Are any of you restricting your Prius to local use based on the concerns for the engine coolant pump failures? I wonder how prevalent these failures are. There must have been more than a few to generate a TSB. I'm afraid to take my 2010 Prius on a long trip now. I understand that Toyota will fix it for free and all that, but I don't want to risk losing a day or more to repairs while on vacation.
I'm not aware of a TSB on the GIII cooling pumps. The one that I'm aware of is for the Inverter Coolant pump on the GII. I haven't seen any comments on this forum for the GIII coolant pumps. Are you confused?
I'm not aware that this is common problem---despite the TSB (There's a TSB?) My G3 is a company car, so I'm limited to about a 200-mile swath of the Redneck Riviera, but I cannot say that I've given much thought to the imminent failure of my water pump. If I were an owner, instead of an operator I would probably feel the same way. If you're THAT worried about it, have your local dealer do preemptive surgery on your car (which IMHO also invites trouble) or place the "change owner" switch to the "on" position. Or...... Just try not to worry about it.
I've driven many miles on my 2010, and no worries. I've driven as much as 930 miles in one day and no worries. This is the first for me to hear.
Yes, I think it is a real concern. Especially for those of us who like to explore and hike in the desert or the mountains a hundred or more miles from the nearest dealer. A lot of the places I take my car there is no cell phone service either. I was planning a Prius trip to Alaska this summer, I may change my mind. A link to the TSB was posted by Prius Tech Josh in post 21 of this thread. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...oubleshooting/82008-water-pump-problem-3.html I really wish this site had a wiki where we could post TSBs, maintenance procedures, etc so people wouldn't have to look through many threads and hundreds of posts to find things like this.
There are people here who regularly drive over 1000 miles a week and haven't experienced this issue. Moreover, we'd be hearing about this problem left and right if it were a real concern.
Sorry, brain fade. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...oubleshooting/82008-water-pump-problem-3.html
OK sounds great, I'll PM you when I decide for sure, thanks. As others have pointed out the odds are in my favor and even if it does fail it wouldn't be the first time I have been stranded in the middle of nowhere.
If it happens it happens, nothing you can do about it until it happens. Toyota knows about the issue (a good thing) but it must not be serious enough for them to issue anything more than a TSB.
I would not be concerned about taking your car anyplace. If you knew how many parts and the electronics in a modern auto and know that anything can and will break, you would not leave the drive. I have been left by new auto's and have been in some very out of the way places in old auto's. I have to laugh when I think of traveling in the late 60's in a 56 Merc, my dads best car, in the middle of no where. No cell phone, hell even the gas stations closed up at dark and dont think about getting gas on sunday. I have seen dad put on fuel pumps on the side of the road, had a spare because he knew it was going out, no need to replace until it was necessary. Well thanks for the laugh.
No. If I lived my life in a constant state of fear of the "what if", I'd never be able to leave the bed.
Well, for peace of mind you could splurge and keep a spare in the glove compartment. The part is about $20.
If you're really all that concerned, get AAA for road-side to cover your piece of mind for the tow to the dealer. I have the 100k mile warranty, not worried about it other than the inconvenience. Living in the desert, chances are higher than normal this could fail.
