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HELP Please/ Cannot locate Heater Box for 2005

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by fish3d, Dec 4, 2012.

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  1. fish3d

    fish3d Junior Member

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    My 2005 Prius has been sitting at the dealers for almost three weeks. A new heater box
    would cost approx 4000.00 to install. For some reason it is impossible to find a "used one"
    I can't believe that there are no junk yards with a working heater box for sale. Any info
    appreciated, thanks in advance
     
    #1 fish3d, Dec 4, 2012
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Where are you located? Why is it needed?
     
    #2 cwerdna, Dec 4, 2012
  3. fish3d

    fish3d Junior Member

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    I am in Sherman Connecticut. A number of weeks ago the defroster stopped working. Located on the
    "heater box" is a piece of plastic about the size of a hand and shaped like an ear. Apparently one of the clips
    that keeps that piece attached (sorry I don't know what it is called and there is no part number for it) to
    the heater box broke off into the box itself. The dealer cannot locate a heater box, which they insist is required
    to fix the problem
     
    #3 fish3d, Dec 4, 2012
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    #4 Patrick Wong, Dec 4, 2012
  5. fish3d

    fish3d Junior Member

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    #5 fish3d, Dec 4, 2012
  6. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    autobeyours (that Patrick referred to in the link) sells salvage Prius parts and may have the heater that you need. Good luck!
    I am curious though what exactly that heater box is that would cost $4K to install.
     
    #6 2009Prius, Dec 4, 2012
  7. fish3d

    fish3d Junior Member

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    I just spoke to the folks at AutoBeYours. which was the site recommended by Patrick. They could not
    have been nice nicer. I spoke to Jenny. Anyway what I need is actually called an Heater Core Assembly,
    although the dealer calls it a "heater box". The 4k price is for the part about 3500 and 1000 for installation which
    requires removal of the whole dashboard and ? I know nothing about mechanics of the car or any car for that matter.Is there a forum for someone looking to buy parts where it would
    be best for me to post? FYI..apparently the Heater Core Asembly has a driver side and passenger side that
    screw together. I may only need the driver side but prefer to buy the whole assembly. They did recommned
    a salvage yard but said I was more likely to find the part in a California salvage yard. Anymore suggestions
    would be greatly appreciated
     
    #7 fish3d, Dec 4, 2012
    2009Prius likes this.
  8. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    So autobeyours does not have the part available for you to purchase?

    Does the cabin heater work, and only the defroster function is inoperative?

    It is true that replacement of any component in the cabin heating/ventilation system requires substantial disassembly of the instrument panel so the labor charge will be quite high.

    If you want to do your own shopping for a salvage part, I suggest that you will need to identify the part number so that you can be precise about your requirements. Perhaps your dealer's service writer can help you with that.
     
    #8 Patrick Wong, Dec 4, 2012
  9. fish3d

    fish3d Junior Member

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    The cabin heater does work, only the defroster doesn't. Autobeyours could not help nor could the other companies they suggested. My insurance is going to pay for part of the repairs and the part number the adjuster gave me is
    87050-47110 . However this part is called the radiator assembly and I believe it is the incorrect part. I can't find a picture of it and the dealer believes that it is incorrect also. I know the dealer should know but I've been playing phone tag with the service rep and can't get a straight answer. I believe the part I need is called the heater box OR the heater core assembly...it is not the heater housing or the heater core although they may be parts of the whole Heater Core Assembly. My head is going to explode. This shouldn't be so difficult.
     
    #9 fish3d, Dec 4, 2012
  10. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    Here is a link to a diagram for 87050-47110 and associated parts.
    2005 TOYOTA PRIUS Parts - Champion ToyotaWorld
    Seems to be the correct general area anyway.

    There are results coming up from e-bay searches but I have no experience buying used parts on e-bay.

    Good luck!
     
    #10 2009Prius, Dec 4, 2012
  11. fish3d

    fish3d Junior Member

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    Thanks so much. I am going down to the dealer and have him pinpoint the exact parts that he is telling me that are required to restore my defroster to working condition. Hopefully this chart will work:)
     
    #11 fish3d, Dec 4, 2012
  12. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    #12 3prongpaul, Dec 5, 2012
  13. fish3d

    fish3d Junior Member

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    #13 fish3d, Dec 26, 2012
  14. fish3d

    fish3d Junior Member

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    To Whom it May Concern,
    I bought the Radiator Assembly Part number ( 87050-47110) from Spalding Auto parts in Spokane Washington. 550.00 with three day shipping. Part was damaged and they sent another for no charge
    except they wanted to split the shipping at about 150.00 each. I believe? they operated in good
    faith but the new part does not work either (both came with damage).
     
    #14 fish3d, Dec 26, 2012
  15. Mike Mc

    Mike Mc '16 Prius 4, '13 Prius 3

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    Try looking on Car-part.com
     
    #15 Mike Mc, Dec 27, 2012
  16. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    car-part.com is good if the seller knows exactly what you want. Best to email them a photo of exactly what you need. Some of the "old school" junkyards are not too good with Prius parts....I spoke to one yard that advertised a prius alternator for $100. The monkeys didn't know the Prius has no alternator.
     
    #16 3prongpaul, Dec 27, 2012
  17. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    I guarantee you that Steve at Autobeyours will have one of these. From what I can tell, you only need the box itself b/c a small part of it broke off. The only problem w/ that is, you can't buy just the box (from the dealer anyway).

    If I was in your shoes, I would remove the box (myself), find the part that broke off and use a fiberglass repair kit (available at Auto parts stores) to fix the box. This should give you a strong fix that lasts for years and should cost about $80 total.

    Option 2 would be to try to plastic weld the box. This option probably wouldn't last long though ($60-80).

    Option 3 would be to go to a "pick a part" junkyard and remove the box from an old Prius and install in your vehicle ($??? but<$4500).

    I know this is time consuming but, @ $4500 to have someone else fix it makes it well worth your time. If it takes you $20 hours to fix it and $500, you will save $4000 or you will pay yourself $200 an hour
     
    #17 usnavystgc, Dec 27, 2012
  18. northwichita

    northwichita .

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    I learned about a new super glue adhesive called Q-Bond from youtube
    ---May want to turn down volume, Scotty Kilmer's a bit loud---

    It has a good rating at Amazon also (can only order online I believe), I've bought it but haven't tried it out yet.
     
    #18 northwichita, Dec 27, 2012
    Mike Mc likes this.
  19. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    No amount of glue will fix this. The fibers have been broken and glue has no fiber in it. The only type of glue that may possibly have a chance of fixing this in the short term is 2 part epoxy but even that probably won't last. I would not recommend any type of adhesive without adding a fibrous cloth of some sort to go along with it.

    Keep in mind that you only want to do this once because it is so hard to get to.
     
    #19 usnavystgc, Dec 28, 2012
    fish3d likes this.
  20. fish3d

    fish3d Junior Member

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    To All Who Made Suggestions:
    Thanks so much. I bought an OEM . The dealer discounted it from 3.4k to 3K when I found a Toyota
    dealer in Texas willing to sell it for 2.7K Virtually every dealer I've talked to wanted 3.4K or close.
    Unknown what labor will cost. My insurance company is going to pick up all but 1K of the whole
    charge. Happy New Year to all.
     
    #20 fish3d, Dec 31, 2012
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