Prius (Gen 1) :: 2001 - Inverter Coolant Leak?
Nov 21, 2012
My 2001 Prius with 134k miles has been running great but leaves a small amount of coolant on the ground after parking. I've had to add approximately 8 ounces per 100 miles.
View 13 RepliesMy 2001 Prius with 134k miles has been running great but leaves a small amount of coolant on the ground after parking. I've had to add approximately 8 ounces per 100 miles.
View 13 RepliesI'm a new owner of a used 2008 Prius. Car only has 67K miles and other than the leak, appears to be in good shape.
I noticed the coolant was low in both reservoirs, filled it up (with the proper SLLC), but a day or so later the check engine light came on. Took it to mechanic (dealer is 2 hours away), he read and cleared the codes, then found the leak. Appears to be leaking where the lower hose attaches to the pump, so not sure if it's the pump or the hose that's the problem. I've also noticed that the pump seems a bit noisy for a few minutes after shutting off the car (of course, I'm new to the Prius so not totally sure what "normal" sounds like).
Changing my oil today, been awhile since I had the hood open for an inspection a year maybe about 5 - 6K miles
It's been about 2 years since the prior owner had it in for a service, I recall they had it in right before we purchased it in August 2008
I live in Miami Beach where it's HOT
I noticed the inverter coolant level is no longer at full It's hard to see where it's at, actually
It's not below low, and it seems to be at least up to the bottom of the double seam that wraps around the tank, but I can't see where it levels off behind the seam
Should I be concerned enough to take it in to the dealer and pay them to hunt around until they find a small leak, or is it normal to lose a small amount of coolant over the course of a couple years
Should I just buy their high priced Toyota Super Long Life Coolant and top off the extra 1/8-1/4" or so until it's at FULL?
Just noticed my level is about an inch below the full mark, it was fine at the last oil change, no leaks that I can see....nothing on the ground.
View 8 RepliesI read in the owners manual that the engine antifreeze should be an ethylene glycol type. I believe that Prestone makes this type of coolant in a 50/50 mix. Is that correct? Also, what type of coolant does the inverter use? I want to try and stay away from buying it at a dealer. Also, my gen 1 has 117,000 miles and I must admit that I have been slacking with the maintenance. My gas mileage is down to 40/mpg compared to 48-49mpg when I got the car two years back with 40k. I am pretty sure the original auxillary batter is still in it, so I order a new one today. I also plan an changing the transaxle fluid, PCV valve, air filter, and cabin filter. The plugs where changed at 80,000 miles. Where can I order a gasket for the transaxle pan? I intend on dropping it and cleaning it out. Do you think this will get the gas milage back up?
View 3 RepliesInverter coolant runs low and also regular coolant blows up. Do they use one line together? Everyday I have to fill the inverter.
View 4 RepliesI have had my certified 2010 Prius since June 2015. Last Saturday I noticed my inverter coolant reservoir was on the low mark. I went to the closest dealer and they topped it off up almost to the full mark for free. I thought it had probably went down from evaporation and I just hadn't noticed it before. Yesterday I went back to the dealer where I purchased it which is about 90 miles away to have the CVT fluid changed. This morning the coolant was back down to almost the low mark. I looked on the ground and can't see any evidence of a leak. Tomorrow I have a appointment to have them check it. Since it is still in the one year certified warranty I don't know how motivated they will be to find the problem when they can't charge me for it. I don't think the level would have went back down right away if there wasn't a leak somewhere. I checked and there have been no recalls done or called for on it.
View 12 RepliesHaving seen the rather catastrophic outcomes that are possible with inverter coolant pump failure, I've thought a bit about adding a flow sensor in the coolant path. I even went so far as to buy a flow sensor, which would probably do the job. However, it's somewhat heavy, and then there's the plumbing job to take care of. Seemed somewhat challenging to pull off.
Since this aborted endeavor, I began thinking about ways to detect surface turbulence at the top of the coolant tank, and am now thinking that might be easier to pull off, even if it requires programming a PIC to do the monitoring. My current thought is to install an LED and optical sensor in the cap, and measure light intensity received.
So, the sideways coolant tank in the engine compartment, not the one next to the grill, but the one that is sort of between the air filter box and that shiny metal square
I have always thought that tank was slightly low, but it has a seam just about where the full line is, so I was never sure....finally about three weeks ago, I worked up my courage and put a few ounces of coolant in that tank. THEN it was up to the full line.
So, a few weeks after adding the coolant, I had the water pump recall done. Now the coolant level is back down to where it was before I added....so I am assuming that the correct level is just below that seam that seals the top of the plastic tank to the bottom part of the tank.
