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Coolant smell in passenger compartment?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Vic Doucette, Jul 6, 2015.

  1. Vic Doucette

    Vic Doucette Junior Member

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    2010 Prius, 67K miles. On the way to work today (40 miles, mainly 62 mph, ambient temperature about 65 degrees, climate system set on "auto" without A/C), I thought I smelled the familiar odor of antifreeze in the passenger compartment. I opened the hood and checked the coolant level in both containers. The larger one was right at the "add" line. I assume this is for the cooling system. The smaller one, which I assume is for the inverter, was about midway between "full" and "add."

    On the way home (ambient temperature about 88 degrees, A/C on, sometimes with outside air and sometimes recirculating), I didn't notice an odor. There didn't seem to be a change in the levels of either coolant reservoir.

    What should I be worried about here? Could it be the heater core? I bet the cost would be very high for that repair. If not that, what? There were no obvious signs of leakage, but I'm not a DIY guy and am no expert on this stuff.

    Should I just go buy a jug of the pink stuff, fill the containers myself, and wait?

    Thanks for your help. And if anyone could suggest an independent hybrid mechanic in the metropolitan Detroit area (I don't trust the dealers) who might be able to fix what could be wrong, I would appreciate it.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    heater hose or core leaking? you should take the black plastic cover off the radiator, and check the level under the cap, when it's cold! and use toyota coolant if it needs topping up. maybe in the morning it was providing some heat and in the heat of the day, not. after you top up the coolant, take it for a ride with the heat on to see if you get the smell.
     
    #2 bisco, Jul 6, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2015
  3. Den49

    Den49 Member

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    If you have an external coolant leak under the hood, the Toyota Long Life Coolant (LLC) that leaks out will turn into a reflective pink foam or splatter and be very easy to spot with a light. Look at all the hoses, fittings, water pump, anywhere a leak can occur. If you add coolant, use only Toyota LLC.
     
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    If this is one of the few times you've used the climate control WITHOUT AC, you probably just realized how nasty the smell is that comes out of your vents. Some say it smells like coolant, I would say it's a moldy stale smell.

    Either way, if you can turn you AC on and not smell anything strange......then it's just your climate control. Maybe some maintenance is in order for that!
     
  5. Vic Doucette

    Vic Doucette Junior Member

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    Given JC91006's post, I think the best thing to do for now is to top off the coolant ... and wait. Will the same juice work in my wife's 2007 Highlander Hybrid?
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    That doesn't sound like unusual loss. On ours, the level of both reservoirs was at-or-near the bottom line, a little over 50,000 kilometers on odometer. April 03 I topped them up to the top lines, with the specified (pre-mixed with water) coolant, and it's held there since. I'd expect in another 4 years will have to do it again.
     
  7. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

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    Without prior knowledge of coolant levels it's hard to say if you have a leak. Could have been someone else on the road that had a catastrophic cooling system failure and the evidence still has an odor. Leaking Toyota coolant leaves a characteristic pink deposit, easy to see. Top up both coolant tanks and observe over time. And sorry Bisco, I don't think there is a radiator cap per se on the US Gen III. I'm pretty sure on my car the overflow hose goes directly to the tank. Maybe the little cap on the tank acts as the pressure control cap.
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no prolemo. i think when you take the black plastic cover off, there's some kind of cap to check the coolant in the radiator. pretty sure you can't trust the tanks for low coolant.
     
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  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    ^ I was totally in agreement, pulled the trim panel off to check, and: DOESN'T appear to a radiator cap. :confused:
     
  10. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Ummm ... Have you guys noticed there's a pressure rating marked on the caps on those coolant reservoirs? It serves almost the same purpose as a conventional radiator cap, which you don't have. The difference is that the reservoir is pressurized, unlike the earlier kind of coolant-recovery tanks.
     
  11. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

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    The reason I know there isn't a cap on the radiator is because of a repair I made shortly after taking delivery of my car. I noticed that the radiator fan frame wasn't attached properly at one end. The vehicle maintenance record said there was an air conditioning problem addressed by the dealer some 18 months prior. That fan frame had been loose for that long. To get it back in there I had to do some extensive disassembly, even removing the top front cross member that extends over the radiator. Got up close and personal with the cooling system. Still, I don't recall if the radiator is portioned up like the Gen II where top 2/3 is for the ICE and the bottom 1/3 is for the inverter. Someone must know.
     
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Inverter radiator is at the top on gen 3. Starting to make sense, there not being a conventional radiator cap.

    And yeah, I topped up both reservoirs a few months back, noticed the caps are really tight seal.
     
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i guess pat wongs advice is for gen II only?
     
    #13 bisco, Jul 8, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2015
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    "pat songs"? IPhone autocorrect or summit?
     
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  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah just took a look at Repair Manual section on coolant change, no filler cap atop radiator. I wonder if that's part of the issue, getting air out of the system.

    My son and I just changed the coolant on his (was ours) 06 Civic. You pour coolant in at the rad cap, with the air bleed valve open. When coolant starts coming out of the air bleed valve, steady, you tighten it up, keep pouring 'till coolant is up to the neck. Then you just start up the car, let it run 'till the cooling fan comes on twice. You stand at the front monitoring the radiator neck: the coolant will sometimes gurgle up, and you baste it off. Then it'll drop, you add some. Occasionally squeeze the hoses, to possibly burp air out. Fan cycles on twice, you shut down, put the rad cap on, done.
     
  17. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

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    Is that Repair Manual available through the Toyota TIS (Technical Information Site) site? A person must purchase a period of time there to access the information, or perhaps make copies of the information available there for later reference. I sure wish Haynes would do a Gen III manual. Yeah, I know, cheesy Haynes manuals. I've been using them for years without a problem. I have seen evidence of an updated Toyota Prius manual that applies to Gen I to III, but can't seem to locate one for purchase. I'll have to look around again, maybe something is available now. I'm pretty hip to any removal/replacement tasks on my Prius, but it sure would be nice to have a detailed procedure. Especially all the various tightening torques.
     
  18. Vic Doucette

    Vic Doucette Junior Member

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    I have topped up the containers. We'll see, and then we'll know. Thank you all.