I just took my 2013 Prius in for a AC compressor replacement covered under warranty. I only have 40k miles on my car. I ended up being told I needed throttle body cleaning and cleaning of my hv battery cooling fan. The dealership charge was $900 for this. I was told I have a timing cover leak. It's not covered under warranty. I was told I might have one year til it needs to be repaired. The estimated cost is $2800. I barely drive my car anymore; it is just to run errands now. I consider I don't want to throw money into a car with problems and the local dealer service departments don't seem honest. I had to wait 3 hours just to get a inspection of the problem even though I had an appointment and it was a 'slow day'. (Orange Toyota Dealership) Do you have any knowledge about whether timing cover leaks are a common defect of the Prius? I don't want to have to invest thousands of dollars each year in repairs to a car that isn't used for commuting. I've had better luck with other car brands. Thanks.
It might be helpful to review this thread by another poster with the same issue: Timing cover leak | PriusChat
Welcome to Prius Chat . Since you are in so cal, I’d find another dealer. It sounds like someone at Orange Toyota has a payment due in an expensive toy they recently purchased . I had a timing cover leak and it would have cost $1700 for the repair. It was a small weapage type and one that was not causing loss of oil. $2800 is very high and I would get a second or third opinion. If there is no oil puddle, there is no eminent concern. But find another dealership or shop for your maintenance needs.
You could check to see if any of the bolts are loose. Snug them up. "IF" you are really "cheap" you could run a bead of silicon around housing, since it's not really under pressure. It's a temporary fix, but it's worked for me.
The problem isn't your car, the problem is the car stealership you went to. These cars are as close to maintenance free as you can get in a high mpg car. Both throttle body cleaning and hybrid fan cleaning were unnecessary, and even if they were needed the crooks doubled the charge on you... The solution to this problem is to find a friend, or a friend of a friend that works on Toyota's and is interested in doing basic maintenance at an honest cost. There are respectable hard working mechanics out there who work independently specifically because they can't stand seeing people ripped off in the way they ripped you off. You need to find one of those people. The hybrid cooling fan would only need to be cleaned that soon if you had a really dirty car that you hauled loads of shedding dogs in... As for the oil leak, I've never heard it mentioned leaking from that spot before... Dealership could be exaggerating the problem. Maybe oil was just spilled during an oil change and the crooks you trusted your car with saw it and decided rob you again. Instead, pay someone $150 for a full detailing of whole car, including the engine to make sure that all signs of the oil leak are cleaned up up. Then simply monitor the engine to make sure there's no oil building up on the outside of it, keep an eye out for drips, make sure engine oil level doesn't ever change much and... If you miles per year doesn't change much you'll likely be able to go another 5 years before it gets bad enough to fix, if it actually ever was bad in the first place. Point is, it's time to warn everyone you know away from the car Stealership you went to and get back to enjoying your near no maintenance vehicle.
How quickly it’s losing oil determines what’s next. If you aren’t seeing a measurable amount of oil loss between changes, let it go until you are no longer comfortable with how much oil it’s losing. Chances are it could be years before it gets bad enough you actually need to do something. Or you could look into an independent shop to see if they can do it and at what cost.
The timing cover's on the passenger side end of the engine, and is a bear to remove and reseal. They may even pull the engine to do it, not sure. To do it in place is very awkward. There's been a few owners here that have had it resealed, and it came in around $1700. I would suggest to do nothing for a while. I you remove the front passenger side wheel, and some plastic panelling at the inside of the wheel well, you should be able to see the extent of the leak. Alternately raise the front of the car and the engine underpanel, look from below. It may well be VERY minor, something you can just live with. Have a look at the attachment, for an idea of the absurd complexity of this cover. Really a poor, problematic design.
KMIT9, I agree with the other posts. The throttle body cleaning and HV battery fan cleaning were most likely not needed at your age/mileage. The HV battery fan cleaning may have been needed, if you have pets in your car often. I too have a very small amount of oil seeping from my timing cover. In my case it is most likely due to a small void in the sealer used when the engine was assembled. This seep of oil never hits the ground, but can be seen when viewed from the passenger side of the vehicle with a bright light looking in the area where the crankshaft pulley is. I usually wash the engine in that area every few months with simple green and a garden hose. I am over 250K miles now with no change in the rate of seepage. If this is like your situation I would not be concerned.
Avoid spraying water near the AC compressor 12 volt connector: it's prone to collecting water, corroding out. Very expensive: it's pretty much impossible to repair, replacement is the only option. Myself, I'd either do nothing, or just wipe it with a rag.
