Coolant leak - Diagnosis?

I suggest you check the coolant level in the inverter coolant tank, as well as the coolant level in the engine radiator overflow tank and the engine radiator itself (need to remove the large black plastic cover over the radiator for access to the radiator cap.)

If that does not provide a clue about the coolant leak (engine vs. inverter/transaxle) then you might want to look at the engine head for a leak. You may have to raise up the front of the car so you can get under the engine and look at the side of the engine facing the firewall.

It is possible that the leak is coming from the transaxle instead of the engine. Note the transaxle coolant drain plug is the 24 mm hex plug a few inches to the right of the leak area. Also, look at the inverter to see whether any pink stains from dried coolant might be visible.

If you don't see an obvious source of the leak, then it would be quite reasonable to seek professional help. It is possible that you may have a cracked component causing the coolant leak, as there is no reason for coolant to be present at the seam between the engine and transaxle.

 

Hello, Tupelo, Did you get a confirmation of the source of your coolant leak? I just found the exact same leak between the motor mounts of my 2004 prius, with low amount of coolant in the invertor reservoir. Please let me know what the problem was - it will save me a lot of searching - thank you!

 

That's a tough fix if tightening the bolts don't work. It's a rare report a leak there. Try tightening the bolts and if a high mileage car just keep filling the inverter because the engine and trans have to come out and the leak repaired and that will be expensive.. If a high mileage car best to just replace the engine trans assy with a lower mileage junk yard motor.

 

Try to make sure that it’s actually leaking from the hole and not just leaking somewhere else and migrating from the outside of transaxle. There are many potentially leaking places above that shouldn’t be hard to repair.

If it’s actually leaking from that hole you need to remove the transaxle. You can remove the transaxle without removing the engine: DIY: How to remove GenII Transmission | PriusChat