1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Head gasket concern?

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by TSonn, Sep 18, 2019.

  1. TSonn

    TSonn Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2019
    41
    21
    0
    Location:
    Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Hey All -

    Purchased a used 2012 Prius V with 188k miles a couple weeks ago and just took it into the Toyota dealer for a general safety maintenance check on it. Things generally looked good though they said I might need to replace the head gasket in the next year or so because they saw it was leaking a tiny bit of oil. Last oil change was 3 months ago at 181k (7k miles) and the oil is still at the full line so it seems like it isn't leaking much oil at all. I also haven't ever seen oil under the vehicle so the leak must not be bad enough to drip while sitting. How worried should I be about this "leak"? And is there anything I can do right now to prolong having to replace the head gasket?

    For what it's worth, they quoted me at $1,700 to replace the head gasket which seems like it's about $2,000 less than others have been quoted on here from a dealership so I'm also a bit curious about that too.

    Thanks!
     
    #1 TSonn, Sep 18, 2019
  2. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    3,913
    1,068
    0
    Location:
    New Yawk
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    The head gasket issue that has been reported and discussed here is an internal EGR-related failure, not an external leak (which you acknowledge is minuscule). If you don’t have any EGR-related symptoms (misfire, blow by, or oil in the coolant), the probability of head gasket failure is vanishingly low.
     
    #2 Air_Boss, Sep 18, 2019
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,781
    48,985
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i wouldn't lose any sleep, but i would check the oil regularly, and read up on cleaning the egr circuit
     
    #3 bisco, Sep 18, 2019
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,710
    38,247
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Are you sure they were talking head gasket? A head gasket failing will cause all sorts of issues, including one that can bend piston arms. Maybe something got lost in tranlation: it seems dealerships love to draw attention to a timing chain cover reseal, and the going rate for that seems to be around $1700. In a lot of cases the leakage is trivial, and could be ignored.

    I assume they didn't show you the leakage? I would ask if they could show you, and verify what exactly it is they're talking about.

    If you want to investigate yourself:

    The head gasket seam is about six inches down from the valve cover (another possible source of leakage, but definitely not $1700 territory), just below the intake ports. The seam runs all the way round, but I would guess if they saw leaking oil it would on the front or the ends.

    The timing chain cover runs the full height of the "front" of the engine, which is the passenger side end of the engine, as you stand at the front looking at the engine bay. You can shine a light down there, looking for oil. For a better look, take off the passenger wheel, remove a couple of the plastic fasteners on the the plastic panel at back of wheel well, and flex it back:

    upload_2019-9-18_17-41-36.png

    Pretty much everything you see in the above picture is the timing chain cover (apart from the oil filter bracket, lower left corner. It's basically the end wall of the engine. It doesn't have a regular gasket, just Form-In-Place gasket. It's involved to remove and reseal, lots of bolts, tricky sealing application, lots of bolts to torque, and the reseal and torque theoretically should all be done within 15 minutes.

    Again, better see for yourself first what they're talking about.
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, Sep 18, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2019
    Raytheeagle and JC91006 like this.
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,470
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I agree with Mendel, the gasket they can "see" leak a bit of oil is not the head gasket.
     
    #5 JC91006, Sep 18, 2019
  6. TSonn

    TSonn Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2019
    41
    21
    0
    Location:
    Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Thanks for the replies everyone! I'll have to go back and have them show it to me next time. I'm bringing it back in next week to make sure the 2 recalls on it had been completed so I'll ask then.

    I just looked at my receipt and the suggested maintenance for the head gasket is marked as "EI31 Timing Cover and/or Gaskets - Replace 377: $1,754.06". The service guy just told me it was the head gasket but it seems like the way it's marked it could be a different "gasket" or a timing cover? Maybe that makes more sense to all you mechanics out there!

    Moreover, this safety check was free so that's why I was a little skeptical of the suggested maintenance - I typically don't trust dealerships (past Pontiac trauma) so I thought maybe they were just scaring me into paying for some maintenance that I maybe don't need and that's part of their "free safety check" plan.
     
    #6 TSonn, Sep 18, 2019
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,710
    38,247
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Yeah "timing gasket" equals timing chain cover sealant. For sure have a look for yourself first.

    That's ours, in the pic I posted, dry as a bone. Only 80k kms though.
     
    #7 Mendel Leisk, Sep 18, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2019
    Montgomery likes this.
  8. TSonn

    TSonn Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2019
    41
    21
    0
    Location:
    Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Gotcha. Thanks again for the response! Sounds like it's a pretty rough fix then. If that's what's leaking, what's my next step? See how much it's leaking? Will it create bigger problems down the road or just force me to check oil more often? Any way to play some prevent defense on it so it doesn't get worse (if it can)?
     
    #8 TSonn, Sep 18, 2019
  9. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,470
    8,383
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    This is a common leak and is usually minor. Most people ignore it
     
    #9 JC91006, Sep 18, 2019
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)