Low fluid levels

top it off . but the engine coolant looks ridiculously low you might have a headgasket problem

 

Welcome to Prius Chat .

Some questions:

• Have you checked the fluid levels before?
• How often do you check te fluid levels?
• How long have you owned your Prius?
• Have you had your brakes looked at?
• Any recent maintenance?
• Any performance related issues with your Prius?

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

Since history is unknown, sell it and pass it on to the unsuspecting person.

 

Top up the two coolant reservoirs, with the coolant spec'd in the Owner's Manual. It comes pre-mixed: Toyota Super Long Life Coolant. The dealership sells it by the gallon, for about $20 I think.

The brake fluid is fine. It's natural for the level to go down as the brake pads wear. If you were to keep topping it up, when new pads are installed you'd need to baste fluid out of the reservoir, to avoid it overflowing.

How many miles on it? It's not unusual for the coolant levels to very gradually drop over the years and miles.

 

Maybe service was recently done on the car and the car burped. I would top it off and see how it goes.

I had to top off my 2010 one time and it's never dropped since

 

I topped off both around 50K kms, they were both at the low mark. Now around 76K, the engine coolant is maybe halfway down again, and the inverter coolant hasn't budged from the top mark.

I did drain and pour back in a couple of liters of the engine coolant, in the course of doing the EGR cleaning. I was pretty careful but might have had slight spillage.

 

Interesting on the loss of fluid.

Our 2010 fluid levels are rock steady except for the oil.

I’ll take that in comparison .

 

I would top off first and if it goes down expect 2500 for a used engine

 

You may want to check your coolant hoses for leaks. If they're bulging or have residue on them replace them. I know kind of rare for a 2010 but I like to rule out the cheap and easy fixes first.

Pixel XL ?

 

Some additional questions:

• What levels have they previously been at?
• Do you have either a reference mark or picture?
• Has it been slowly going down over time or a decline to the levels seen here?

I’d buy a gallon of SLLC and top both up. I’d put each at the full mark and monitor a bit more frequently (say once a week or every other week). I’d also look at the brakes and see the pad wear.

Good luck and keep us posted .

 

I drove 15 milles, then stopped to check the fluid when warm. It is right near the minimum mark. (Enhanced color to show fluid better)

 

Time out.
What you probably should do is: NOTHING.

The coolant level is perfectly fine at the low marks IF that is when the engine is thoroughly COLD.
The brake fluid level will slowly go down as the brake pads wear, which is normal.

So maybe you should have your brakes inspected but there is no need to add brake fluid if the pads will need to be changed any time soon.
Just keep an eye on the levels (under the same conditions) to see if they drop any more.

 

And the oil dipstick. (Tried to enhance color--its actually full.) Thank you to Mendel and his "5 Minute Rule."

 

I checked again after another 70 miles. My fluid seems to stay right where it is. Should I ADD A BIT?

 

Wouldn't hurt to top up both coolant reservoirs. Probably overkill: they could both likely drop another inch with no ill effects, but meh.

As far as I know you need to buy a gallon, but eventually it'll be needed, say for another top up or a coolant change.

 

You're about 60K miles and/or 5 years early for a coolant change. Just buy the coolant and top up. When it does come time for coolant change (120K miles or 10 years IIRC), you can bring them your bottle, reduce your cost a little. Or DIY? Check @NutzAboutBolts videos, pinned in the maintenance sub-forum.