car having a harder time accelerating recently.

    should I attempt to fix myself? And if so, is there a guide anywhere for this type of fix (YouTube, pdf, anything really)? I do not have an engine lift. Or should I get a second opinion quote from somewhere else?
     

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    #1 Allyiou, Dec 9, 2024
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    Looks like something else leaking as well, to the right?

    Attached is gen 2 tranxaxle info. Pages HX/76 maybe show what you need:
     

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    #2 Mendel Leisk, Dec 9, 2024
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2024
  3. Allyiou

    Allyiou Junior Member

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    For some reason the photo uploaded very blurry, but I think what you are looking at is the pinkish area on the right? In the more clear photo it doesn’t look wet or drippy, but has that pink color that the left side has where the drip is shown. They told me they didn’t see any oil leaks even though my oil was low so they said it might just burn oil, and that they also couldn’t see any specific coolant leaks anywhere either
     
    #3 Allyiou, Dec 9, 2024
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    Try posting the photo directly, instead of screen grab method. That said, it definitely looks looks like fresh, beading droplets of coolant, at the seam towards left end of transaxle. I would put down a drip pan, spray a little brake cleaner and wipe the whole underside of transaxle clean, then see how fast it reappears, and where. A transaxle fluid change at this point wouldn't really help anything, and might be a waste if you subsequently go through with the reseal

    Do you have a floor jack and safety stands? Ramps? Garage with concrete slab?

    Hard to decipher the pictures, but this page might help:

    Transaxle assy(hev or bev or fcev) for Toyota Prius NHW20L - Auto parts - Amayama
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, Dec 9, 2024
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  5. Hayslayer

    Hayslayer Junior Member

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    They said it’s a fix that needs done ASAP as they have no way of knowing how fast the leak is or how much transmission fluid I have left, but also said that they could do a transmission flush and coolant pressure check in the meantime which could help determine if the whole had gasket is bad?

    Keep them away from your car. Do NOT let them touch it again. Their goal is to scare you and separate you from your money.

    Step one is to determine what fluid it actually is, where it's actually coming from and at what rate. I'm pretty sure there's a couple sensors directly in front of those drips that penetrate the transaxle housing. There are also coolant lines forward of that area. Any of those could be a source. Your transaxle has a drain plug and a fill plug. It holds ~3.8(?) quarts, iirc. On level ground, remove the fill plug located on the front side of the transaxle. Fluid level should be near the bottom of the threaded hole. Toyota says that fluid should last the lifetime of the car, but a lot of people change it at ~100k miles, so if yours hasn't been done, it wouldn't hurt to do it. This transaxle cannot be flushed. It must be drained and refilled. It costs about $9 per quart and takes maybe 40 minutes to do a good thorough job.

    It's funny that they act like they can't check the level. They obviously had it lifted. It would take 2 minutes to remove that fill plug and check. But that wouldn't accomplish their goal of scaring you.

    Yes, most Gen 2s burn a small amount of oil. Sometimes 2 quarts every 5k miles, so check it frequently, add as needed and don't skip oil changes. Use a good quality synthetic 5w-30 every 5k miles and you may get lucky and oil consumption could improve.

    Being in Minneapolis, your feeling of power loss could easily just be due to low temperatures. The hybrid system will limit the battery's ability to discharge or charge during low temps, until the battery warms up.

    And NO NO NO. Head gasket problems are NOT common on the Gen 2. In fact, they are exceedingly rare. The early Gen 3 models suffer from head gasket issues. I'll repeat..stay away from that oil change place or wherever you went. They're looking at you and seeing dollar signs.

    I second the request for higher quality photos.

    Study up on the Gen 2 and do your own work. This is a easy car to DIY.
    There are hundreds of videos out there about working on a Gen 2. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds.
     
    #5 Hayslayer, Dec 9, 2024
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2024
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  6. Allyiou

    Allyiou Junior Member

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    I do not have a garage (I park on the street and live in the inner city, and its quite cold out to be working outside these days) but I do have a jack and likely safety stands and ramps, I would have to check my storage unit, its been a while since I have done work on a car and sometimes I borrow stuff out and never get it back.

