Prius (Gen 2) :: AC Won't Work Due To Coolant Leakage
Jul 23, 2013
I have a 2006 Prius. I must admit that I've never been satisfied with the A/C performance, but now I'm even less impressed.
I had the A/C system serviced at an "after market" place as our dealership calls them (about 2 weeks ago). They added just under a half pound of coolant, oil, and UV dye. The system was much improved after the "after market" shop serviced it and stayed that way right up until it stopped cooling. Two days ago, the A/C stopped cooling and I'm in town so I stop by the dealer. They do the same basic checks I did with the same results - checked the fuses-OK, checked the lines and connections with a UV emitter-OK.
They evacuated the system - removing 0.16 pounds of whatever was left in the system - and recharged the system with 1.06 pounds of 134a, etc.
Neither of us could detect a leak, assuming there was actually dye in the system.
There is no problem with the compressor .
They see no other issues with the A/C system, it was just out of coolant.
Where did the coolant go and why is there no visible evidence of a leak?
Aside from monitoring its effectiveness and checking for dye leaks, is there anything else I should check?
Should the sight glass have enough dye exposed to detect inside the system with the UV emitter?
What should I see (or not see) in the sight glass?
View 6 Replies
Advertisement
A couple years ago noticed the coolant + inverter reservoir was on the low side. Took it to the dealer who pressure tested it and didn't find anything wrong, added a bit, and said good to go. Roughly 55,000 miles.
Today at close to 85,000 miles the coolant in both the radiator tank and the inverter is again touching the "L" mark. They were filled up to the middle/almost topped off after the dealer visit.
Just curious if others have had this issue and/or where to look. I haven't touched the coolant since purchasing at 42,000 miles in 2011.
This is the only issue I've had with this car so far. But it scares me, as coolant loss can be a big deal! Something as small as this isn't as concerning unless it's leaking some place I don't know about, or being consumed in the engine.
View 7 Replies
My prius has a coolant leak, which look like it's coming from the throttle body. The stealership recommends a new throttle body. The mechanic said he has not seen coolant leak from the throttle body before. Is this the only fix to replace the throttle body?
View 8 Replies
I'm sitting at my Toyota dealer where I bought the car 3 weeks ago. My car is in because it needs to have the engine coolant pump replaced due to a leak. Is this a common fix for the gen 2 Prius? Fortunately this is getting covered under warranty.
View 4 Replies
I was changing the engine coolant on my 2005 Prius today. When I went to fill up the tanks, I noticed a small pool of coolant right under the filler pipe. I thought I might have overfilled something, but when I jiggled the filler pipe, I heard an air leak. It looks like there is a bad seal between the filler pipe and the radiator. I also noticed that my coolant recovery tank was empty. I never noticed this before so I don't know if this issue is related.
View 12 Replies
Bought a 1988 Toyota Celica GT Convertible. I am losing coolant. So far I have done the following: used a leak down pressure tester that shows I have a leak; looked under car for leak and didn't find one, put UV test fluid in radiator, doesn't show any external leaks and doesn't detect any coolant in exhaust; there is not coolant dripping from the heater (passenger side floor); the car does not overheat - the temp gauge shows it in the middle; the car runs great; just had emissions tested and passed with flying colors.
View 12 Replies
Just had to replace the steel line that runs from the motor to the firewall with a rubber heater hose due to the steel line rusting through and spraying coolant around. (i left a steel section above the head along the firewall due to heat concerns. I refilled the system through the reservoir but I hear coolant sloshing around in the heater core and the low coolant light is popping up.
The coolant is not low in the reservoir but I really do not feel like the lines were filled when I added coolant to it after the repair.
The temp sensor indicated the car was running normal temp range and the car ran fine when I gave it a 6 mile test drive following the repair. No leaks in the new hoses.
View 4 Replies
So, whenever I park the car after a trip it always leaks fluid when the A/C was on which I know is normal but now it seems to leak a lot more and I'm wondering if that's where all my coolant goes. Where exactly does it drip from from the A/C? Is that somewhere in the cowl?
View 8 Replies
Ave an 02 Camry 4 Cly
Noticed small puddle of coolant under the car - then noticed overflow empty and radiator a little low on fluid. Noted some coolant below the thermostat.
After filling back to proper levels, ran engine for a while with no apparent leaking. Took a couple of short trips and inspected after each trip and no leaking noticed.
Checked several hours later and noted coolant below thermostat housing and on ground. After a couple more trip noted coolant level dropping again.
What would cause fluid to leak after engine shut down? Could be coming from another location, but my attention is on the thermostat at present.
View 6 Replies
A few months ago I purchased a 1990 735il and have had cooling problems with it ever since. It started with intermittent leaking at the seam where the lower radiator hose meets the thermostat housing. Eventually, the lower radiator hose blew out. I replaced it, but as soon as I started the car it immediately overheated. My next step was to change the thermostat. (Note: When I removed the old thermostat it was obvious that the person who had installed it had snipped off the inner portion of the thermostat. I don't know why someone would do this, but I figured it must have some significance). When that was done I thought I had solved the problem. The car drove perfectly on a 50 mile drive after replacing the thermostat. A few days later I was sitting at idle and the car began overheating again. I shut it down, let it cool off and drove home without issue. It now seems to run fine and the temp gauge stays at 12:00 as long as I keep driving, but when at idle it seems to overheat.
