2007 Prius P1116 code and coolant control valve issues

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by mpbrisson

4:45pm: Picked up my prius. They replaced 3 parts. 87200-47030 Accessory Assembly, 16660-21011 Tank Assembly, 89422-33030 Sensor Water Temp. Total cost under warranty for parts and labor $2340.08

5:00pm: Leave Toyota Dealership.

5:15pm: 30 degrees outside, and I notice the car is not heating up. Heat is not working at 72 degrees, so I crank it to 76...still not warming up. Next thing I know the Red Exclamation Point lights up the dash. I pull over, call the dealership, and decide to bring it back. On the way back I get the Red Exclamation Point, then the Navigation screen says "Problem", and flashes a small red thermostat. ...

This is very strange. You noted that the cabin heater is not providing heat, but the car overheats. From this I conclude that the engine coolant is not circulating. This may happen if the tech did not properly purge air out of the engine coolant loop.

Note that 87200-47030 is the electric pump used for the cabin heater system. I am wondering whether it is possible that the electrical connection to the pump might be loose. If so, that would be another explanation for why the cabin heater is not working, but this would not explain why the engine is overheating.

If you can still stand to deal with this dealer's service dept, you may want to inquire whether the engine coolant loop was purged of air, and if so how long did the tech run the engine before releasing the car to you. If after 15 minutes of driving the car in freezing weather the warning lights appeared, it doesn't seem likely that the tech ran the engine very long when purging air out of the system. Perhaps you might ask the service manager to have the Toyota regional rep come out and teach the dealer's tech how to purge air out of the engine coolant loop.

Good luck dealing with this very irritating problem.

[mpbrisson]

It’s been a solid week since my last post. My last post described my Thursday evening (2/5/09) dealership service debacle. On Friday afternoon (2/6/09) at approximately 2pm I received a call from my Toyota Corp case manager. She was returning the phone call that I placed to her Thursday night after leaving the dealership. I had not spoken with the dealership yet on Friday, but she had just gotten off the phone with them.

The case manager claimed that the service manager at the dealership told her that when they (she and 4 techs) checked the vehicle Friday morning, I had been running the AC…that’s why the vehicle would not warm up. Well, I hit the roof…I asked her if she, the case manager, knew anything about how the climate control worked in the prius. She said no. I told her that the AC has nothing to do with the temperature of the air coming out of the vents. That is controlled by the temperature gauge. In fact when ‘Auto is chosen to regulate cabin temperature, the default setting is ‘AC’. I then thought to myself, how is it possible that a ‘case manager’ knows nothing about how the vehicle they’re representing operates? I asked her if she thought it was possible that after 2 years of owning my vehicle I did not know how to operate my climate control, and if that was the case, how could she explain the ‘red exclamation point’ and ‘problem’ and ‘red thermostat’. She explained that the dealership experienced no warnings, no problems, no codes on Friday morning.

I read her the riot act and asked her to send me info about Toyota arbitration. I also contacted my lawyer and began investigating NC Lemon Laws.

After I got off the phone with Toyota Corp. I called the dealership. I decided to drive up there at 2:30pm to get my vehicle. The vehicle that less than 24 hrs ago would not operate. It was 90 minute anger stewing drive. When I arrived I had a heated discussion with everyone involved and brought up the same questions I asked of Toyota Corp. Do you know that my main tech admitted that he never looked at the climate control temperature gauge which had been left on 76 degrees? They all assumed that because the AC light was lit, I was running the AC for cold air…unbelievable. I asked the service manager why she threw me under the bus with Toyota Corp, telling them I had the AC on. She called it a miscommunication. I asked them all if it was possible that all the air had not been bled out of the cooling system causing a malfunction….that I understood that it was difficult to purge all the air. They said yes, it was possible. The tech also told me that he had brought the car in again Friday morning to test it and got no codes or warnings….he also bled the cooling system again.

After all that, I drove my car home Friday night, and so far it’s running well. My case is going to be held open for another couple weeks, but I do hope this epic is over. I want to thank everyone who posted for making me sound like I knew what I was talking about when I discussed the issues with Toyota or the techs. I hope I don’t have to post in this thread again. Thanks.

[Patrick Wong]

Thanks for the update. How many miles have you driven since Friday night?

[dogfriend]

Its too bad that you can't buy these things factory direct with a comprehensive maintenance guide and any special tools needed.

I have absolutely no use for my dealer after they lied to me about aligning my car. I need to get the squealing coolant thermos pump replaced on mine, but I keep putting it off because I don't trust them to bleed the system properly.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by dogfriend

...I have absolutely no use for my dealer after they lied to me about aligning my car. I need to get the squealing coolant thermos pump replaced on mine, but I keep putting it off because I don't trust them to bleed the system properly.

Hi J.,

It's not that hard to bleed the engine coolant; if I can do it (without benefit of having the Toyota diagnostic laptop) I am sure you can also. Just need to allow plenty of time, measure the drained coolant, and not be satisfied until you've added back the same qty as was drained.

A dealer tech probably does not have the luxury of spending plenty of time on any one job, being under pressure to complete work fast.

[dogfriend]

Originally Posted by Patrick Wong

Hi J.,

It's not that hard to bleed the engine coolant; if I can do it (without benefit of having the Toyota diagnostic laptop) I am sure you can also. Just need to allow plenty of time, measure the drained coolant, and not be satisfied until you've added back the same qty as was drained.

A dealer tech probably does not have the luxury of spending plenty of time on any one job, being under pressure to complete work fast.

I know that I could do it; I wouldn't move the car again until I was satisfied that I got all the air out - but then I would have to buy the coolant pump (~ $200) instead of them replacing it under warranty.

Still, it might be cheap insurance to make sure it gets done correctly.

[mpbrisson]

As of Sunday 2/15 8pm, the MIL light is on again. Car went a week and 2 days this time....about 300 miles driven. The saga continues.....

[Patrick Wong]

Hmm, this is very disheartening.

Any symptoms besides the check engine light?
How is the cabin heating working?
Do you hear air bubbles in the heater core?
Did you happen to note the cold engine coolant level in the overflow container when you got the car back last week; if so, has this level decreased now?

[galaxee]

same p1116 code? sounds like these guys are bumbling idiots.

[mpbrisson]

The cabin heat seems to be working fine. I did notice that the car is much quieter since the last repair after shutting down. It's not squealing. Since this work has been done, there is one thing going on after shut down and right after start up....sounds like a waterfall in my car. After one of the earlier visits, the dealership tech told me I would hear that at first but it would go away, but it continues to do it. I honestly don't ever remember the vehicle making 'the waterfall' noise before I started having problems.

I'm not mechanically inclined, though I'm learning a lot these days, so I haven't checked any fluid levels or know that I've heard any bubbles.