San Diego area, help for young Prius driver

@sfv41901 or @Raytheeagle any suggestions?

 

How much does the dealership want to fix it?

Also Irregardless have your daughter first order that oem part from ebay and have it in hand. That's the first step.. since mechanics irregardless of dealer or independant will charge double what the part costs or will use the dorman aftermarket part which i've read is terrible for this specific job.

 

@Avi's Advanced Automotive is an independent up the way a bit in the Los Angeles Area.

I know @Mavi is in the San Diego area as well as @Old Wrench It who are the DIY types.

Hope they can connect with you and see if they can help your daughter out.

 

PM sent.


aka Masta S
https://www.facebook.com/100004124476496 Sean Dasselaar (@sfv41901) • Instagram photos and videos Sean D (@sfv41901) on Twitter

 

P1121 won't disable her car, it won't break down mechanically. She'll just get the "check engine" light.

If that's the only problem, she has no problems driving to her jobs

 

Where in SD? There’s a shop that specializes in hybrids on Miramar Road.


iPad ?

 

If you find a mechanic with the right tools (pics in my thread below) it takes 30 minutes and if they charge any higher than an hour of labor they are scamming you. I watched my mechanic do it I think he charged me $50. Literally 5 to 10 minutes off and another 5 to 10 minutes back on.

Will be a breeze to any mechanic. No need to buy part on eBay for $77....it was $85 at dealership. Unless you want to save the $8.

A handy neighbor or friend (assuming they have the tools in link below) can do it for $40 and 20 minutes of their time.

Replacing the Coolant Control Valve the easy way in less than 25 minutes (P1121 // No heat) | PriusChat

 

I was getting a red temperature light which was freaking me out a little because for all I know it was overheating. But I think it was just a bad reading from a bad part...I drove 1.5 miles to the dealership and 1.5 miles back...It was going on and off intermittently for me.

 

The engine will require 2 gallons of coolant.

This is a fairly simple but technical repair. Unless you've wrenched around with cars before, this is not something you want to as a learning first repair. Most people start with oil changes to get introduced to maintenance without getting scared off.

I've done this repair for a member here just to show them how it's done, but honestly this was way over the skill level of the person I was helping.

 

P1121 sometimes is just due to a low engine coolant level. The coolant acts as a lubricant for the valve. Check to see if your engine coolant reservoir is empty and add some coolant (Toyota Super long Life - Pink). Add more if the reservoir empties again after the engine cools down after a long drive. Then clear the code using a OBD2 reader and see if the P1121 comes back. Mine didn't.

JeffD

 

There is just the northern California group that gets together for maintenance and simple repairs. I don't think I've heard of one of those in southern California.

The bad thing about this repair, the engine has to be cold in order to do the repair. Driving to a meet up would not work unless she was there for several hours

 

There's the Hybrid Pit crowd and there is @Raytheeagle 's group. Are they in the same area of the state?

 

Nope.

Hybrid pit is closer.

I’d help if I could.

 

Thanks, Ray.

Masta Sean says he sent the OP a PM so they should be covered, I would hope.

I just do not keep up with who is where in California. I am east coast.

 

No worries .

It’s a big state with a lot of people .

But we’ll do our best to get em sorted.

 

The hybrid pit guys are a bit of a specialized crew, their meet ups are usually not for repair but to make their cars more desirable