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Accidentally added trans fluid to inverter coolant reservoir

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by hihosilver, Sep 2, 2020.

  1. hihosilver

    hihosilver New Member

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    Yes I did this - and did not realize I did so until eight months later.

    So last October I had my auto transmission fluid drained & filled. Then I looked under the hood in December & noticed a reservoir (by the brake fluid reservoir) filled with pink fluid that was low - I had transmission fluid on the brain so I topped it off from low to full.

    Eight months later - now - I realized what I did as I prepare to drain & fill the inverter coolant. Oops.

    So should I be concerned? Have no idea what a few ounces of auto trans fluid would do to a inverter cooling system.

    Car is still running, guess that's a good sign :)

    Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated.
     
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  2. Kenny94945

    Kenny94945 Active Member

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    8 months ago?
    No drivability issues?

    Wow....dodged a bullet.. my guess would have been drivability issues.
    What I would do is drain and refill the invertor coolant two times in an effort to clean the system.
    The oil may have floated on top of the coolant, so turkey baster the coolant reserve first before doing a drain.

    Good luck.
     
    jerrymildred, RRxing, ETC(SS) and 2 others like this.
  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    That's one way to keep the pump lubricated......
     
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  4. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” a quote I see here at times.
     
  5. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    +1 for both not worrying about it and changing the inverter coolant x2.
    Since it's only two months until Thanksgiving, you may want to splurge on a new Turkey baster.

    Besides.....Thanksgiving might be a little rough this year.
     
  6. PA Prius

    PA Prius Active Member

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    Reminds me of the first time I changed the oil in my 914. Realized I poured the oil in a hole that went to the clutch....
     
  7. hihosilver

    hihosilver New Member

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    Thanks everyone for your suggestions and laughs - appreciate the laugh-with-me response to my bone head move.

    With the car sitting still overnight, I inspected the reservoir & noticed a pink coloration for the top two inches that was different than below the top - I thought perhaps the trans oil was floating on the top.

    So I started drawing (via tube sucking) the top fluid & unfortunately I was drawing a mix of trans oil & coolant (mostly coolant), it looked like lightly tossed pink Italian salad dressing. The reservoir tank color differentiation is probably a coating that developed over the last eight months since I did what I did.

    Kenny, I'll do as you suggested - a drain & fill twice.

    My question is - should I bother with and/or is their any harm in using a radiator flush? Like adding a 11oz bottle of Gunk Motor Medic Radiator Flush to help de-coat the trans fluid from the inverter cooling system?
     
  8. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Since the system is rated for Toyota's coolant I do not think it will hurt it, but I'm not sure if you will benefit either, especially since you've been using the salad dressing for 8 months now without any problems.

    I'd flush and monitor - but that's me being me.
     
  9. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    No refill after the flush? :eek:
     
  10. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Pends on whether or not you're at a dealership, where "flush" and "fluid change" are interswappable.