Major Prius Malfunction; Coolant Pumps?

Howdy Everyone,

I was wondering if any one can help me out with the following problem. I got the following warning indicators (pictures down below) just yesterday. As the warning indicators came on, almost simultaneously the air/conditioning would no longer cool, in other words it was coming out hot on 69*F.

In addition, the vehicle has already been to the local Toyota dealership, where they informed me that they had ordered a pump. What I understood was that it was some sort of a coolant pump. I also know that the Thermos, or the Hot Coolant storage tank was replaced some time ago, however I believe it was properly bled at the time.

In end, Toyota had indicated that I need two new pumps which have been ordered (well one was already installed). But their lack of effective communication has left me somewhat in the dark about the problem, until the part arrives.


In my mind- the vehicle seems to be overheating because the a/c occasionally ceases to cool, while at the same time the following warning indicators (down below) come on. The ICE & E-motor seem a bit hot, and at some point It almost appeared to be loosing power, although not really because the only indicator of this was a sort of fading in the indicator lights, including the clock. But this was only once, when it seemed to be getting quite hot earlier today.

Any ideas on the prognosis? I know my description is vague and unclear, but perhaps someone might have a hunch as to what the problem may be.

I will post back with the exact names of the pumps that were ordered for my Prius.

 

Notice the temp. outside @ 81F, damn and I took that at about 1am'ish. That's South Texas for you, alright.

 

Any ideas?

 

No clues ?

 

What I understand now is that it was/is the Water pump (or the pump for the inverter coolant loop) that needed replacement on the Prius. Which leads me to believe that either A. They don't last past 88k, or B. It's just way too hot down in South Texas with averages of 100F+ including now or C. it had something to do with the incident that ruined and caused the replacement of my Hot Coolant Storage tank earlier this year.. and perhaps it was not bled properly. Nonetheless I am just making uneducated (concerning the matter at hand) speculations... .

However, my tech indicated that he still needed to bleed it some more, I assumed this was referring to the Hot Coolant tank, but I will inquire into that tomorrow.

My hopes are that no parts were damaged as a result of the overheating, such as surrounding parts, or the major components themselves. Although my tech did not indicate this.

Warranty is covering this, which of coarse is the positive side of this ordeal, nonetheless I see it as common courtesy on their part. I am not all that far from 90,000 on this Prius, But I got it at 30,000 last year. Damn those trips to the midwest! I will have to make these last 10,000 miles last as to really savor what still remains of my Warranty.

I suppose the question I seek to pose is whether or not any one has experienced any problems with their water pumps or Inverter coolant pump? I actually did some research on this post, and found a select few that needed all kinds of pump replacements much sooner than I did, practically when there vehicles were still quite new. So I suppose from that angle of comparison I should consider myself lucky to have had the problem after 88,000 as opposed to the fellow who had the problem at 20,000 (Screaming Coolant Pump Post)

But as a owner of 2004 Prius I assume that I should at some point come to expect to have a number of problems as the 04 is the first of the second generation vehicles... Blah. I am nearly at 100,000 miles and EVERYTHING else seems to be working great. My battery still charges to the last green bar, and its performance has only seemed to have gotten better. The ICE sounds fine, MFD screen still makes a great LCD screen for dvds at rest areas, brakes are still good it seems because of the regen. brakes, all recalls have been performed which is quite a lot of them for an 04.

Here's to healthy pumps!

And thanks for all your help folks.

actually i plugged in a OBD2 and I think i remember getting the code P0093 if I am correct. Not sure which codes they got with their OBD software...which i read somewhere could be a fuel system leak, although i think this is unlikely.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jdenenberg @ Jun 30 2007, 06:32 AM) [snapback]470542[/snapback]</div>

Well I hope I don't need a new inverter, the tech made no mention of this, so I'm hoping the Inverter is still alright.

Also thanks for your input on the matter

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cei955 @ Jun 30 2007, 10:51 AM) [snapback]470608[/snapback]</div>

At this point, the vehicle is with Toyota, and will be so for at least a week. It looks like I'll be occupying a rental vehicle for the mean while -at the expense of Toyota.

I don't know a great deal about the technology behind a Toyota Prius but I assume once the repairs are done the vehicle will operate the same, but what did you mean when you said, "......be the same and go to using oil. I wasn't sure what you meant by ,go to using oil. At any rate, the vehicle is covered by warranty and therefore it is the responsibility of Toyota to bring it back to its condition. I am confident that when this ordeal is over, my Prius will be the same, if not better, with newer pumps.

But I will submit to you that my tech indicated that the vehicle was INDEED overheating,which was caused by the faulty pump.

But I will get my answers on Monday ,concerning the specifics.

But I am not of the mind to believe that the vehicle will never be the same, otherwise I would have to believe that I did not have warranty.

Thanks once again for all the input.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jun 30 2007, 11:50 PM) [snapback]470886[/snapback]</div>

There is a water pump, and a pump for the inverter and the ice. Are there any other pumps in the engine?

I am visiting my tech tomorrow morning and will find out exactly which pump was ordered, I found out today
that the pump (that was ordered) was back ordered by Toyota... something about 3 days.

I will mention the Compression test when repairs are complete, like you advised to find the status of the inverter.

I'll let you know which pump was replaced tomorrow. Thank you for your help Galaxee

 

Hi again.

I was able to confirm today that it was the Pump for the Inverter Coolant that needed to be replaced. As JeffD said there is bleeding that still needs to be done for the Inverter Coolant Pump.

Like Galaxee said there will be a Compression Test done to check out how the Inverter is doing.


I wonder what my chances are of needing a new inverter.... I havn't been told that this is the case, so I hope that it is now.

Thanks again!