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Hot Coolant Transfer Pump issues, part 2

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by jeromep, Dec 5, 2005.

  1. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    haha, I did that with mine except it didn't turn out that well using voice record.


    Oh, I forgot to mention above. The Prius tech said I'm a little on the low side for the coolant level. He also said he'll perform the latest TSB. Any thoughts on that?

    Edit: whoa, that sounded different.
     
  2. gil

    gil Junior Member

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    This is interesting to me as I have an intemittent squeal on startup on cold mornings (mine is a 2005) as well, but I have noticed it only when depressing the brake pedal firmly (as when starting up), and I can get it to do it at various times during the day but only when the temperature outside is below 40 degrees. I took it to the dealer last winter at about the 5000 mile oil change interval and of course the dreaded "could not reproduce the problem" reply was received. Since the temperature has dropped to the 30s here in Richmond this week the noise has returned. I'm happy to ask the dealer to check the coolant pump but I'm curious if there isn't something else wrong with the relationship to applying th brake. Something keeps telling me it is related to the antilock brake pump, but it is only a guess based on the fact I only hear it when stopped with the brake applied. Letting my foot off the brake stops the screech. I do hear the coolant pump run after shutdown and it sounds normal to me and seems to run for about 15 or 20 seconds. Anyone else noticed this when pressing on the brake??
     
  3. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    Tideland- you've never had anything done with the coolant system?? That is strange indeed...

    Gil- we do notice a kind of pump sound when we press the brake pedal in the morning, that's the ABS pump pressurizing the accumulator, but it's definitely not a squeal. a squeal is not good. if you can make it happen, take it over to the dealer so you can show the tech yourself. take the guy around so he can hear it. the prius shouldn't go around squealing.
     
  4. wb9tyj

    wb9tyj 2017 Prius Prime Advanced

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    On my 2004, Im starting to get the same grinding noise on the pump on shutdown...33000miles now...only does it when its cold and its been nasty cold...temp as we speak...a balmy 6 F...sounds similar to the .wav file
     
  5. gil

    gil Junior Member

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    Thanks Galaxee,

    I'm familiar with the sound the ABS system makes normally, but this is a definite squeal or more like a series of chirps. I'm about due for an oil change in a couple of weeks, I'll try to get them to listen again. The squeal is not continuous, but is fairly loud series of chirps. I went to good detail the last time I took it in for this, but they claim they couldn't make it do it. So I guess I'll have to be there with the tech to make it do this while he listens. Hopefully I can get this resolved. The brakes seem to work normally, in fact they can really haul the car down from any speed, I guess due to the regenerative braking working along with the regular brakes. The odd thing is I don't hear the noise when slowing down, or even during hard braking, only while holding my foot on the brake while the car is stopped. I was just curious if anyone else has noticed this noise.
     
  6. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    the wife's sounded just like the .wav file. I've recorded wav's for Toyota before on industrial equipement. Squeeking main seals on the ICE and for the most part they never replied to my sending the file. Said they were listening to it that's the last I ever heard. I found it myself, incorrectly plumbed PCV system, and fixed it. Sent them a tech report and they changed the design of the PCV system.
     
  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Nope. Zip zero nada. Only had two services so far - 8,000km and 16,000km. For the 16,000km, I got them to rotate the tyres. That's about it.

    Also, I've noticed that when I first start, my brakes have the squeak of the type you'd hear on those boxed delivery vans. Comes on every time after I leave the car for a while (e.g. having lunch). Goes away after a few stops or leaving it in N and riding the brake down the multistorey carpark ramps.

    Argh. Why is everything happening now lol. I remember last year, the brake squeaks were because the rotor or the pads were wet and because we rarely use the pads, they squeak. But this one seems different. The snow has all melted and it's dry now.
     
  8. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    Hey Gil, if y'can wait till after x-mess when I'm heading back north
    and we manage to pull together an RTP-area meetup, bring yer brakes
    on down and we can all given it a listen and offer our ivory-tower
    theories as to what's going on! [See "road trips" area for details]
    .
    If it's a very high-pitched tone whose note stays constant, and if
    it persists for about half a second after you let completely off the
    brake and then stops after the relay click, then you're hearing the
    solenoid-driver modulation. My first actuator block was a bit louder
    in this regard than the replacement; the new one is much quieter but
    it's still there if I listen carefully.
    .
    _H*
     
  9. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    My rear brakes did that for a while too, was about to have the husband take it in to the shop with him. He told me it was because I used the parking brake too often (daily) and that it had adjusted the self-adjusting rear brakes too tight. I quit using the parking brake daily and now it's gone.

    But there are a ton of things that can make brakes squeak, so that may not be the problem in your car.
     
  10. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    hmm, yeah I use the parking brake frequently.

    That's true.
     
  11. jeromep

    jeromep Member

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    I suppose I'll end this saga.

    The dealer has seen my car and they have concluded that the pump is working normally. They actually called me and invited me in because they wanted to have me there to either confirm that the pump was working or not based upon the noises I was hearing or not hearing. When I arrived the Master Tech who had my car greeted me and took me back to his station and basically went over what he had done with the car that day. The service department general manager was also there. So, just to make sure we were all on the same page regarding the pump he used the THHT to force run the pump, of which it was functioning and wasn't loud or noisy in any way. I was able to confirm to him that the tone and pitch of the pump was exactly as I had expected, but much quieter than I have ever heard it before. He went on to explain that the system has a number of bleed points and that it is difficult to get all the air out of, but not impossible and that any future coolant service would require a thorough bleeding of the cooling system. He figures that I was hearing air in the pump at some point and that there shouldn't be any further air in the system after the work he did. He stated that the car had no codes in memory and according to the source at Toyota tech support that a pump malfunction should post a diagnostic code.

