During a head gasket repair is the heat exchanger easily accessible?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by DoryNina, Sep 7, 2022.

  1. DoryNina

    DoryNina New Member

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    Our 2016 Prius is back at the dealership after a head gasket repair in response to a coolant leak 2 months ago…with another coolant leak. With advice in another post from before the first repair, we asked the dealership to check the heat exchanger and the TSB on it. They pushed back and said they were aware of the TSB and the leak was definitely the head gasket and not the heat exchanger. Well now 2 months later it’s the heat exchanger. Can someone help clarify, if they had appropriately checked the heat exchanger and found it to be leaking at the time they did the head gasket, are the two close together therefore the labor and cost would have been similar or would it have required a lot more labor. I’m asking as I want to negotiate with the dealership that they pay for the labor if the prior is the case as it might be on them for missing this initially and not thoroughly checking what we asked them to.
     
    #1 DoryNina, Sep 7, 2022
  2. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Senior Member

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    Heat exchanger can only be seen from under the car so it would have to be on a lift.
     
    #2 CooCooCaChoo, Sep 7, 2022
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Concur. Because that heat exchanger is part of the exhaust system underneath the car, there isn't anything about doing a head gasket job that makes it appreciably easier to get to.

    On the bright side, changing an exhaust pipe really is a much easier job than changing a head gasket.
     
    #3 ChapmanF, Sep 7, 2022
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like they missed the heat exchanger leak on the first go round, and changed the head gasket unnecessarily
     
    #4 bisco, Sep 7, 2022
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  5. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    ditto; sounds like Bisco is correct.

    To ensure it's the heat exhanger that is leaking; loop it out of the cooling circuit and do a cooling system pressure test. If the leak is gone; you have your answer. They should've did this test FIRST before stealing $3K+ from your wallet for a head gasket replacement. This test would've only taken an hour.

    Isn't NY a CARB state that follows California Air Resources Board rules and regulations? If they do, that heat exchanger is part of the smog control system and may still be under warranty. Check your states rules and regulations.

    The 3nd generation Prius did have head gasket issues.

    Hope this helps....
     
    #5 BiomedO1, Sep 7, 2022
  6. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    Here's a diagram of the catalytic converter with the heat exchanger.

    gen 4 catalytic converter.png
     
    #6 Georgina Rudkus, Sep 8, 2022
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah, @DoryNina what was the miles on the car?

    Head gasket failure on 4th gen is virtually non-existant, and the exhaust heat exchanger leak is prevalent, and there's a TSB for it. Virtually a slam-dunk certainty you've had a totally unecessary head gasket "repair", while the real problem was missed.
     
    #7 Mendel Leisk, Sep 8, 2022
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  8. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Yet another example that the dealers are not the best shops out there. Usually their best techs open their own shops. To make things worse, the dealer service advisers often depend on their mechanic's advice and often are on commission.
     
    #8 rjparker, Sep 8, 2022
  9. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    As you can see, this front pipe is a boa constrictor swallowing three elephants.

    Starting from the left in the picture, the elephants are: (1) the car's second catalytic converter, (2) the heat exchanger, and (3) a resonator.

    The Gen 4's first catalytic converter is integral with the exhaust manifold.

    [​IMG]
     
    #9 ChapmanF, Sep 8, 2022
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