Jacoby

Recently, Toyota Motor Corp. announced a recall for generation 2 Prius water pumps. The water pump in question is the inverter coolant pump. Its job is to circulate coolant to the inverter/converter which resides under the hood. The inverter is the “heart” of Toyota’s hybrid system taking direct current energy stored in the high voltage battery pack and converting to AC current to run the car. In doing this, a lot of heat is generated so a cooling system is required.

The official word from Toyota is that air is being trapped in the water pump causing low coolant flow.  Why they would say this is a mystery because in my experience, it is simply not true. We have replaced many of these pumps prior to the recall and we replaced them because the electric motor that drives the pump simply quit working.

The good news for Gen. 2 Prius owners is that it is now a recall and Toyota will replace it for you free of charge. You should be getting a letter about this from Toyota soon.  Please don’t ignore it. If you purchased your car used, you may not get a letter.  Call the Toyota dealer and make an appointment to get it fixed.

When the pump fails, you will end up with a master warning light (big red triangle) and a check engine light glowing on your dashboard.  Definitely don’t ignore that.

Whenever your Prius is in for service at Jacoby’s Auto, we verify the operation of the inverter coolant pump. Just to make sure…

Last month, the State, in its infinite wisdom enacted a regulation that requires auto repair facilities to check and adjust the tire pressure on every vehicle serviced.  Is this a good idea?  On surface it seems like it. But in practice, some in the industry have identified a possible flaw in this law.

Tire pressure specifications given by vehicle manufacturers are to be used on cold tires. A tire that has been sitting out in the hot sun or one that has been driven on for even a relatively short distance will have pressure readings 2 to 5 psi higher than it did when it was cold.

Imagine you drive in to your local quickie lube store for an oil change. They are now required to check and adjust your tire pressure. An inexperienced “mechanic” may see the tire pressure too high and actually lower the pressure in your tires. This will result in lower fuel economy, and increased tire wear and possible safety issues.

Experienced professional technicians always compensate for temperature when adjusting tire pressure.  Please make sure that the person performing this service on your vehicle is doing it properly.

In the event you don’t want your tire pressure checked, The State allows you to opt out of the mandatory tire pressure check if you promise to check it yourself.

Oh and I would like to point out that we have been performing this service on most of the cars we service at Jacoby Auto since we started over ten years ago.

Intermittent problems with your vehicle are the most difficult problems to solve. You can help your mechanic by gathering as much information as possible prior to taking your car in for repair.

Describe the symptom. Is it a noise? What does it sound like? People have described various noises as, “a bird noise”, “an owl noise” “a crying baby noise” even “a ghost noise”. Believe it or not, these descriptions can be helpful.  Use all your senses to give the most accurate description possible. Under what driving conditions does the problem occur? Does the vehicle have to be moving, idling, accelerating, decelerating, turning left or right, engine warmed up or cold?  Is there anything else going on? Even if it seems unrelated to your concern, describe any other unusual behaviors your vehicle exhibits.  On a modern vehicle, many seemingly unrelated systems can be connected.  Has recent work been done? Bring receipts from repairs or service, including body or paint work.  Lastly, if possible, go for a road test with the technician and try to reproduce your concern. This will go a long way in helping your shop get to the bottom of the problem quickly. In auto repair, time is money so the less time we spend diagnosing your vehicle, the less expensive the repair will be.

In my first blog entry I will be addressing a topic that has come up a few times here at the shop recently: Communication.  In order for your mechanic to quickly and accurately diagnose and repair your vehicle, it is vital that the driver of the vehicle describe the symptoms they are concerned about rather than describe a course of action.

Here is a real example of how poor communication at the beginning of the transaction can cause a repair to go south. Last week, a gentleman came in to the shop and said “I have my wife’s car here and she said it needs and alignment”. Now, we understand that many people know the symptoms that a vehicle in need of an alignment would exhibit but many don’t. This was the case here. Had we performed the operation that the customer requested, the vehicle could well have left the shop with the exact same symptoms it arrived with as well as an alignment it did not need and an unhappy consumer with a few less dollars in his pocket. .

Of course it is okay to give your opinion about what you think your car needs but let your mechanic diagnose your car. That is what he or she is trained to do and that is what you are paying for.

Next time, I plan to give some tips on how to communicate with your mechanic to get the best possible results.  I am new to this blogging thing so please, if anyone has any general automotive topics they would like to discuss, go to our website and send us an email. You will find lots of helpful information there as well.