Longo Toyota tells me Prius overheating is *normal*!?

[Kablooie]

I had some front end body work done at Longo Toyota about 6 months ago.
The car overheated on the drive home from the shop. I took it back and they apparently fixed the problem.

But for the last few weeks the air conditioner cooling shuts off when the weather gets warm. Also this last weekend the weather was very hot and going up a hill the overheating warning came on. (Chime - Red exclamation light - red thermometer icon) I stopped for a few minutes to let it cool then started up again and after 30 seconds or so it went on again.

I took the car back to Longo on Monday.

They now say they've checked it but can't find anything wrong. The computer has no record of the overheating warning coming on. They say that overheating in hot weather or going up hills is *NORMAL*, there is a note in the manual about this and there is nothing more they can do.

The tech guy is supposed to call me tomorrow to explain it.

I've had the car for 4 years and this never happened before. Only after the body work was done. Certainly the air conditioner didn't shut off when driving on level ground even when the weather was over 100.

Has anyone else had this problem and been told that it's to be expected!!?

[richard schumacher]

What a crock o' sh!t. They screwed up the repair. Take it to another dealer who knows what they're doing and see whether
1) the problem was created by the accident that also created the need for the body work, and Longo failed to find and fix it the first time,
or
2) Longo created it in the course of the body work, and Longo failed to find and fix it when you took it back
(Note to self: never use Longo Toyota.)

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by Kablooie

...But for the last few weeks the air conditioner cooling shuts off when the weather gets warm. Also this last weekend the weather was very hot and going up a hill the overheating warning came on. (Chime - Red exclamation light - red thermometer icon) I stopped for a few minutes to let it cool then started up again and after 30 seconds or so it went on again.

I took the car back to Longo on Monday.

They now say they've checked it but can't find anything wrong. The computer has no record of the overheating warning coming on. They say that overheating in hot weather or going up hills is *NORMAL*, there is a note in the manual about this and there is nothing more they can do.

What is your odometer reading and was the engine coolant replaced when the body repair work was done?

It definitely is not normal for the Prius to overheat - southern CA weather will get much hotter before the spring and summer seasons are over. I want to confirm which warning lights came on:

• red triangle master warning light
• red thermometer icon

Is that correct?

If you are up to doing a cooling system inspection yourself, I suggest the following:

Check the fluid level in the translucent overflow tank near the radiator, and (when the engine is cold) check the level in the radiator by removing the cap.

To access the radiator cap you have to remove the large black plastic panel that runs across the front of the engine compartment. It has several fasteners; rotate each fastener counterclockwise using a Phillips screwdriver while exerting upwards pressure on the panel near the fastener. This will cause the fastener to pop out.

When the car is operating in hot weather can you notice whether the two electric fans that are mounted on the radiator are running?

To test this, drive the car until the engine is warm, then park the car and enable inspection mode. (To enter this mode, make the car IG-ON (not READY) where the instrument panel warning lights come on. Fully depress the accelerator pedal twice while in Park. Then shift to Neutral and fully depress the accelerator pedal twice. Then shift to Park and fully depress the accelerator pedal twice. Then depress the brake pedal and start the car by pressing the POWER button.) The hybrid vehicle warning light will come on and the engine will run continuously.

The cooling fans should run whenever the engine coolant temp reaches or exceeds 100 degrees C, at a relatively slow speed as the fans are connected in series across the 12VDC bus. When the air conditioner compressor is running, the fan speed should substantially increase as each fan will be powered by the 12VDC bus.

After you are done with your check, turn off the car to cancel the inspection mode. Do not drive the car in this condition.

I checked the engine ECU DTC list, and a DTC will not be logged unless there is a short in the wiring or really bad overheating occurs: 140 degrees C (or 284 degrees F). I don't think that it will be good to wait until that happens before your dealer takes action.

[galaxee]

probably a big ass air volume in the cooling system... admittedly it's not easy to get that bled out properly but it's certainly not something you have to live with as "normal". we've put all kinds of demands on our car from nc to key west and all over this hot climate and never once has that thing overheated.

[statultra]

when i filled up my coolant after repairing the 2005 prius from crashed condition, it had a lot of air inside, so i had to add more while running heater on max, not to mention if there is nothing in the thermos it would have more air in the system, if dealer wont do anything i suggest u go out one morning after like 12 hours of not driving and open the radiator cap and fill it with s-LLC stuff

[Kablooie]

Originally Posted by Patrick Wong

What is your odometer reading and was the engine coolant replaced when the body repair work was done?
I want to confirm which warning lights came on:

• red triangle master warning light
• red thermometer icon

Is that correct?

Yep. Correct. The car has about 65,000 on it and the radiator was replaced during the repair so I'm sure they had to fill it or I never could have driven out of there.

I'm not going to do any work on the car myself though. This is their responsibility and I don't want them saying I caused the problem myself.

Also my insurance paid for the repair so I can probably get them involved if I need to. I may write the president of the company too. Longo prides itself on stellar service and this doesn't quite live up to that claim.

Longo's regular repair department has several Prius specialists but this is being handled by the body shop and they only have two repair techs. Sounds like they aren't completely up on Prius maintenance.

[dogfriend]

Just to add to the "crock of sh!t" database:

Last summer I drove from Sacramento (250ft above sea level) to Echo Summit (7200 ft above sea level). There is a 4000 ft elevation gain in the last 20 miles and the outside temp was about 90°F at Echo Summit (it was hot).

If my car didn't overheat on that climb, then it isn't "normal" for the Prius to overheat. And it didn't.

[Rich96c4ce]

Sound like air in the cooling system. The Haynes manual says that you have to bleed it by letting it heat up, then cool, add more coolant and then you should be okay to drive. Many cars are difficult to devoid of air in the cooling system.

It also could be a disconnected cooling fan, too. But I bet that it is air.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by Rich96c4ce

Sound like air in the cooling system. The Haynes manual says that you have to bleed it by letting it heat up, then cool, add more coolant and then you should be okay to drive. Many cars are difficult to devoid of air in the cooling system.

It also could be a disconnected cooling fan, too. But I bet that it is air.

2G is especially difficult to bleed because of the coolant heat recovery pump that only runs when the car is turned off and when certain logical tests regarding engine coolant temp vs. canister coolant temp have been satisfied. The Toyota repair manual suggests filling the radiator, opening the radiator cap and the bleed port and adding fluid until it appears at the port. Then it requires use of the THHT (hand held tester) to exercise the pump 30 seconds at a time. Then open the radiator cap and the bleed plug, add coolant to the radiator until fluid appears at the bleed port, install the radiator cap. Repeat the process running the CHR pump 30 seconds and adding fluid as needed.

When I log sufficient mileage on my 2004 to replace the coolant, my plan is to hook up a 12VDC power supply to the pump and run it for the 30 second period, in lieu of using THHT.

[dogfriend]

Originally Posted by Patrick Wong

When I log sufficient mileage on my 2004 to replace the coolant, my plan is to hook up a 12VDC power supply to the pump and run it for the 30 second period, in lieu of using THHT.

I was thinking this might be possible. Have others done this already? Hopefully there will be a write up on this by the time I need to replace the coolant.