Transmission fluid leak

I purchased a used 2008 Prius in June of this year. 215k miles for 6k all in. Very well kept up prior to me purchasing and got a 1yr hybrid battery warranty.
Just got my oil changed for the first time since buying it (I don’t drive much) and the general inspection came back as having low coolant and a transmission fluid leak on the left side cover gasket. They quoted me 2.3k for the transmission fluid fix. Is this reasonable? I am having a hard time googling much about this fix, and usually I do fixes myself on my cars. I know the part itself is like $20 so I am just baffled at the quoted price. Attached is the estimate I was given for all the things they wanna fix along with the photo of the transmission leak.

They said it’s a fix that needs done ASAP as they have no way of knowing how fast the leak is or how much transmission fluid I have left, but also said that they could do a transmission flush and coolant pressure check in the meantime which could help determine if the whole had gasket is bad? I’m not sure what any of this REALLY means, as this is a problem I’ve never had to work with on my previous Priuses even though the worker said it was common with Priuses? I have noticed the car having a harder time accelerating recently.

should I attempt to fix myself? And if so, is there a guide anywhere for this type of fix (YouTube, pdf, anything really)? I do not have an engine lift. Or should I get a second opinion quote from somewhere else?

 

For some reason the photo uploaded very blurry, but I think what you are looking at is the pinkish area on the right? In the more clear photo it doesn’t look wet or drippy, but has that pink color that the left side has where the drip is shown. They told me they didn’t see any oil leaks even though my oil was low so they said it might just burn oil, and that they also couldn’t see any specific coolant leaks anywhere either

 

I do not have a garage (I park on the street and live in the inner city, and its quite cold out to be working outside these days) but I do have a jack and likely safety stands and ramps, I would have to check my storage unit, its been a while since I have done work on a car and sometimes I borrow stuff out and never get it back.

With regards to the transmission drain and fill, I believe the reason they recommended this was mainly because I was asking about some sort of cheaper "Bandaid" fix because I do not have 2.3k just laying around at the moment. I watched some videos and read through the PDF's to do the transmission fix myself, and I think the biggest issue I would have is just the space to do it, given it would be easiest to do if I took apart the wiper assembly. I have an appointment scheduled on monday to get the coolant system checked (pressure check) along with the tranmission fluid drain/fill. I am having a friend look at the car this week in his garage to get a better idea of if its leaking a lot, but I have not noticed any other symptoms such as smoke, gear shifting issues, or any engine lights, so I am hoping this is something more minor than they suspect.

Attached is the photos again, hopefully better quality. I also have the coolant pics they sent attached just cause the coolant thing is interesting to me given they didnt see any leaks. This was not a full inspection, so they may look at it again on monday and actually come to different conclusions, as this was just a routine oil change and my first time at this shop. If anyone else is in MN the shop is called Turbo Tims and they typically have really good reviews and positive customer satisfaction, and they do work on Prius's a lot.

 

Okay all, I am back with further information. I was driving home from work yesterday and my car began shaking when i accelerated, and i could smell burning and my check engine light was flashing on and off. My work is about 5 blocks from the repair shop I brought it to the first time, and I didnt think I was going to make it all the way home like that, so I coasted it to the shop and dropped it off for a more thorough inspection (drivability test - transmission and engine). They completed the inspection today and I received this information:

"Engine code P0303. Spark plug in cylinder 3 was found to be loose. Ignition coil is covered in exhaust gas and oil. Recommend to replace spark plugs and ignition coil number 3. Burning smell was smelt and could be smelt when a vehicle is misfiring or having a burnt/clogged catalytic converter. Recommend to perform tune up and replace ignition coil to see if the smell goes away."









"Transmission fluid service is due based on the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule. Recommend transmission fluid drain and fill."

"Spark plugs are due @ every 120,000 mile interval. Recommend to replace spark plugs if they have not yet been serviced."

"Transmission fluid leaking from side cover. Recommend to remove cover, inspect what's visible of the transmission and reseal cover and flush transmission fluid."




The quotes are as follows:

Spark Plugs and One Ignition Coil: $479 parts and labor

Remove & Replace Transmission Side Cover Gasket:
Part: $70
Labor: $2217

Transmission Fluid Service- Standard Drain and Fill: $196 ($100 labor, $96 fluid)

They also want to do coolant system testing still - I am unclear if this will reveal some further problem or not...


Basically here are my main questions:

Is the transmission side cover gasket a "simple" thing to do on my own? I watched a video on youtube of a guy do it on an 08 and it didnt look like 2.3k worth of labor. My concern is mostly how do I get the car home? Im going to be real, I have never taken a car to the shop before this. (I am 26yo F and I have minimal experience with cars, just watching and learning and some minor do-ing with my dad when he worked on cars). Can I decline all of the repairs they suggest and still drive it out of there? Can I drive it out of there at all in the condition it is in if I do decide to do this fix? The parts are a lot more within my budget and I have the time to do the labor since I am on my winter break from grad school starting next week, but the technicalities are confusing to me. I would love something more than the youtube video to help me do the exact thing i need (Cover gasket).

Should i have them do the coolant system testing at least since I do not have the tools to do that on my own? And that could help me discover if theres something further wrong?

Are there any special tools I need for the transmission fluid drain/fill? (to bleed anything?)

Be kind, I am quite lost and I am learning to do this all on my own for the first time as a broke grad student...

Thanks to everyone who has commented thus far...

So far I owe them $119 for the inspection, nothing more.

 

Oh drab, the photos didnt attach. Here are the new photos:

 

Okay update:

I took the car home after having them tighten the spark plugs back in and it drove perfectly on the way home (the check engine light was still on, figured they didn’t reset the codes). It has been parked in my parents heated garage since. Purchased 4 new spark plugs/boots, one new coil for the 3rd plug/coil that was shown to be loose. Going to replace these this week (baby job).
I stupidly bought the cover gasket for some other part of the car, when we needed the gasket for the transaxle cover. Having a very hard time finding that specific part anywhere as there’s apparently no real name for it or something? Even the PDF diagrams posted above of the transaxle assemble don’t label this gasket. Very frustrating. Now, the transmission is clearly leaking. After sitting in my parents garage for 10 days there’s about a 1ftx1ft circle of drip under the area the transmission was shown to be leaking. Going to first check the transmission fluid levels and see how low it really is, and go from there before getting too ahead of ourselves in the removal of the entire transmission just for the gasket repair.
Any advice on how to determine if it’s worth it to actually replace the cover gasket? The job is doable (will need to get a few tools, including a few jack stands) but would love to not do it if I don’t have to. Is there a workaround for this repair, like a way we can seal the gasket leak from the outside of the transmission without removing it? My dad said he would JBweld it if it would work but he’s more of a bandaid repairman so not sure if it’s a long lasting repair doing that. The transmission fluid looks great still, so if it’s not too low do you think I can get away with just topping it off every now and then?
Also, where can I find the gasket I’m looking for if we decide to do the whole gasket replacement? I’m not even sure what it’s meant to look like.

 

We determined the leak is quite slow, so we are going to attempt to make a repair. Our plan is to drain the ATF, clean/sand/wipe the spot where the gasket is leaking (and as far around as we can reach without removing the transmission from the car) and then using permatex ultra black RTV silicone to seal up and down as far as can and ensuring bolts are to torque. Do you guys think this will be an effective repair, at least for another 5k miles or so?

 

Sadly, the repair did not work as the leak was from the transmission body and not the cover. I am going to need to replace the entire transmission. The question now lies in, is it worth it? 230k miles, quoted 3030 for used transmission and labor. 7100 for new and labor. Again, I pain 6000 for the car less than a year ago....