Yup! After some research I ordered the part, it's on its way.

I feel fairly confident about the whole procedure, except this 'venting of the transaxle'. No posts or guides I've seen actually show me how to do that... I know I'm to loosen a cap when I'm filling the coolant, but I don't know where it is.

 

The system will purge itself, you don't have to vent. Just keep an eye on the fluid level.

 

Cool! Thanks!

One more question, I can't seem to find the proper coolant to top off the coolant reservoirs under the hood... can you point me in the right direction? Do both reservoirs use the same coolant type?

 

Both use the same type of coolant. If yours is yellow, use Zerex G-05 (NAPA and Amazon.com) or get the Motorcraft stuff from your dealer. Same coolant.

 

Thanks so much for the info... now just gotta wait for the parts arrival!

 

Sounds like the MECS pump robbiedoo. I had the same problem once driving from Calgary to Red Deer. Driving along at 115km/h just outside of the city limits with a rig pig tailgating me. Hear the beep, ICE shuts down, cruise turns off and almost got rear ended by the ******* behind me. The kicker is I had it in 2 days prior to have a checkup done before I drove it across the country on vacation. The dealership (Metro Ford) ordered in the MECS pump, replaced and I was on my way without any further issues.

 

LOL, better late than never.

 

As I understand it these hybrids are not meant to be hauling trailers of any real weight. My 2010 manual warns about high engine temperature and high motor temperatures (this last one refers to motor electronics getting too hot). They go into considerable pages of talking about towing and insist the weight of the trailer be no more than 1,000# and the maximum frontal area of the trailer to be no more than 24 sq ft. For high altitude use, reduce the load by 2% per 1,000 ft. (For Denver that'd be max 900#) [same for FWD or 4WD] Towing a 1250# trailer with a 1,000# pool table sounds to me like it's way, way out of the realm of these hybrids. I'd say do it at your own risk and if it's heavy expect dash messages and problems.

 

I think we've already established that towing 2000+ isn't ideal with this vehicle.

But when it cuts out towing a <400lbs trailer, with only 1 person in the vehicle and zero cargo, THAT is an issue. It also did it when not towing, so it's obvious the issue here is the pump and no longer the towing.

Having said that, I've heard of people successfully towing 2000+ lbs for long distances without issue. Not that you should, or that I plan to again.

 

So this evening I replaced the pump. I really can't believe the dealer would actually charge over $600 for that job. I ordered the part online, and got the coolant at NAPA, $250 total. The change itself took about 2 hours, but I did it leisurely with a few cigar breaks.

I know there's already a bunch of people who posted their experiences, but I'll share mine just in case it helps anybody. I would definitely say that if you're able to tinker at all, you can do this job.

First thing I did was place two pieces of 2x4s side by side flat on the ground and drove the cars front passenger wheel onto them, this gave me the extra inch and a bit that makes the work under the car so much easier.

I took 4 bolts that held the plastic 'cover' in front of the pump out, and let the plastic cover hang by the back clip right beside the tire. It made it easier to access the pump. (having it hang kinda got in the way, but it was just a slight nuisance, less than trying to take the clip out might be)

Then I used pliers to squeeze one of the hose clamps to loosen the hose to the existing pump. I slid it back and used some grips to slowly remove the hose. I had a clean oilpan ready when I slid off the hose and let the coolant all freely drip into the oilpan.

When it stopped dripping I unclipped the electric plug, and unscrewed the bolts. Once the pump was hanging freely by the other hose it let out a bit more coolant. Afterwards (because the pump was already removed from its bolts) it was easier to access the other hose and remove it.

With that done I simply attached the new pump to the 2 hoses, rebooted it on, and hooked up the electric plug. Very simple.

I found it better to just go ahead and use all new coolant, since I had to pick some up to top it off anyway. I made the 60/40 mixture the coolant indicated, and just filled the reservoir to the fill level. I turned the ignition to on, but didn't start it, and let the pump start to work. After the resevoir bubbled a small amount, I retopped up the coolant level.

Done and done. Just gotta take the old coolant to the Eco station.

I Remember hearing the old pump hum when I turned ignition to on, but now I definitely hear fluid moving around being pumped, and I definitely didn't hear that before. So I'm even more sure that the pump needed replacing, but I was already sure before.

Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions, I'll be sure to report back after a few more longer drives in warmer weather. One last question, if I end up getting a scanguage, what should the ambient temp be of the electric engine / coolant (or whatever I would monitor to look at what the new mecs pump might be affecting).

Thanks again all!