Toyota dealer said computer indicated the water pump and belt needed replacing. We decided to do the replacement ourself. Now the light comes on which indicates car is running hot. We did replace the coolant. The 2005 Toyota Prius never ran hot before the replacement, What did we do wrong?
Easy stuff: incorrect belt tension, you used the wrong coolant, or you didn't get all the air out. See Bentley or other repair manual for belt tension and for bleeding air (it's not as simple as turning the cabin heater on high for a while and adding coolant). If you used the wrong non-Toyota stuff, replace it ASAP. If none of that fits, get thee back to a dealer :_>
Open the bleed valve that is located near the driver side headlight and stick it in a bottle of fresh coolant. The fill up the radiator the best that you can and start the car, put it in service mode, and allow it to idle for 20-30 minutes. I would consult the service manual for the exact bleeding procedure, but that's what I watched the Toyota tech do.
There are plenty of threads here in the Gen II Maintenance forum that outline the exact bleed process, which is required to get the substantial amount of potential air out of the system. Shorting the coolant reservoir pump relay is the simplest when following instructions. Also not mentioned, how much coolant did you replace when refilling? I went through about 6 quarts.
I couldn't get the bleed valve to stick into a bottle of fresh coolant. What kind of glue works best for this? HELP in SACTO.
Sorry, just saw this. use a small rubber hose and stick it into a bottle of coolant. Get a hose that fits tightly enough.
