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P1121 Goose Chase

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Ednajeb, Nov 16, 2024 at 11:09 AM.

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  1. Ednajeb

    Ednajeb New Member

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    Hello, new Prius (and car) owner here. My 2008 threw a P1121 code (coolant control valve), but my mechanic could not get the valve to fail and determined by process of elimination that the problem must be the water pump. Following their advice, we replaced it ($280 part, $350 labor).

    Fast forward two weeks/300 miles, the CEL is back on with the same code. This time, they got the valve to fail once. They replaced the valve to see if it would fix the issue. I’ve driven it for ~300 miles with no return of the code, so they are calling it diagnosed and sent me the invoice. They want $800 (part + 3 hours of labor).

    I have two questions. First, would it be reasonable to ask for a discount here, given that there clearly was never anything wrong with my water pump, or does the responsibility always fall on the car owner in these situations?

    Second, does $800 sound right in California? They kept the old coolant in (since it was replaced last time around).

    Thanks, I appreciate any help getting some perspective on this!
     
    #1 Ednajeb, Nov 16, 2024 at 11:09 AM
  2. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    I would request that the mechanic refund the $350 labor that was charged for the replacement of the pump since the pump was not needed to fix the problem with the car.
     
    #2 Brian1954, Nov 16, 2024 at 3:25 PM
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Yeah but you agreed to that water pump which was faulty mistake on both of y'all's part It doesn't even make any sense That's a mechanical water pump on the generation too like been in corolla's for 50 years they rarely go bad and when they do they're dripping out of a weep hole or the bearing is making noise that doesn't make it stop pumping water what is problematic on this vehicle as people will run the car till the belt breaks then get told they need a water pump that's a $40 like water pump 20 minutes to slap it on the car I can't imagine getting $400 for that but in this day and age I can believe anything You're coolant control valve is a 40 minute job on a bad day an hour and 20 minutes if you're really slow so whatever they're charging for that I'm sure is outrageous and the coolant control valve you can buy from other manufacturers without too much worry It's not like the inverter pump to make changes of these pumps and things like that the main thing you're going to need is an angled long set of needle-nose pliers they're $9 at Walmart that will save your butt doing any of these water pumps control valves inverter pumps etc these are the things that slide the clamps back on the hoses so you can twist the hose and take it off and if you're really miserly you can have you some assortment of wine bottle corks to stick in hoses as fast as you pull the hose off the barb sticker cork in it pull the other one off stick a cork in it pull the other one off same thing and so forth keeps the coolant where it needs to stay You lose a few drops but with the cost of living in California yeah this is what mechanics have to charge You should try and find a mobile guy from East LA or something something where there's a will there's a way My wheel will be to get the $9 pliers out in a couple of sockets and pull the thing in my cooled garage or in the shade this stuff is quick
     
    #3 Tombukt2, Nov 16, 2024 at 4:21 PM
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