Check engine Light - Overheating?

Hi Rick,

The failed coolant pump was the inverter coolant pump. This keeps the inverter (and transaxle to a lesser extent) cool. This pump has nothing to do with the gasoline engine.

When the inverter overheats, the DC to DC converter produces less voltage, which will cause warning lights to come on and also cause the air conditioner compressor not to work.

Many posters have reported a failure of the inverter coolant pump. If the car is working OK now, then hopefully the inverter was not damaged.

 

Before buying take it to a certified Prius tech (most of them are at dealers) to be checked out thoroughly. Lots can go wrong with a Prius and some things need specialized diagnostic equipment.

 

I will try and make this information short as I can, I had a accident with my 05 prius, the first estimate to repair the car was 13.000 , the final cost came to16.000 and was not totoled, by the insurance company, after the car was repaired, it was sent back to the Toyota dealer where I purchased it to be checked out, and it was considered to be OK, soon after ,the heat sensor light would come on a couple of times for only about 10 seconds and go out, when I was able to stop, I could remove the radiator cap without any coolant boiling out or steaming, indicating that the motor was hot.
I was only able to add about a cup of coolant, it would continue to blink off and on now and then, my travels are mostly mountainous and when going down a long grade the heater in the car was putting out cold air, I took the car back to the dealer where I bought the car to have it checked out, as you can guess nothing was found wrong with it, and was not acting up. But on my trip back home,the warning light continued to blink off and on as it did before, and each time I stoped I would have to add more coolant.
I took it to another Toyota dealer ,and I asked them to check the compression and to see if there was water coming out of the exhaust, or any leakage of coolant, they test drove it and ran the motor for about 3 hours in the shop, but found nothing wrong.
The blinking problem continued for three months, when one morning I needed to go somewhere, and when I started the car it sounded like the motor coming apart at the seams. No time before had
The motor sounded like this. I figured that the head gasket must have leaked coolent into one of the cylinders. I had the car towed
To the third Toyota dealer. and they found out that it needed a new motor, 5.000 and was covered by the accident insurance company, which now the cost for repairs was what I bought the car for originally. It was determined that the dealers that worked on it previously evidently didn't know what they're doing to fix it. I found out that there is three points on the motor that needs to be perged
Of air locks in the coolant system, that can cause hot spots in the motor, My worning would be to you, if you change coolant in the radiator make sure you know what you're doing,, or have someone that knows what to do,do it. Even if it is a Toyota dealer . And now, when I add coolent, I add it to the coolent container beside the radiator. So when ever you see the warning light, come on
And off for just a few seconds, have it checked out.