Squealing Sound--Heat Pump???

[Hamilton Keogan]

2005 Prius with about 29,000 miles. Car makes a "squealing/rubbing/cooing" sort of a sound. This started six weeks ago. It occurs when you press the start button, before the engine kicks in. It also happens after you stop the car and press the button to turn it off. Sound is sometimes very loud and lasts several seconds, sometimes soft and hardly there at all. Sometimes not there at all.

Car is still under warranty, but not for long. We have taken it to the dealer three times. First time they couldn't do anything because the car was "too warmed up" to make the sound. Next time I brought in a videotape of the car making the sound, but they said they needed to actually hear the car make the sound, and that I needed to leave it over night. Third time I left it over night. Next day the car was definitely making the sound--but they didn't do anything to it. They said the noise came from the heat pump, and that they had filed "a case" with Toyota to alert them to the situation, and that we should expect to hear from Toyota about it. Until then, Toyota did not consider it a "problem" and they could not fix it.

What do you think? Are we being shined on or does this sound legit? What, if anything, should we do to protect ourselves (warranty will run out in a few months).

Complicating this, we just noticed the dealer put another customer's name and address on our ticket--so I don't know how we can expect to be notified by Toyota. The dealer is Leesburg Toyota in VA. I've always been happy with them until now, don't want to burn bridges if this is really not considered a problem. I just don't know what to think.

[ny biker]

I've never been in this situation personally, but it seems to me that since you reported the problem before the warranty expired and they filed a case with Toyota, then any repairs should be covered by the warranty even if it has technically expired when the repair is made. I would talk to the dealer about this now. Also, definitely talk to them about getting your name and address on the case, and call Toyota if necessary, to make sure the records are correct.

I would also consider getting a second opinion - I don't think you'd be burning bridges with Leesburg Toyota as long as you're civil with them, which appears to be the case. I'm not familiar with dealers closer to Leesburg. I have been happy with Jack Taylor Alexandria Toyota. They sell lots of hybrids and all of their service teams has a hybrid-certified mechanic. I usually work with Drew Paster who is the service advisor for the green team there.

Good luck.

[FishHawk]

I have the same noise and it comes and goes depending on the weather. I don't think that it's a problem unless it unusally loud. Just my .02 FishHawk

[JayGoldstein]

Your symptoms seem to be consistent with a defective heat transfer pump. I'd get to your dealer before your warranty expires.

Take a look at this thread (which includes a .wav file of a defective pump):
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=38716&hl=pump

[priusincc]

Yours sounds more like the coolant transfer pump. Check out the thread mentioned above. Earlier, I had some confusion with the noises, and mine seems to be the braking control valve. It make a "barking" sound, especially when cold. (I thought it was the cooloant pump at first.) Good luck with the dealer!

[hobbit]

It's definitely the transfer pump that stores hot coolant in
the thermos, and many of them start making a horrendous noise
in the winter. Mine does. That *doesn't* mean it's defective,
since I think many people who reported the noise never replaced
the pumps and are still rollin' along. It only operates briefly
at startup and shutdown, so it's not like it wears out quickly.
.
_H*

[JayGoldstein]

It's obvious that some dealers are more willing to resolve problems than others. In my case, when the Prius tech and the service manager heard the noise, a new pump was ordered immediately.