Gurgling exhaust noise

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Technical Discussion' started by mpg1, Jan 15, 2026 at 12:16 AM.

  1. mpg1

    mpg1 Junior Member

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    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I was wondering if I'm hearing what could be the infamous faulty heat exchanger leak on my recently purchased 2016 Prius. Although the antifreeze levels appear to be full, this evening I noticed a "gurgling" sound coming from the exhaust. The car has 69k miles. There's also a bit of a sulfur/rotten egg smell coming from the exhaust and I thought I could smell exhaust fumes when I started it this morning (which prompted the other observations). I've literally had the car for a day. If it IS the heat exchanger it looks like the car is out of the tsb time repair allowance. I'm attaching a video of the gurgling noise https://youtube.com/shorts/RWTvBZYkJB4?si=-FnvnSC5jkFV8pQm
     
  2. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Just watch the coolant reservoir very carefully every day for a couple of weeks.

    Smelling exhaust on a cold start is normal especially if you are standing behind the car.