It should also be noted that there seems to be some oil getting into the coolant system. I am making plans to replace the head gasket at this point, but only seems to be a one way problem as there is no evidence that coolant is getting into the oil.
View 4 Replies
I got a 99 v6 passat and it looks like I'm leaking coolant from the back of the engine, like under the TB.
View 2 Replies
2003 Pontiac Montana 3.4 L
225000 Kms
Intake Gasket replaced already at 60,000 kms (yes a while ago)
Recently, noticed a major external coolant leak at the front of the motor (passenger side). It only leaks when at operating temperature and under pressure. It does not leak when you first start the engine, it takes a while before it leaks.
I replaced the rad cap, just in case it was faulty. Upon the second test, after getting it running good and hot, it leaked again. But only when at operating temp. It is not overheating.
Problem is, as the coolant is leaking out, the main drive belt is splashing the coolant all over the place and thus I am having a heck of a time pinpointing if it is a head gasket or intake manifold leak or perhaps somewhere else.
I can't take things apart to get a better view, because it needs to be running at operating temp to get the leak. If I pull anything apart for a better view, I won't be able to start the engine to reproduce the leak.
View 4 Replies
My 97 Concorde 3.5 w/ 223k developed a second coolant leak from the front of the engine. Using a pressure tester I found it was leaking from the water pump housing o-ring (pass side) and also the o-ring behind the water pump itself. I did this exact repair 3 years ago including new pump! I do everything meticulously so this has me a bit frustrated. I've got it all torn down and cleaned up real nice, except there seems to be a lot of pitting in the o-ring grooves on the back of the water pump housing, mainly the large one.Can I use high temp RTV oil-resistant sealant in the grooves and then put the new O-rings in to make sure they don't leak from the pitting?
Also, I found the cam thrust plates to have hard, cracked seals.
View 1 Replies
I have a 02 cavalier 2.2 it just started leAking coolant when in a drive thru. Steam started coming up from hood. When I looked under the hood the expansion tank was hissing and it looked like the antifreeze was coming out of the overflow tube at the top of the tank. What should I do? It is sitting still at the parking lot
View 3 Replies
I've had to replace my radiator twice due to it overheating. I am noticing coolant level going down but I'm not seeing any signs of an external leak. My garage is saying it is probably internal and going into the engine. Says I probably have to replace the head gasket but that will be very expensive.
Could I get some further feedback on what it could be and what else I could do? I am also getting a check engine light on a "lean mixture" issue. Not sure if they are related.
View 6 Replies
I have an 03 Explorer with the 4.0 engine. There is a strong smell of coolant and the reservoir does go down slightly once a week or so. There is No Leak whatsoever that I see, I have checked under the hood, under the vehicle, under the dash, everywhere...nothing. Where is the coolant going? This seems to be a common problem, I work at a quick lube and almost all of these explorers are low on coolant when they come in.
View 2 Replies
I have a loss of coolant, and I can smell it as I drive. I looked under the car today every hose is dry to the cooling system, so I thought look where the heater core is, everything is dry there too. No sign of Head gasket leak either. I just can still smell it, and still losing some but it is very little. What should I look for next?
View 2 Replies
I was driving my 2007 Prius on the freeway this morning after picking it up from my mechanic and the high coolant temperature warning light came on for ~4-5 seconds but then disappeared. I was able to safely drive it another 5 miles to work and park. My mechanic changed the engine and transaxle fluids in my car (along with pcv valve and serpentine belt replacement, engine oil and filter change) just before, so we think this could have been due to an air pocket in the coolant system. I will need to check the coolant level once the engine has cooled down and refill if necessary. I plan on driving it around locally before going on the freeway in case the warning comes on again.
View 11 Replies
I have a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am SE sedan (base model) with a 3.4L engine at 142Kmi that was just diagnosed with an intake manifold coolant leak by an independent shop.
I've done some googling and found that this is a known problem with this engine (including a class action suit). So far the leak is just external; no coolant in the oil and no oil in the coolant.
View 4 Replies
Well, I decided to take on the dreaded task of replacing the lower manifold intake gaskets and put in new isolator bolts. It was a major undertaking, and when I finally finished the oil change and fired up the car, it sounded fine. Then I checked under the hood.
I saw coolant spurting out the side of one of the hose connections that I had to take off and put back on. I thought the gasket on it looked pretty worn, but wasn't expecting this!
Unfortunately I don't know the name of the hose connection to pick up a gasket at the store ... it's the larger lower hose that is bolted on to the lower intake, not the hose slightly above it that has the plastic clips.
What is the name of this hose connection so I can try and find one at the store? It's a 2003 Windstar model.
View 3 Replies
1995 Ford Van E150. So I've been trying to solve my overheating problem for months now. One morning I walked out of my house and all of my coolants was on the street. I could not completely detect the source of the leak after running more coolant through it. I also checked the dip stick and coolant on the ground for any sign of oil/coolant mixing. I started by replacing the thermostat.
I did a more thorough inspection and found a crack at the bottom of the radiator that I replaced less than two years ago. I replaced the radiator again and while I had the belt, intake and fan disassembled I switched out the water pump as well. The old water pump was gunked and the gasket was almost completely worn off. The van is still overheating and spitting out coolant at a much higher rate. I'm guessing because of the new water pump. A friend said it could be the intake manifold because of where the steam was coming from the motor.
View 5 Replies
