water pump leak (not the recalled one, but the engine one)

The ICE waterpump on my '04 Prius started making a grinding sound, and was noisy whenever ICE kicked in. Dealer replaced it, cost was $370 parts and labor, included new water pump, belt and coolant. My Prius is almost 10 years old, I don't know what the average life of the water pump is on the prius. It only has 79000 miles....

 

My dealer did the EXACT same thing to me. Sketchy.

 

Sounds like everyone should look for a honest independent repair shop that works on Prius's in their area. Changing the ICE water pump is pretty simple ( harder on my old 86 GMC pickup) My genII had red crusty buildup for quite awhile before I decided to change it.

 

Similar situation with me. Have an 08 Prius with 121k. Went for and oil change at the dealer and they said the pump was leaking "pink stuff" and could fix it for $300. So I called the other Toyota dealer in town and they told me $600 ! What a scam.

 

According to both my Toyota dealer and an independent garage, the Toyota service manual says that a little leakage is acceptable. Neither one gave me a good definition of "a little leakage." My dealer topped off the level at my last service, and I'm keeping an eye on it.

 

Here is an excerpt from the Prius factory repair manual. Note the language, "If there are any leaks..."

1. INSPECT WATER PUMP ASSY



(a) Visually check the drain hole for coolant leaks.

If there are any leaks, replace the water pump assembly.

(b) Turn the pulley, then check that the water pump bearing

moves smoothly without making a noise.

If not, replace the water pump assembly

 

We know that engineers wrote those steps, but technicians and service writers actually perform the work based on their own criteria, right or wrong. The latter point is where the trouble often arises, although inevitably there is likely an imperceptible amount of coolant leaking around the seal over time. Perhaps that built up to the small pink bubble after 72K miles; I don't know what is normal, only Toyota and reputable repair shops would see enough to know.

 

When I had my last oil change, the service adviser called and notified me the water pump was leaking, but since I have the extended warranty, we have already started repairs, and since your serpentine belt is cracked, we will throw a new one in for parts cost only, OK???
Thank You I said, glad I bought the warranty.
All is good!

 

It doesn't take an engineering degree to understand when a seal is failing. As I posted earlier, think of this as the warning signal before the pump's failure. Feel free to ignore the warning, just don't be surprised when you're stranded on the side of the highway.

 

Like a blinking MAINT REQD light?

 

You mean that bulb I pulled out of my dash 'cause it was being annoying?

 

Way too much work.....use black tape over light

 

I see pictures of the kids covering lights more often than black tape.

 

OK since we are beating this water pump weep hole leak thing to death I have a good weep hole story.

A mechanic on my crew (from my previous life) in a surface mine I was working at as a foreman discovered a coolant leak on the right side of a mining truck engine(KT38 Cummins it my memory serves me correctly). A few minutes later he calls me on the radio saying the truck is back in service. Great I figured he found a loose hose clamp or something.

Next day a service oiler checking levels noticed that the engine oil looked funny (plus over filled)and the engine coolant was low. A different mechanic goes to look at the truck and he discovered the first mechanic had plugged the water pump weep hole had was leaking coolant with a Bic pen cap. Now this water pump was gear driven not belt driven like the Prius and by plugging the weep hole the leaking coolant was forced into the gear side which is lubricated with engine oil and flooded the engine crankcase with coolant. No wonder what little hair I have is now gray.

Anyway yes if your water pump on your Prius is showing some red crusty build up you should plan to have it changed, but I would not just fork over $600.00 to have it changed right then and there. Hopefully you have a independent shop that has competent techs that can do the job for a bit less. If you are planning a long distance trip I would most definitely get it changed before going.