Coolant Overheat then Check Engine Light On

Greetings! Yesterday while driving my 2013 Prius V, I saw the Hot Coolant indicator flash for 2 seconds then come on solid. I heard a sound like pressure releasing, which I later discovered was coolant spewing past the fill valve. The coolant indicator then turned off and the check engine light turned on.

The only visible issue I see is that coolant sprayed out of the reservoir (the one on the passenger side of the engine compartment). There is still a lot of coolant remaining, just a bit below the Low line. I had not been leaking coolant before this.

Haven’t figured out yet what the error code is. Curious what you think the problem might be. Thanks!

 

Codes are for failed water pump, failed thermostat, and shorted temperature gauge. You all were spot on with your assessments!

 

Yes, I was following your advice and checking the levels a twice a week. That issue did not recur until now when it appears the pump failed

 

Oh, you’re right. It was a different user who posted after you that recommended to monitor the coolant levels regularly. My mistake.

I don’t own the device to read error codes. I relied on a service center for that. My hope from the discussions here in PriusChat is to get a second opinion and try to learn from others’ similar experiences. You and the other users rightly tipped me to the water pump. I think the lack of leaking fluids corroborates that conclusion even without knowing the error codes.

I also see now, if the temperature monitor is shorted or otherwise failed, that it was a mistake to rely upon dash indicators to tell me if the coolant was hot rather than buying the Bluetooth device you recommended.