11 years of ownership, 145k miles, clean and reliable car. The engine and trans are rock solid as far as I can tell, but here is what I am getting now... Chirping noise while driving or idling, it doesn't matter, every 7-10 seconds. It used to be only while opening the door or braking. Sounds like the brake actuator might be the culprit. I got the CEL after changing the 12V battery in May. Stopped by AutoZone to get it checked. P1121- the 3 way coolant valve might be the one to replace? C1241- not sure about this one... These codes aren't really related to a brake actuator issue.. Also the hybrid battery is on the edge too. Overall, I am looking at the hefty bill here. Drive it, sell it or fix it? I am looking forward to fixing it.
Only owned ours for a year and it does the same. Previous owner said it had done that for years. Keep it. Too many good things about these cars to outweigh your few issues.
'09 is a beast, just broken in at 145k. i'd do whatever it takes, even if i didn't want it, it's worth a fortune on the market in decent condition.
I don't know about the C1241 code, but P1121 is indeed the 3 way coolant valve. It cost me a bit over a thousand to fix that issue at a dealership.
The 3 way valve is a bit of a PITA to replace, but it isn't roughly $800 in labor of a PITA. That said, the engineer who put it where they did should be flogged. It is hard to maneuver it out or back in going either up or down because there is so little space available in that location. It isn't a large valve, they could have tucked it in down near the bottom of the thermos bottle and then it would have been easy to service. Toyota "fixed this" in the next generation by eliminating both the thermos and the valve.
Easiest question today! HOW MUCH do you suppose car payments, sales taxes, and registration fees and additional insurance would be for the replacement????
Alright, here is the update: 3 way coolant valve has been replaced at the local shop for around $550. Problem solved. Now, a couple months later the dashboard lit up with the ABS, VSC, Brake. They warned me about the ABS module and advised to keep driving until the lights show up. Well, here I am. The brakes do work fine, though. I wonder how long can everything work correctly?
When did they warn you about the ABS module? what about it specifically? This happened during the 12V battery replacement visit? If so, that warning the shop gave you MAY not mean anything because a weak 12V battery can cause the ABS warning light to come on with code C1241-Low battery positive voltage. IF that's what happened, the shop should have known or been able to figure out that this was related to the bad battery. (Could be that they have a policy to mention anything brakes related for liability reasons, i have no idea). Your 12V battery was changed in May? Have you had any 12V battery issues as in needing a jump start or a charge? You need to find out what the code is. Don't let what I wrote above cause you to ignore it.
They warned at the time of coolant valve replacement. It was cycling frenquently, now it cycles every 2-3sec. The 12V battery has been replaced last year.
