Information on Steering and Hybrid Coolant Pump Recalls C0T and C0U

Dealer I take my car to called last week, said they had the parts in. Took the car in Tuesday, took all of about an hour to change the water pump, part of the shaft and 3 bolts. From what he said there's a couple of designs, some take longer than others. Not sure if he was correct on this, but I was surprised it was only an hour or so for the work.

 

I just had my coolant pump and steering column remedied.

 

Had mine fixed last week also.

 

My car was in for recall today. They replaced the hybrid water pump and replaced a bolt on the steering shaft. Are the invertor pump and hybrid water pump two different names for the same part? Thanks

 

Yes, both names mean the same part.

 

Got the two recalls done today. They changed one bolt in the steering column, and changed the inverter pump. I am not sure if they changed the inverter fluid or just topped it off. I do note that the fluid is a pretty pink in comparison to what was in there. It seemed to be a little darker tint before the pump was changed. I also note that there is a dramatic difference in the flow of the new pump. With the old pump, the fluid level was less than 1/8" front to back when the pump was running. With the new one, it is about a 1/4 of an inch now and the turbulence is much more dramatic. Also the new pump is a lot quieter. The steering wheel came back perfectly flat. When I took it in, it was off to the left about three degrees.

No crazy lights on dash, and everything seems to be in order. Thank you Fred Haas Toyota in Houston! FWIW, I used to use Tejas Toyota in Humble when I had to go to the stealer, but recently switched to Fred Haas. I think I will stick with them for a while. I noticed quite a difference in the service bays, attitudes of personel and the volume of work.

 

I had both repairs done a couple weeks ago. When I left I noticed the steering was out of alignment from the steering column fix. They fixed it right away, but just something to look for.

 

Not sure how my pump sounded before the recall change but now I hear a low volume whine when I open the hood to see if the fluid is moving. I don't think I can hear this inside the cabin though.The fluid is moving with the cap off so I can see it and feel the hose by the pump vibrating.
Does this pump run all the time in ready mode? After a short trip home today, the fluid was still very cool on the finger. When I shut the system off and restarted, the pump was quiet, I guess not running yet. I am hoping that this is all normal and the dealer bled the system properly.

 

Yes, the inverter pump should be running all of the time while the Prius is in "Ready Mode". I do not believe it run's if the Prius is in "Accessory Mode".

You should be able to see turbulence in the reservoir when the Prius is in "Ready Mode".