Engine Overheating

How long has this been going on? How long have you owned the car? What maintenance have you done to it recently? Has the car actually overheated or it's just your scangauge telling you something is not right?

 

Have you done the recall on the inverter? You should check the radiator coolant level, not just at the reservoir. Remove the radiator cap and see if the level is right. If it's low, add Toyota Super Long Life coolant.

 

Take a look at the engine coolant pump, which is driven by the belt and pulley on the side of the engine. See if there is any sign of coolant leakage as indicated by pink buildup or splatters. You might have a slight leak that over time created your overheating. The symptom of overheating being different going up and going down would seem to be an indication of low coolant.

 

Reservoir high up is for the inverter; one under the front guard is for the ICE.

Check for play in your water pump....just grab the pulley and move it back and forth. That will most likely be the source of your leak.

Not a bad fix; took about an hour and cost $100 (pump $55, coolant $40)....bleeding it will take another hour.

Faz

 

Casper,

You need to check the coolant level at the radiator itself! Ignore the bottle. Once it is dry, you have to refill the entire system (radiator, bottle AND bleed the air out). Just putting the SLLC in the bottle is NOT sufficient.

Lots of info here on Prius Chat about how to bleed the system. Remember the radiator is divided into two sections. One part is for the ICE. The other part is for the inverter.

Here is a pic of what the radiator should look like when it is full. If yours doesn't look like the picture below, then you need to fill er up and bleed the system. Only then will you overheating go away. Also do as pointed out above. Look for weeping at the water pump. A tell tale sign is a strip on the underside of the hood. The strip will run from the front of the hood towards the windshield. Might be a little pink also, but definitely a color change. If you see that, your water pump is leaking and needs to be replaced. It is a common item on the Gen II. I had to replace ours before I traded it in, many other's have had the same problem. Don't let the ICE overheat. If it ever does, the heads and stuff will never be the same.



Hint: In order to access the radiator cap, you have to remove the splash guard over the radiator. Real easy to do, use a Phillips head screw driver, while turning the little plastic looking screws on the splash guard counter clock wise, apply slight pressure underneath the guard. The little clip will come up and you can remove it. Remove all the clips, I think there is 8 of them. Save the clips and reuse them. Once you get the guard off, loosen the cap and remove it. Check the fluid level in the radiator itself, NOT the bottle. If it does not look exactly like what you see here, you are definitely low on coolant. Remember, fill both the bottle and the radiator and then bleed all the air out of the system. Don't forget to check the water pump for leaks.

Make certain the ICE is cold BEFORE you remove the cap on the radiator.

Ron (dorunron)

 

Did you ever fix this problem? I have the exactly the same problem with my 2nd gen 2006 Prius, is exactly as you described on the first post. I already replaced the thermostat, 3 way coolant valve, heater pump, the other pump that is beside the Thermos tank and I bleed the coolant system every time, I have no leaks and no noises coming from the water pump, I'm totally lost now.

 

The OP last posted here on Nov 8, 2016. Reading between the lines, he discovered the level in the actual radiator was low so he topped it up, and then everything was fine.

 

Do the both of the radiator fans work? If so, then at what temperature do they turn on?

What temperature reading does the scantool go up to? If you turn the heater on (full hot, dash air vents) - do you have very hot air coming from the vents? If so how does that affect the scantool reading for coolant temperature?

Can you tell if the (entire) radiator is getting hot - ie, is the thermostat opening?

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