[nash]

My 07 TCH engine water pump started leaking. I noticed the coolant overflow tank level was dropping, but saw nothing on the garage floor. The dealer saw the crusty seepage below the water pump, and changed it out while I had it in for the 75,000 mile service.

Check your water pump/overflow tank for any sign of leakage! Toyota's warranty will cover the replacement up to 60,000 miles. I have an extended warranty that covered it. The dealer's invoice showed the cost billed to my extended warranty to be $300, including an hour labor.

[jdenenberg]

Water pups often fail in many cars. However, there has been a number of reports of early failures in TCH engine water pumps. I treat water pumps as having a 100k mile life so when a car needs a timing belt, it gets a new water pump as well. I replaced my engine water pump (and the electric inverter water pump) at 150k miles in my 2004 Prius (even though they had not yet caused any problems) when I replaced both coolant loops for the second time.

JeffD.

[bwilson4web]

Given the risk of inverter failure from loss of cooling, this makes a lot of sense.

Bob Wilson