Check Engine Light & Recurring Sound

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Kevin1234, Dec 10, 2024.

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  1. Kevin1234

    Kevin1234 New Member

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    I have a 2008 Prius that is making the sound it normally makes when you start and stop the car, but now it's making the sound every 15 seconds or so while driving and for a while after, as well. This started happening after the dealer changed the water pump trying to fix a check engine light. I want to make sure they actually fixed the problem (and/or didn't create another one). Any help would be greatly appreciated!



    More history:

    The car had popped a check engine light, and my normal mechanic told me to bring it to the dealer. They said it was out of engine coolant (leak) and said it needed a new water pump, and they replaced it, flushed/replaced the coolant, etc. They then said it could also be a head gasket issue, as they found a tiny amount of coolant on one of the four spark plugs. But they said they couldn't be sure without doing work that would cost as much as replacing the engine (~5k). The engine ran and still runs like butter. No jolting, other lights, rough startup, etc, which I would expect with a head gasket issue.

    30 miles later, the check engine light popped on again. I sought a second opinion at another Toyota dealership, they said it was the O2 sensor, which they changed, which didn't fix the problem. Then they found that changing a leaking hose (wouldn't tell me which, bc the rep didn't know ) got rid of the light.

    Do we have any ideas of what this sound is and why it would be going off constantly after they did the first service (water pump)? Is it indicative of a bigger problem w/ the coolant system, head gasket, ect or a whole other issue?.

    Thank you!
     
    #1 Kevin1234, Dec 10, 2024
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Yeah I believe that's your ABS actuator running and it's going to keep running as it tries to pump up the accumulator which is probably leaking down slowly and the pump has to run to keep said pressure and some range in the accumulator so your brakes feel like you expect them to when that fails you'll get to a point where you have a constant beep and your brakes will be like a four-wheel drum brake without a brake booster on the firewall from about 1967 You may or may not remember those days You're stopping distance will greatly increase greatly but the car will stop. When you're getting all these things done you need to get the codes that everybody's coming up with the solutions for they're scanning your car and giving you no information That's no good or you should get a capable scanner and keep it in your glove box like a elm 327 and car something another and/or the doctor Prius app so you can check your battery and that sort of thing makes no sense not to have these codes narrows things down very quickly
     
    #2 Tombukt2, Dec 10, 2024
  3. Kevin1234

    Kevin1234 New Member

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    Touring
    After searching for extra YT videos of the sound, you're rec seems totally spot on. The on/off again nature and sound of this guy's video is exactly it. Thank you! It just seems odd that the brake actuator would go bad the moment I got it back from having the water pump/spark plugs replaced, as they're separate systems. Any possible connection, you think? Appreciate the feedback

     
    #3 Kevin1234, Dec 10, 2024
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Yes, that rattlesnakey sound is the pump that builds up the brake fluid pressure so that the actuator has pressurized brake fluid to work with. In a gen 2 car the pump sticks right out of the actuator and isn't a separate part. (In most Prius generations the pump is separate from the actuator.)
     
    #4 ChapmanF, Dec 10, 2024
  5. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    To speak to your other 'wondering', you are correct, there is no connection or correlation between the two faults. Coincidents do happen.
     
    #5 dolj, Dec 10, 2024
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