Replacing Tank Assembly/Reserve Tank

Vehicle: 2009 Toyota Prius Base

Recently my car started showing the master warning light along with the temp warning light on the navigation screen. After opening the hood and inspecting, there is a coolant leaking from somewhere. Took it to the dealer and was told there is no leak but a bad/blocked coolant tank assembly. Price to fix is upward of the $2k.

Question is, if I bought the tank myself for under $1k, could I replace it myself? What would be involved besides replacing coolant? Do I need to get the air out of the lines? Etc.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

I had the same problem back at the end of February. Master warning light and overheating icon the nav screen. Popped the hood and there was coolant laying at the bottom of the engine bay. Checked the radiator, overflows tank, etc. and all looked to be ok. A little low but nothing alarming. Took it to the dealer where they did a pressure test of the system and found no leaks at all. Was told that the coolant was about 1/2 gallon low. They filled it and off I went. Was good for a few months.

Now in May the same lights pop up but this time the check engine light also appears. Took it back in and they the pressure test again along with the dye test to find a leak. Told no leaks in the system. What I was told is there is something in the tank assembly that is blocking the coolant flowing through the system. Which is causing the coolant to come out of the overflow tube and leak all over.

On a side note, the last few days I'd shut the car off I'd hear the noise of the system pumping coolant into the tank but it didn't sound "normal". Almost like it was dying.

 

The car was recently in an accident. It was a rear end collision that pushed the car into the car in front of me. There was quite a bit of work that was done on the car. I know some stuff for the radiator and cooling system was replaced. Not sure if the accident had anything to do with the tank assembly or not. Never had the problem before the accident so I'm convinced the shop F'ed it up somehow or the accident had something to do with it.

Check my post above to see what I was told by the dealer as far as the leak.

 

The insurance company was called and they told the dealer that it wasn't damaged and there's no way it was caused from the accident so they won't replace it. Never had a problem before the accident so it's hard to believe it didn't. Do the tanks normally go bad at some point or do they normally last the life of the car?

There is no heat inside the car at all. It was the same problem I had back in February. Master warning light, high temp light, and no heat inside the cabin. They filled the coolant and it fixed itself until now.

I'm just going by what the tech specialist at the dealer is telling me. They checked a bunch of stuff and narrowed it down to the coolant heat storage tank assembly. The part costs $1100. Adding labor, it's close to $2k to fix.

I did not get the code from the check engine light. I completely forgot to ask.

 

I'm pretty sure it's the CHRS. They're telling me the part costs $1,100.

 

Unfortunately, the car is at the dealer so I can't check on my own. The one thing I'm trying to find out is the life expectancy of the CHRS. Is this a part that eventually has to be replaced or does it last the life of the car?

 

I got the check engine codes today: P0117 , P1150 , P1151

 

The tank is not physically damaged so the insurance will not replace it because they are saying it's not directly related to the accident. Everyone I talked with said that these tanks never good bad unless in an accident.

 

So for an update...

Toyota replaced the CHRS tank, just because I don't have the garage, time, or tools at my disposal right now.

Picked it up after the tank replacement. All seemed to be fine. No lights, no warnings, nothing. Drove 15 minutes down the road, master warning light and overheating light pops on again. Get home, pop the hood and there is coolant laying at the bottom of the engine bay. Call Toyota, take it back in, wait a few days, and they tell me the air wasn't fully bled out of the system. Pick it up, no problems all the way home.

About 10 or so days go by and all the lights return. Master warning light, overheating light, check engine light, etc. Take it back to Toyota and they tell me that the Coolant Control Valve is bad. It's getting stuck and it's not properly passing coolant through the system. The tech said when he would bang on it the lights would go away. They tell me it caused the tank to go bad. They fix it and off I go. All seems to be fine.

4 days later, as I'm driving to work, the master warning and overheating light come on for about 10 seconds and go off. Does it again and goes off. Get to work, pop the hood, coolant at the bottom of the engine bay. Drive it home that night, no issues. Next day, on the way to work, same thing. Call Toyota and take it back in. A day or two goes by and they call and tell me they can't get the lights to come on or get it to overheat but can tell it did because of the coolant. They've had it now for almost 8 days and have no idea what's wrong with it.

Any ideas??