After one stop today I started Prius c one 2013 and got the check hybrid system message. I searched the internet for info. I then clean some minor dust from fan vent - still got message. Read about inverter coolant and looked under hood and it was below the L maybe 1/2' or more. Maui Toyota was closed for good Friday and also has a bad reputation. Overpriced, takes days and hours to get appointment and repairs can be insanely expensive. Only dealer on island. Obviously no info from them. Made several calls and no one here wants to touch hybrid system or knows anything. I was able to finish work errand and drive home. Only gas engine seems to be powering the car. Can I just open the coolant lid and add some distilled water. Would that solve it? Can I drive the car like this until I can take to dealer?
you can probably drive slow, but don't add water. get some inverter coolant at the dealer, and start checking for leaks
I would make a dealership appointment and only drive it, gently, to get to that appointment (whenever that is, say next Tuesday, what with the long weekend).
Distilled water temporarily probably won't hurt anything, but it will be a trick getting the coolant to the right dilution again afterward, because the Toyota SLLC is sold already premixed at the correct 50% dilution. In the ol' days coolant would be sold straight, and you could add about as much of it as the distilled water you put in, and end up back at 50%.
Hmmm......let's see.....where he lives, the temperature goes below freezing.......how many days a year ?? I think ZERO. Adding water should be fine.
Would 1/2" below low line in hybrid coolant reservoir trip a warning? I kinda doubt it, suspect the invert coolant pump failed, but who knows.
Water should be ok temporarily, as long as the right concentration of SLLC (which has a corrosion-protection purpose, not just an anti-freeze/anti-boil purpose) can be restored soon.