2006 Prius. New to me low miles engine replaced this month. Had to replace hose (engine coolant pipe) due to a leak in the hose. Mechanic could not find the gasket anywhere locally and used a thin coating of RTV when reattaching. That later failed, but I had been able to source the gasket from out of state and it was placed this past week. My daughter drove the car on a 4 hour trip. At one point she pulled over suddenly due to the smell of burning wiring and exhaust. It was actually from a car in front of her, I was behind her in a different vehicle. She jumped out and first thing she thought was that they were still problems with the coolant and proceeded to open the radiator cap. Apparently she missed that instruction that was given to her that you never ever ever do this when the car is hot. That said, the coolant was actually cold. The engine bay did not feel especially warm. And the engine was not so hot that I couldn’t touch it. However, this is perplexing since I expected warm to hot coolant after a long drive. The heater works fine and blows hot air very quickly once the car is warmed up. I don’t hear any air movement along the firewall. We’ve been checking all week to ensure there are no residual bubbles in the system that haven’t worked their way out, topping off as appropriate. So far it’s been very small amounts and held the first leg of the trip. thoughts?
Outdoor temp high 40’s, coolant temp lukewarm, heater =blow dryer on high. Sorry was on the side of the highway. No thermometers available.
I it sounds like a circulation problem, where heated water is going through the hvac radiator, but not the cooling radiator. Maybe a plumbing issue when the engine was replaced? Or a blockage. An IR gun might help find the culprit
Yes. Heat was hot blowing from the vents. Coolant in radiator was lukewarm. This was good only because she popped the cap off after an 4 hour drive otherwise she would have had severe burns. Engine was warm, but not hot hot to the touch. After a long drive like that I would expect that engine to be radiating heat.
OK just checked again. The upper heater hose is warm. The lower one not so much. There is pressure at the cap after running the car for about 15 minutes. I don’t know if last night was just a weird one off but it’s concerning since she’s leaving to go back to school tomorrow and it’s a 4 1/2 hour drive.
