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Radiator Hoses installed improperly after accident

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by barrystein, Oct 4, 2017.

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  1. barrystein

    barrystein Junior Member

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    2005 Prius
    My 2005 was in an accident.
    As part of the repair the private shop replaced and installed a new cooling radiator.
    This is the same car referred to in thread
    Hybrid Battery Filter | PriusChat

    After the repair, warning lights about overheating kept coming on. The private shop claimed the hybrid battery compartment had to be cleaned out. Which they did. Then 155 miles later the problem reappeared.

    Took it to the toyota dealer. Besides finding more debris in the hybrid battery compartment, and no filter put there, they also discovered that the shop had installed the hoses to the radiator incorrectly, resulting in leaks and debris within the radiator, so they flushed the radiator and installed the hoses properly.

    Private shop claims they installed hoses correctly and that there is no signs of leaks.
    Bottom line private shop never got the car working properly and claimed nothing was wrong with it.

    We showed them pictures of the hoses and the evidence of coolant spills. They claim the picture show the hoses installed properly, and if they were installed incorrectly you should see liquid leaking out. I told them that only happens under pressure when the car is on.

    Look at the attached pictures and see what you think

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    #1 barrystein, Oct 4, 2017
  2. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Pictures don’t work.

    There’s no filter for hybrid battery (from the factory). But if it was cleaned then 155 miles later there should be no debris in there.

    “Bottom line private shop never got the car working properly and claimed nothing was wrong with it.” This is just funny. If it’s not working properly then how can they claim that there’s nothing wrong with it?
     
    #1 valde3, Oct 5, 2017
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like you'll just have to write off the private shop, unless you want to take them to small claims court.

    otoh, the dealer who claimed there was debris in the battery compartment, then discovered that hoses were incorrectly installed sounds inept as well.

    unless you get a printout of the trouble codes they discovered when you brought it in, we'll never really know.
     
    #1 bisco, Oct 5, 2017
  4. barrystein

    barrystein Junior Member

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    hopefully these photos will work from an album I uploaded
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
     
    #2 barrystein, Oct 5, 2017
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yeah the photos from that site you used doesn't work (it shows up when I edit your post but if I were to save it, it won't work as I tried it in your other thread. It might have something to do with the current website situation). You may have to find a different image or host it elsewhere (like you did in your PriusChat album)
     
    #3 Tideland Prius, Oct 6, 2017
  6. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    From the pictures you can only tell that has been leaking. But you can’t tell from those pictures why it has been leaking.
     
    #4 valde3, Oct 6, 2017
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  7. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    1) Who paid for the repair? Insurance claim or your own money? If insurance, bring this to their attention.

    2) What DTC codes did the shop retrieve, to determine the Hybrid Battery Compartment was dirty and needs to be cleaned? I am not aware of any such DTC existing for "Hybrid Battery case needs spring cleaning."

    3) What DTC codes did the Toyota dealer retrieve? Was the Toyota tech moonlighting from the shop? Investigate the HV Battery unnecessarily, only to address the radiator lastly.

    4) Maybe the replacement radiator is bad? Anyone pressurize the system and look for leaks while the Prius is on the lift?

    5) Take action or do nothing:
    5a) Take the shop to small claims.
    5b) Notify the California Bureau of Auto Repair (BAR) of this incompetent shop. Welcome to the BAR Online Complaint Form - California Department of Consumer Affairs
    5c) Write a scathing review: Yelp, Google, Ripoff Report, etc.​

    6) List the incompetent shop, so others can learn from your unfortunate experience.
     
    #5 exstudent, Oct 6, 2017
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2017
  8. 05PreeUs

    05PreeUs Senior Member

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    So no private shop will be able to successfully argue their repair was correct because you had problems immediately afterwards AND because the OEM dealer identified the problem and corrected it on the first go.

    Present the dealer's bill to the owner of the private shop and request FULL payment on that bill. If they refuse and an insurance company paid for the original repair, contact the insurance company and ask them to cover the dealer's bill.

    In no event is this YOUR bill to be stuck with, based on what you have presented here.
     
    #6 05PreeUs, Oct 7, 2017
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