Hey everyone! I have a Toyota Prius 2006, with 150k miles on it. It's working fine and has never given me problems. However, i wanted to know if any of you could tell me if this noise is just "time" on the engine, or if it could be something else. It's a little hard to hear through the clip, but it sounds like a "clank clank" in the background. Prius noise - Instaudio
If this is coming from the engine area, you should have your water pump checked. Has the car ever been low on oil?
Yes it's coming from my engine area, i tried to capture the noise as much as possible. No i don't think it's ever been lower than what we filled it with. It doesn't burn through oil either too fast, or leak either. Any idea how much that might cost (water pump)?
I would encourage you to check your oil level often, as these cars do burn oil. If it is a water pump and pulley problem, a general mechanic can probably replace it for around $300-$400. At the dealer, it would run you close to $500. If you DIY, it would be under $100 including the belt.
Thank you! If it is the water pump, how long can i expect it to last? Is it something that will give more symptoms or just die on me one day?
If it is your water pump making this noise (at this point it's just a guess), you would need to address the problem sooner rather than later. The car's cooling is very important, if it seizes up, you car would overheat and you would need a new engine.
150,000 miles is respectable mileage for any water pump. Like JC said you need to get it checked out. Two things you never want to happen to an engine is run it low on oil or low on coolant, both are disasters in the making.
If you're the DIY type and need some help, there's a Northern California Prius group that gets together on the weekends to help diagnose and fix simple problems. You can try to meet up with them and get this taken care of. A water pump is a pretty simple repair on the Prius, so it can be done during a weekend meetup. If you're not the DIY type, they can probably still help you with a contribution of lunch and beer LOL
You can follow along here: Possible Monthly install meets. Bay Area-Fremont We just met last weekend, but I have a feeling @SFO will be wanting to meet up again sooner rather than later. We help those that aren’t as mechanically inclined, as long as you show up woth curiosity and are willing to pitch in. Lunch goes along way toward getting some of us to help out .
Sounds pretty bad. Go on youtube and search for: Prius Inspection There's instructions there to make the engine run at idle endlessly for an engine inspection. With engine running non stop open the hood and listen to where the noise is coming from. I would listen underneath the front of the car too because it sounds to me like chain in the transmission has failed. Use a long pipe or screwdriver held to the area of interest and then to your ear to pinpoint the noise area. Really long screwdriver works great for that. Cheap stethoscope. The waterpump is at the front of the engine where the drive belt is.
