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2012 Prius just shut down on the freeway; dealer "thinks" "maybe it needs new head gasket for $5400

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by napajan, Jun 7, 2022.

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  1. napajan

    napajan Junior Member

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    Just wondering: "take steps to eliminate rodents" is certainly sound advice, but I live in the country and my car is parked in the driveway (no garage.) What steps are available to me? I have tried socks filled with mothballs inside the vehicle and the space where the spare tire is, and that does help. But what to do in the engine compartment? Thanks.
     
    #21 napajan, Jun 8, 2022
  2. napajan

    napajan Junior Member

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    I've had the car, bought Certified from the dealer, for 7 years. It had 18k miles when I bought it.
     
    #22 napajan, Jun 8, 2022
  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    The best rodent defense is a strong offense. The green cubes of poison are the most effective followed down a few laps by traps. Some people settle for a few wild cats.
     
    #23 rjparker, Jun 8, 2022
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Screen off the cabin egress points: below the wipers at firewall, and exit flaps below the hatch floor. Then zip tie the socks with mothballs in the engine compartment?
     
    #24 Mendel Leisk, Jun 8, 2022
    napajan likes this.
  5. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Peppermint oil allegedly works, and is a lot less toxic to humans than fumes from naphthalene-based mothballs.
     
    #25 CR94, Jun 8, 2022
    Limey Geoff and Half Vast like this.
  6. napajan

    napajan Junior Member

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    Thanks for the advice, everyone. In the interest of being thorough, I called gasketmasters in Manteca, meaning to go ahead with the head gasket repair even though the car is showing NO symptoms of that. No coolant disappearing, the oil is completely clean, no misfiring or rough starting/running. The mech at gasketmasters said he doesn't believe it needs a headgasket; he thought (like everyone else) that the dealer was just guessing. I ended up getting the EGR assembly cleaned for a nominal charge and it turned out it was partially plugged. I am hoping that was the problem! Fingers crossed. Thanks, everyone!
     
    #26 napajan, Jun 17, 2022
    Half Vast, Mendel Leisk and bisco like this.
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