I am getting a slow coolant drip from my inverter . The very slow leak appears on the left side of inverter when facing the front of car with hood open . The connection point alum tube to coolant resevoir black rubber tube. The inverter coolant connection reservoir tube side is damp to the touch and has visible red goop buildup.......
View 7 RepliesI just got a 2006 Prius and I brought to Toyota dealer to do a regular oil change. After that, been told that I'll need a Inverter Coolant and Transaxle fluid change in next maintenance point.
This prius already has 111,000 mile now.
Prius 2009 inverter coolant pump failure 51,300 miles....
View 8 RepliesBack in February, received a light and discovered that the inverter coolant reservoir was empty. I refilled the reservoir and cleared the code. Today, only 3 months later, the same thing happened. I don't see any wet hoses, puddles, or obvious signs of leakage. Where all my coolant is going? What steps should I use to properly troubleshoot...
View 8 Replies2001 Prius with 190K Km (119K mi) on it.
Some background on the car: An inverter replacement when it was less than one year old, the Big-Hand issue, the engine ECU (I think) replaced just after warranty expired, resealing of traction battery terminals... And last month the front brake pads (original) had to be replaced because the driver side inner pad fell off while braking on the highway. lol. The problem was probably due to the inner pads being jammed and received excessive wears. Also, on at least two occasions, the engine ran with extremely low level of oil, or none at all (to the point where the engine sounded different and occasionally shuddered). I don't know what caused the oil level to drop, but ever since then, the engine seems to be going through the entire reservoir of synthetic oil advertised to last 25000 Km in just 5000 Km (~3200 mi). Not sure if the engine is eating up the oil or the car is leaking oil (there is no oil stain where the car is normally parked).
Problem: When the car was brought in for tire replacements last week, the tech noted that "Head gasket leak. Also leaking from tranny cover. Could be crack seal" with an estimate cost to fix the issue at several thousand dollars, which has been vetted by a family member who is a heavy mechanic. I have attached the report for reference.
My original intention was to replace the engine oil in the car. I was in a hurry(yes....I know) I could not find the oil drain plug. I did find a large bolt which turned out to be a drain plug for the inverter coolant instead. The instant the fluid drained from the car, I knew it was not engine oil. I did not know the drained fluid was inverter coolant. It had the color of a transmission fluid but significantly less viscous.
View 17 RepliesMy 07 Prius is leaking transaxel fluid into the inverter cooling system. Transaxel fluid is sweating through the inverter coolant hoses. Before my taking ownership of this vehicle, it had previously been in a front end collision (that’s a whole other story). Anyhow – if I replace the radiator, should that take care of this problem? Are there any other ways these two cooling fluids could become cross contaminated?
View 16 RepliesRecently we have had heat wave conditions with the equivalent of plus 110 degree F weather. I noticed that for the first time my inverter coolant temperature reached 140 degrees F. I have had some weird messages and the yellow triangle pop up when the physical brakes cut in. The message comes and goes so quickly all we could read was something about "ID Block". No codes were thrown up. I believe this is due to heat "stress".
I am considering obtaining a small radiator/heat exchanger, installing it in the space before the radiator and diverting the inverter coolant to it for extra cooling. Is there any impediment or down side to this?
1,500 miles ago my car had it's 30k service. Today, i got "CHECK...". At home this evening i checked the inverter coolant reservoir, it was empty. I've added 1L of de-ionised water (which got it to full, and i see turbulence in the fluid) until i can get the correct fluid.
View 13 RepliesMy check engine light is on and I think the inverter pump is shot. I have a some questions about how and when the pump is on. I have a mini vic on order and as soon as I get it hooked up I'll run for some codes. That is if I get it installed????
1- With the car in "ready mode" and at start up (car cold) should the inverter coolant pump be running.
2- With the car in "ready mode" Should I always see a water moving in the water reservoir.
We seem to be getting reports of failed inverter coolant pumps here on just about a daily basis. I'm wondering if they're all just failing now or if this is something of a "backlog" of failures that started in Winter but are only really being detected now.
View 14 RepliesMy 2007 Prius with 162k miles had an Inverter Coolant Pump Failure Monday 6.5 hours from home when my wife was driving it home from a trip. Red Triangle, (!), vsc, and check engine light. She was able to make it about 20 minutes to a dealer where it was diagnosed. Luckily no further damage was done to vehicle. Yes, she should have stopped but continued on since car was driving OK.
View 7 Replies