Water pump failing repeatedly - Toyota Yaris Forums

DRW · 01-25-2025, 04:42 PM

My daughter bought a 2012 Yaris hatchback with approximately 200K miles. Car appears to have been well maintained. (For me who knows nothing-if for no other reason than the interior is immaculate.) Her boyfriend looked at it before he bought it. Seems to run great except the water pump has repeatedly failed. Not to long after purchase water pump (#1) failed so she bought a new one and her dad, who is a mechanic, replaced it but noted the one he removed looked fairly new.

Not long after the new pump (#2) failed, so her dad exchanged the part and replaced it again. He said he noticed something was bent and fixed it but I don't know what that something was.

Seemed fine but soon the car started screeching. Daughter said her car had done that before when the belt was wet with coolant so we immediately checked fluid levels. It appeared full and there didn't seem to be any evidence of a leak, no spots in the driveway, etc. Screeching progressively got worse so she called her dad and he said he had noticed a crack in the belt when he had it. (I don't know why he wouldn't have just replaced the belt then.) He told her to bring it to him so he could look at it but the next day, before she could get the car to him the pump (#3) failed. At this point I'm thinking there's no way the water pump is the actual problem and that something else is causing the water pump to fail. A friend came to look at it but didn't see anything obvious.

My daughter got the car to her dad who bought what he considered a better quality water pump (#4) and also replaced the pulley and belt. Only a week later, the car screeched when starting. We immediately checked under the hood and don't see anything wet but parked the car and don't dare drive it until we can figure out what's going on. I don't even want to bother asking her dad.

What do we do? What do we look for? Neither my daughter or I have money to fix this again but she doesn't have any way to get another car either.

ex-x-fire · 01-25-2025, 11:55 PM

All I can ask is what's failing on the water pump? The seal or is the bearing loose. Figure out what's squealing. Is it another pulley making the noise because it's locked up? A/C compressors sometimes can lock up when the a/c is activated. This can happen when the defrost is turned on.

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01-25-2025, 04:42 PM	#1
DRW I've made a post! Drives: 2012 Yaris Hatchback Join Date: Jan 2025 Location: Utah Posts: 1	Water pump failing repeatedly My daughter bought a 2012 Yaris hatchback with approximately 200K miles. Car appears to have been well maintained. (For me who knows nothing-if for no other reason than the interior is immaculate.) Her boyfriend looked at it before he bought it. Seems to run great except the water pump has repeatedly failed. Not to long after purchase water pump (#1) failed so she bought a new one and her dad, who is a mechanic, replaced it but noted the one he removed looked fairly new. Not long after the new pump (#2) failed, so her dad exchanged the part and replaced it again. He said he noticed something was bent and fixed it but I don't know what that something was. Seemed fine but soon the car started screeching. Daughter said her car had done that before when the belt was wet with coolant so we immediately checked fluid levels. It appeared full and there didn't seem to be any evidence of a leak, no spots in the driveway, etc. Screeching progressively got worse so she called her dad and he said he had noticed a crack in the belt when he had it. (I don't know why he wouldn't have just replaced the belt then.) He told her to bring it to him so he could look at it but the next day, before she could get the car to him the pump (#3) failed. At this point I'm thinking there's no way the water pump is the actual problem and that something else is causing the water pump to fail. A friend came to look at it but didn't see anything obvious. My daughter got the car to her dad who bought what he considered a better quality water pump (#4) and also replaced the pulley and belt. Only a week later, the car screeched when starting. We immediately checked under the hood and don't see anything wet but parked the car and don't dare drive it until we can figure out what's going on. I don't even want to bother asking her dad. What do we do? What do we look for? Neither my daughter or I have money to fix this again but she doesn't have any way to get another car either.

01-25-2025, 11:55 PM	#2
ex-x-fire Drives: 2010 yaris 3 door hatch Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Sheboygan Falls, Wi. Posts: 527	All I can ask is what's failing on the water pump? The seal or is the bearing loose. Figure out what's squealing. Is it another pulley making the noise because it's locked up? A/C compressors sometimes can lock up when the a/c is activated. This can happen when the defrost is turned on.