Coolant Leaking Problems of Toyota Prius

2012 Toyota Prius ii, dealer maintained, now needs new engine due to blown head gasket. Mileage 151000. The car has run perfectly until a recent engine light came on. When it was brought into the dealership, the diagnosis was misfiring of 2 cylinders and coolant leaking into cylinders 3 and 4. There was no previous engine problems. An official complaint was filed with Toyota customer service. They responded that there was no fault on their end and I should have the engine replaced at an authorized Toyota dealer. A search for this trouble resulted in several other complaints of the failure of head gaskets in this year and model Prius.

See all problems of the 2012 Toyota Prius 🔎.

Our 2012 Prius v has continuously been burning oil at an alarming rate. It was put through an oil consumption test at the dealership and they claimed not to know what the problem was (just that the car was getting older and we should probably buy a new one), even though they have issued a TSB to dealerships about this problem. At this point, we are barely able to drive the car any distance without having to put more oil in. We have always kept up on the maintenance for the vehicle, we recently replaced the head gasket and the coolant in the car, but now the car just runs hot with the fan running all the time and the oil is consistently burning. We've never had to put oil into the car ourselves between maintenance sessions and now they have us coming in to change oil every 5k miles instead of every 10k miles as before. Even then, we are still having to add oil in between visits. I bought the car as a commuter vehicle, it has about 200,000 miles on it, driving it 5 days per week, about 100 miles per day. Depending on the quote to fix it (from a non dealer because they won't acknowledge there's a problem), I will probably have to trade the car in at a minimal value in order to purchase a new car, which I really cannot afford to do right now. This problem is only occurring when the car is moving. There is no leak, as it would be evident on my driveway. I mostly drive the car on the highway.

Found out the violent engine shaking and the mystery loss of coolant without any noticeable leaks is due to a leaking head gasket that his common to many owners. Car now runs rough and mileage is affected. . Read more...

See all problems of the 2011 Toyota Prius 🔎.

The check engine light comes on whenever outside temperature is above 45f or so. Took it to Toyota dealership and they said it was a faulty coolant flow control valve that was resulting in code p1121. The dealer said this was a safety issue since coolant can leak out, and recommended it be fixed ASAP at a cost of nearly $1000. This is not an uncommon problem for Prius's and an online search showed that Toyota did cover this under warranty (extension) for some model years up to 35k miles. I wrote to Toyota motor sales to ask if they would cover or assist with the repair cost, and if there was a hidden recall or warranty extension on this issue, and they responded that I should just try to negotiate a better price with the dealer. I think Toyota should cover this, it is a safety issue and should have been a recall.

See all problems of the 2006 Toyota Prius 🔎.