    With regards to the transmission drain and fill, I believe the reason they recommended this was mainly because I was asking about some sort of cheaper "Bandaid" fix because I do not have 2.3k just laying around at the moment. I watched some videos and read through the PDF's to do the transmission fix myself, and I think the biggest issue I would have is just the space to do it, given it would be easiest to do if I took apart the wiper assembly. I have an appointment scheduled on monday to get the coolant system checked (pressure check) along with the tranmission fluid drain/fill. I am having a friend look at the car this week in his garage to get a better idea of if its leaking a lot, but I have not noticed any other symptoms such as smoke, gear shifting issues, or any engine lights, so I am hoping this is something more minor than they suspect.

    Attached is the photos again, hopefully better quality. I also have the coolant pics they sent attached just cause the coolant thing is interesting to me given they didnt see any leaks. This was not a full inspection, so they may look at it again on monday and actually come to different conclusions, as this was just a routine oil change and my first time at this shop. If anyone else is in MN the shop is called Turbo Tims and they typically have really good reviews and positive customer satisfaction, and they do work on Prius's a lot.
     

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    #6 Allyiou, Dec 10, 2024
  7. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    In your first image, I see no sign of coolant in there. You need to remove the top engine bay shield, and (only) when the engine is cold, remove the radiator cap. Look down into the neck of the filler tube. If it is not full to the top, add coolant (Toyota SLLC) to fill it right to the top. Leave the engine-bay cover off for the moment and check the radiator level every day before starting. Once you reach the point where you no longer need to add coolant, fill the overflow reservoir to the full line. Check the radiator for a few more days, and when you're satisfied that the radiator remains full, you can replace the engine bay shield. If the radiator does not remain full after a week or so of checking and adding coolant, you may have a leak somewhere, and that needs to be investigated.
     
    #7 dolj, Dec 10, 2024
  8. Allyiou

    Allyiou Junior Member

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    Okay all, I am back with further information. I was driving home from work yesterday and my car began shaking when i accelerated, and i could smell burning and my check engine light was flashing on and off. My work is about 5 blocks from the repair shop I brought it to the first time, and I didnt think I was going to make it all the way home like that, so I coasted it to the shop and dropped it off for a more thorough inspection (drivability test - transmission and engine). They completed the inspection today and I received this information:

    "Engine code P0303. Spark plug in cylinder 3 was found to be loose. Ignition coil is covered in exhaust gas and oil. Recommend to replace spark plugs and ignition coil number 3. Burning smell was smelt and could be smelt when a vehicle is misfiring or having a burnt/clogged catalytic converter. Recommend to perform tune up and replace ignition coil to see if the smell goes away."

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]



    "Transmission fluid service is due based on the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule. Recommend transmission fluid drain and fill."

    "Spark plugs are due @ every 120,000 mile interval. Recommend to replace spark plugs if they have not yet been serviced."

    "Transmission fluid leaking from side cover. Recommend to remove cover, inspect what's visible of the transmission and reseal cover and flush transmission fluid."

    [​IMG]


    The quotes are as follows:

    Spark Plugs and One Ignition Coil: $479 parts and labor

    Remove & Replace Transmission Side Cover Gasket:
    Part: $70
    Labor: $2217

    Transmission Fluid Service- Standard Drain and Fill: $196 ($100 labor, $96 fluid)

    They also want to do coolant system testing still - I am unclear if this will reveal some further problem or not...


    Basically here are my main questions:

    Is the transmission side cover gasket a "simple" thing to do on my own? I watched a video on youtube of a guy do it on an 08 and it didnt look like 2.3k worth of labor. My concern is mostly how do I get the car home? Im going to be real, I have never taken a car to the shop before this. (I am 26yo F and I have minimal experience with cars, just watching and learning and some minor do-ing with my dad when he worked on cars). Can I decline all of the repairs they suggest and still drive it out of there? Can I drive it out of there at all in the condition it is in if I do decide to do this fix? The parts are a lot more within my budget and I have the time to do the labor since I am on my winter break from grad school starting next week, but the technicalities are confusing to me. I would love something more than the youtube video to help me do the exact thing i need (Cover gasket).

