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Check engine light

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Charmaine, Oct 9, 2024.

  1. Charmaine

    Charmaine Junior Member

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    So a little background on my 2011 Prius. Last week I replaced the hybrid and the 12 volt battery. Everything seemed to be working good and then the check engine light came on. I took it to O'Reilly Auto parts and according to their scanner it said a possible failure with the water pump. I took it to a shop and they do not see anything wrong. They also did a diagnosis and no water pump codes came up. Can anyone assist in this? I know the check engine light can mean a number of things. Thanks so much. To say that I put a lot of money in this is an understatement.
     
    #1 Charmaine, Oct 9, 2024
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    It would be much better to include the actual trouble code that O'Reilly's scanner read, not just somebody's opinion of what the code might mean. If they didn't give you the actual code, you might ask them if they still have a record of it. If they don't, you might ask them to scan it again and not forget to tell you this time.

    Your 2011 has an electrically powered and controlled water pump, and there are some trouble codes that pertain to it, so it is quite possible there was a code about it. I'm not sure what to make of a shop saying they "do not see anything wrong" ... it's not like you learn anything about a Prius electric water pump by looking at the outside of it.
     
    #2 ChapmanF, Oct 9, 2024
    Bill Norton and Brian1954 like this.
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    What’s the miles?

    What hybrid battery did you put in; new from dealership, or?
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Oct 9, 2024
  4. Charmaine

    Charmaine Junior Member

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    Thank you very much for your reply. As it turns out it is the electric water pump. Apparently Toyota sent out a service bulletin a while back recommending the new pump to be put in. I took it to it an actual shop today and he said that with this old pop it will cause the check hybrid system message to come up and also the yellow triangle will come on. It is driving fine but I will need to do this if I want the lights to go out. This is like a $900 job. I don't recall what the codes were but as you said it is an electric water pump and it needs to be changed. I'm struggling with the thought of doing this because I've already put in a refurbished battery pack and a new 12 volt. To get into a different vehicle is a minimum of 12,000 roughly. Thank you again.
     
    #4 Charmaine, Oct 10, 2024
  5. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    There are two different electric water pumps in your 2011 Prius. One is used to cool the engine. The other is used to cool the inverter. Which pump is the mechanic saying that needs to be replaced?

    $900 to replace either of those pumps is very expensive. I assume you are using an independent mechanic that is close to you. Did you get a cost estimate from any other shops to do the work?

    You need to get the trouble codes that were detected and post them for additional help about the problem with the car.
     
    #5 Brian1954, Oct 10, 2024
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  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    What’s the Toyota engine pump, for example, about $300 USD? And the Aisin equivalent, around $150. And then just the impeller, $20~30? It’ll be one of the above options, plus an engine coolant drain and fill, about $200? And $100 additional labour to swap the pump.
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Oct 11, 2024
  7. Charmaine

    Charmaine Junior Member

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    Thank you everyone for the replies.
    I talked with Toyota after checking out the recalls and service bulletins for my 2011 .
    Turns out mine isn't affected by the water pump but the inverter which communicates with the hybrid battery.. I spoke with a technician explaining what was going on ( losing throttle, all lights on.) This happened on my way home from work and luckily some folks helped me. I'd heard disconnecting 12v can be a temporary fix, so the gentleman did that and I made it home. .
    I plan on having codes read at my local shop again to see if Inverter codes come up.If they do, then to Toyota.
    Any idea how long this takes?
     
    #7 Charmaine, Oct 12, 2024
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Not sure what that means. The Gen 3 water pump is the same for all years as far as I know, and it’s prone to fail somewhere around 150k. Stay pragmatic.
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Oct 12, 2024
  9. Charmaine

    Charmaine Junior Member

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    Just an update.
    I'm taking it for a diagnosis on 10-29 at the dealer. When I talked to a tech with Toyota he said it definitely sounds like an IPM problem
    Toyota will repair if the codes are correct.
    I didn't realize Toyota codes are different than my mechanics codes.
    I dont have check hybrid system now as I've disconnected the 12 volt as of last Friday. I'm. hopeful it can get repaired in a timely manner.
     
    #9 Charmaine, Oct 21, 2024
  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The codes aren't different, but sometimes an indy mechanic might be using a scan tool that can't show them all, and even if the scan tool shows them all, sometimes the mechanic won't look in a Toyota repair manual to find out what they mean, but go on some half-baked information from somewhere else.
     
    #10 ChapmanF, Oct 21, 2024
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