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08 Prius engine stall/coolant problem

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by belayasila, Nov 14, 2012.

  1. belayasila

    belayasila New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2012
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    Location:
    State College, PA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I bought a 08 Prius that with 21k miles at a low price because it was lightly hit in the front (mainly cosmetic damage). To be on the safe side, i replaced the radiator, condensor and the fans behind the radiator. so i have no warranty =(

    After replacing the parts and putting the car back together, i put in new radiator fluid that i bought from the local Toyota dealership. I filled all the reservoirs to the full marks, started the car for a bit, turned it off and filled the coolant again to the full mark. I repeated the process untill the coolant level didnt go down anymore. Then I started the car up and let it run for a while to recharge both batteries. When the electric battery was charged to a good amount, the engine stoped. I turned off the ignition and went home for the day thinking that my prius was good to go. I was very wrong!

    The next night, i decided to take the car for a test drive, to get more coolant flowing to see if i needed to add any more. Turned on the car, let the engine run for like 10 min, and then i drove off. Everything looked fine. Engine was charging the battery, electric motor was working fine too. drove 1.5 miles to my brothers house and the triangle and check engine lite up when i was 1 min away. The engine stalled/ didnt stop smoothly. Drove the rest of the way on the battery and barely made it before the electric battery didnt have enough power to push the car. I turned off the ignition and waited about 1 min and turned the car on again. The engine started up and began charging the battery (triangle and engine light still on). I checked the codes and got 1, p2111 throttle actuator stuck open. After running about 10 min, the engine stalled out again and again.

    Looked online everywhere and did everything people said to troubleshoot and came to the conclusion that the throttle body was 100% functional/ not stuck. so i moved on to see why the engine kept stalling. I start the ignition. Everything is fine (after codes cleared). car works for about 10-15 mins and then stalls. After playing around, i noticed the after running for about 10 mins, all the hoses and the radiator were cold, as if no hot fluid ever went through them.

    I came to the conclusion that the engine is stalling because it has no coolant circulating and it shuts off due to over-heating. I checked the lower pump infornt of the drivers side tire, and it seems to work (atleast it makes a some noise that sounds like it is working when you turn the car on). The other pump i am not sure how to check.

    Anyone know how to check the other pump by/under the invertor or have any idea of why the engine might be stalling out?
    PLEASE HELP!!!

    (took the prius to shop to see if they can figure it out, but all they did was charge me ALOT and gave me no answers)
     
    #1 belayasila, Nov 14, 2012
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    1. My procedure to replace engine coolant can be found in post #22 and #42 here. Note the valve that can be opened to remove air on top of the radiator, on the driver's side. Air also will be trapped in the cabin heater core loop as well as the CHRS canister plumbing:
    Changing engine coolant | Page 2 | PriusChat

    2. The pump in front of the main relay/fuse box near the inverter is the inverter coolant pump. To verify that it is working, make the Prius READY and look for fluid turbulence in the inverter coolant reservoir. If you see turbulence then the pump is operational.

    3. How much coolant did you add to the engine coolant system? When the engine is running, to promote coolant circulation and get rid of air in the system, you might try squeezing the radiator hoses.

    4. How hot does the engine itself get (head and block) after it has been run for 10 minutes? You might use an instant read infrared thermometer to assess exterior engine temp.

    5. Which shop did you take the car to? If you are not successful in getting the car to run, perhaps you will have to visit your local Toyota dealer so that DTC can be read and a diagnosis provided to you.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Nov 14, 2012
  3. belayasila

    belayasila New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2012
    2
    0
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    Location:
    State College, PA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Alright! I talked to a guy at the dealership and he said that i would need 2 full containers of coolant, but only about 1 and 1/2-3/4 went in. So that is about how much i put in after putting the new parts together. Have not yet checked the engine temp yet. After running the engine for about 10 mins, it becomes warm, but not hot enough to burn my hand when i touch it.

    Hoses started to get warm after squeezing when the car is running and the inverter coolant pump seems to be working. After the engine stops, the pump makes noise and there is turbulence.

    The shop was a local shop about 10min drive from State College, PA.

    This week, i had the prius front end up in the garage while filling up more coolant slowly and it kept going down and now it barely is going down. Hopefully most of the air is out but i guess ill only find out when i take the car on the road this week.
     
    #3 belayasila, Nov 19, 2012
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,479
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    If you added 6-7 quarts of new coolant, that is pretty good. There shouldn't be too much air left in the system.

    Before you take the car for another test drive, I suggest that you make the Prius READY. Then set the cabin air temp to MAX HEAT, turn the vent fan on, rev up the engine repeatedly, and see how much heat comes out of the vent system after the engine has warmed up. Listen for air in the heater core.

    If you get a good qty of heat and you do not hear air bubbles, then the engine coolant system is probably free of air bubbles. If you don't get cabin heat or you hear air bubbles, then you need to work more on getting air out of the coolant loop.

    The reason that I suggest doing this before your test drive is that you won't stress the engine much by revving it up while the car is motionless on your driveway and the engine is under no load. When the car is being driven and the engine is under load, then if the engine coolant system still has air within, localized overheating of the engine head might cause permanent damage - since the engine block and head are both aluminum and easier to warp (compared to an engine made of cast iron.)
     
    #4 Patrick Wong, Nov 19, 2012
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