    Should i have them do the coolant system testing at least since I do not have the tools to do that on my own? And that could help me discover if theres something further wrong?

    Are there any special tools I need for the transmission fluid drain/fill? (to bleed anything?)

    Be kind, I am quite lost and I am learning to do this all on my own for the first time as a broke grad student...

    Thanks to everyone who has commented thus far...

    So far I owe them $119 for the inspection, nothing more.













     
    #8 Allyiou, Dec 12, 2024
  9. Allyiou

    Allyiou Junior Member

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    Oh drab, the photos didnt attach. Here are the new photos:
     

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    #9 Allyiou, Dec 12, 2024
  10. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    IMHO, let them do the spark plugs & coil replacement or you can do that yourself, cause that's on the high side. How much of the $119 they're going to credit you back for letting them do the job?
    Have them pull the transmission fill plug and top-off. They'll bill you for whatever ATF they use - that'll tell you how bad the leak is. It probably isn't that bad, because you would've fried the tranny by now. Tell them you are NOT authorizing any work on the tranny, other than topping off the ATF.
    @dolj; as he stated in thread #7, top-off your coolant before you overheat and break something. Doing a pressure test isn't going to tell you where the leak is - It'll only tell you if you have a leak or not. Their way of fleecing money out of you. If you have a leak, they're going to charge you a diagnostic fee to find it. Best to save money and top it off yourself to see if you got a leak or someone just wasn't paying attention. Probably the same person who left a loose plug in #3.:(:love:

    Hope this helps....

    FYI: spark plugs don't just back themselves out of the head - whomever touched them last - SCREWED UP
     
    #10 BiomedO1, Dec 12, 2024
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2024
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  11. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    ... and use the dipstick to check the oil level. ASAP! I always check the work done by others.
     
    #11 dolj, Dec 12, 2024
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  12. Allyiou

    Allyiou Junior Member

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    Okay update:

    I took the car home after having them tighten the spark plugs back in and it drove perfectly on the way home (the check engine light was still on, figured they didn’t reset the codes). It has been parked in my parents heated garage since. Purchased 4 new spark plugs/boots, one new coil for the 3rd plug/coil that was shown to be loose. Going to replace these this week (baby job).
    I stupidly bought the cover gasket for some other part of the car, when we needed the gasket for the transaxle cover. Having a very hard time finding that specific part anywhere as there’s apparently no real name for it or something? Even the PDF diagrams posted above of the transaxle assemble don’t label this gasket. Very frustrating. Now, the transmission is clearly leaking. After sitting in my parents garage for 10 days there’s about a 1ftx1ft circle of drip under the area the transmission was shown to be leaking. Going to first check the transmission fluid levels and see how low it really is, and go from there before getting too ahead of ourselves in the removal of the entire transmission just for the gasket repair.
    Any advice on how to determine if it’s worth it to actually replace the cover gasket? The job is doable (will need to get a few tools, including a few jack stands) but would love to not do it if I don’t have to. Is there a workaround for this repair, like a way we can seal the gasket leak from the outside of the transmission without removing it? My dad said he would JBweld it if it would work but he’s more of a bandaid repairman so not sure if it’s a long lasting repair doing that. The transmission fluid looks great still, so if it’s not too low do you think I can get away with just topping it off every now and then?
    Also, where can I find the gasket I’m looking for if we decide to do the whole gasket replacement? I’m not even sure what it’s meant to look like.
     
    #12 Allyiou, Dec 25, 2024 at 2:10 PM
  13. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    Check all the bolts on that transmission housing first. It may just be lose bolts, considering someone left #3 spark plug loose. Whomever was servicing the car before, may have been purposefully putting problems in the car to generate extra revenue. Don't break anything. Just find the torque specification for it and re-torque the bolts to OEM specifications - to see if the problem goes away.

    FWIW; JBweld won't fix it, the leak will just move - because you need clean surfaces to make the bond stick. That's kinda tough with transmission fluid constantly dripping out.

    Good Luck.....
     
    #13 BiomedO1, Dec 26, 2024 at 12:55 AM
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