    He also updated me to the SSC 50P, which I hadn't had done yet. That seems to be a rather benign update. I don't believe I have noticed any performance changes.

    So far, the pump has operated normally over the weekend and I'm basically pleased with my service visit.

    So, was I confused or paranoid. Maybe. But I think I'm done worrying about this issue. Especially since the tech was nice enough to let me into his world and I got to talk with him about this and listen to the pump in a controlled environment.

    Thanks to all that replied. I hope I can avoid any more posts like this for a long while.
     
  12. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    glad to hear everything turned out okay and the car is working fine.

    that tech and the service department get a thumbs up for customer service. wish they were all like that.
     
  13. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    mmhmm.

    Mine's still in the shop. They fried the ECU when they were doing the update. I'll be Prius-less for 4 days they say.
     
  14. jeromep

    jeromep Member

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    Darn! :angry:

    Basically, if they fried the ECU it means they didn't do one of the steps correctly or possibly they let the voltage go low on the aux battery when doing the procedure. If my memory serves me correctly the 50p documentation states that a Prius battery charger is to be placed on the 12v battery to maintain it while the procedures are being completed. So long as that battery charger is in place and there isn't excessive draw on the battery the system should be running and not in danger of a flash failure due to inadvertent power outage. Keep in mind that the upgrade is done in ig-on, not ready.

    There is an issue with the software on the THHT. The highest version available for it has caused some problems and dealers have been alerted to go to the most previous version of the software to do the update.

    Anyway, I hope that your dealer gets you going again and that all is well.
     
  15. BitShifter01

    BitShifter01 New Member

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    I'm still going to the dealership to have them inspect the noise. The noise coming from my Prius sounds exactly like this recording. I just find it peculiar the Prius didn't make this type of noise last winter when it was just as cold. Now I have over 22,000 miles on the Prius and it's making this noise everytime I start up and shutdown the car. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I doubt it. Or maybe I'm paranoid but I doubt it. :lol:
     
  16. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    wow Jonathan!! what a bummer man
     
  17. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Hmm, I see. Yeah I hpoe so too. The thing I'm most worried about now is my HV battery and my EV mod. Ok, yes I know I install the EV mod knowing full well of the potential troubles my dealer can cause, HOWEVER, I'll tell you why I'm more worried now.


    See, everything I send the car in to the dealer, I give them a full battery (usually 6 bars). Everytime I get the car back, it's 2 bars and pink. I have no idea why. When I took my Prius to another dealer just once for the 16,000km service, I gave them 6 bars and got it back with 5. Why does my "home" dealer alway drain the battery?

    If they drain the battery under a normal service or just simply to replace a warranty part, what about the TSB? My Prius is in limp-home mode and will only operate in battery power. If the flash is done in IG-ON mode, how did they move the car out of the service bay (which is underground) and to the parking lot a few metres away? I know there's a tool in which dealers can charge a "dead" HV battery but how will I know they have that tool and that they're not draining the battery outside of the set range?
     
  18. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    The car cannot be driven while the flash update is being done. Where they start the update is where the car will stay until done. If the ECU blows, it is basically a dead car stuck in park. They might be able to put the car in neutral with the THHT, otherwise they have to put the front wheels on a dolly and push the car to a parking space.

    The battery level refers to the HV battery, not the aux battery. The HV battery can be used while the car is in a standstill by the AC compressor and the DC-DC converter which subs for a traditional alternator. I usually turn off the HVAC when going through a carwash, since the car cannot charge in Neutral. I would do the same when sending the car in for service if I remember. The DC-DC converter usually doesn't take a whole lot of power, but if the car is left on long enough, it could go down to 2 bars where ICE kicks in.
    I usually put the car in READY when using my small 12V compressor so I get full voltage and current to the compressor. I sometimes lose one bar, going from 6 down to 5 when I add air to all 4 tires.
     
  19. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Dan, the problem is, it's the HV battery that they always drain to two bars whenever I get the car back, hence I'm worried that they might damage the battery if they do the flash in IG-ON mode. The ECU is dead and they have moved the car to another spot. I don't know how since a tow truck may not fit in their partially underground service station.

    When I left the car with them, the A/C was in manual mode, the radio was on, SKS was enabled and the headlights were in AUTO.
     
  20. jeromep

    jeromep Member

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    Sounds to me like your dealer might be using poor procedure when servicing Prii. They may be using a procedure while having the THHT connected to the car which causes the 12v system to require power from the HV system that is then draining the HV battery down. However, the vehicle has quite a few safeguards for the HV battery. I'm pretty sure the ECUs won't let the HV battery drop past 40% charge and will shut down the system if the HV battery reaches that point to protect it.

    But keep in mind, your fried ECU may not be due to a power issue as it might be due to them having the wrong version of the THHT software on the unit when they started the update.

    I downloaded the tech documentation for the update long before I went in and read through it. And that is the key issue. I'm convinced that nobody could do this update effectively if they hadn't gone through the documentation first before even opening the hood or hooking up the car to the THHT.

    And there could be a combination of issues here. The tech might have been trying to read through the documentation while doing the update and as such took so much time to do it that they ran the onboard power down to a shutdown point and screwed up the programming there. Of course, that would only happen if they had failed to put the maintenance charger on the vehicle before starting that procedure. That maintenance charger is key to keeping the car energized through the entire programming process. And that is also one of the first steps in the procedure before even putting the THHT on the car.

    But I'm almost inclined to believe that it wasn't a power issue at all, but rather they were using the wrong software version and as such the computer got fried by that. That is also not particularly confidence building for this dealership.

    But I wouldn't worry too much. Worrying won't help you any. Just ride that dealer regarding getting your vehicle back in one piece and operating correctly.