I officially hate my prius and toyota

There are several different types of mechanics, what you need is a Prius diagnostic specialist. Most likely found at a dealer. You can have him diagnose the driveablity problem and then possibly fix it yourself or elsewhere for less than the dealer. Not all Toyota dealers will have a good Prius diagnostic tech, you need to shop around. Generally it is also true that you have to shop to find a good dealer.

As far as the water leak this is not unheard of. It occurs with ALL makes. Auto bodies are not sealed by welding, they are sealed with seam sealer. Over time this sealer can degrade especially in areas where they use road salt. The modern unibody is made up of about 100 pieces all spot welded together. These spot welds are less than 1/4" diameter and spaced about 2" apart, that's a lot of places where leaks can occur. Strip caulk (dum-dum) may not work, you may have to get body seam sealer (NAPA?) and get the area really clean before application.

If you are having trouble getting the interior completely dry you might look at a de-humidifier, with the car garaged put the de-humidifier inside the car. The best tip to get rid of the smell is to take a box of baking soda and sprinkle it all around under all the carpet and areas that experienced moisture, this will very effectively kill the mildew and the smell.

You may be barking up the wrong tree getting mad at Toyota, their body welds are some of the best in the business. Extended warranties usually don't cover water leaks, did you read the fine print before-hand? No other manufacture builds anything as good as the Prius for what it does. Go ahead and sell it, you won't find anything better. Everyone has been jumping on the bandwagon to bash Toyota, that's what sometimes happens when you're number 1. You have 140K on the clock, a few years ago you'd have been on your 2nd engine, the Japanese have raised the standards and everyone has forgotten how it used to be.

 

My best advice is to at least get a ScanGauge (and you can use em' on any 96' vehicle or later...). You're operating in the dark unless you have a way of knowing how the Prius (or any vehicle...) is actually performing, and nothing beats being able to read out that data. Depending on the ambient temp. you could have had something as relatively simple as your radiator thermostat sticking open at the point you noticed a sudden decrease in mileage.

 

Sorry you're going through this. Best wishes with everything.
You'd think Toyota would be trying to retain their customer base given the fact other car companies are rolling out more and more hybrids & EVs in the coming months/years.

 

Good! *Don't* tell them the whole sad story about the first dealer, just tell them the symptoms and let them work on it.

 

Well, no, you don't have to post here at all, for that matter.

However, if you are looking for some input from people who have experience, not only driving Prius but also mechanics, lead mechanics, and really well-experienced master mechanics (we've got them all), then yes, you do have to provide the details needed to properly "diagnose" what the issue might be.

Good luck with your car. Have a great day.

 

Sorry to be judgmental, but such an emotional response to a problem of a soul-less machine is not going to fix anything. I'm hardly a Toyota apologist and many of their dealers' service departments suck, but you have typed hundreds of words and do not seem to want to take people's specific advice to heart.

 

Yep. Unfortunately, we don't know the current condition of the replacement 12 volt.

Yep, we need to know this since the fuel tank capacity is slightly reduced in cold weather due to the infamous bladder.

Exactly! This is precisely why I posted the questionnaire. Without information, it is unproductive for us to make guesses, take shots in the dark, esp. when the indications thus far are that the OP won't act on suggestions anyway.

 

Good luck with Toyota. I've had similarly very disappointing experiences with multiple dealerships (none of them appear to care) in 2 states (and am at the point where neither I nor my family will ever buy another Toyota which we have to bring to the dealership again).

It's a pain in the nice person, but I'd personally try to take everything apart and hunt for pools of water - since it sounds like you're having problems that are electrical in nature (although I am not a Prius mechanic).

 

i hope that leaf gets here real soon for ya. i'm sure a brand new bleeding edge tech car will be much more reliable.

 

For some reason I thought I read you had 150K miles, after re-reading the problem started at 48K km. That is unusual to have a water leak that early, you have a rare problem because this Prius platform started in 2004 and that part of the body in unchanged for the entire generation. So if there was a known problem it would have shown up long ago with the 2004/05's.

Seriously, if you've only been to one dealer I think your problem is with the dealer. Please shop for a better one.

How long have you had the water leak? Was it simultaneous with the mileage problem? Because some of the main batteries are failing because of corrosion which would be indicated if there's moisture present. The ICE running all the time is also indicative of battery weakness.

IF the water leak caused the battery to fail then it all should be covered under the normal powertrain warranty, even more so an extended warranty.

Please please try another dealer, that's the 1st thing I tell people if you don't get the expected results where you're at. There is some leeway when it comes to interpretation of warranty terms, some dealers do much better than others. There is also a typically wide range of expertise when it comes to technicians, it's a very demanding profession and there's a shortage of qualified people coming up through the ranks.

Where ever you take it I would let them know it's a difficult problem in that it's readily apparent by mileage but there are no codes, and there has been previous unsuccessful diagnosis attempts. That way they give it to their top person right away and not just the next tech in line.

 

Brookside, could you please conduct the simple test I requested previously. It will help us narrow down the reasons for the ICE running excessively


VVVV

Let's look at the issue of engine running excessively first up. What happens if the car is fully warmed up and you come to a stop, with your foot on the brake pedal and the car remaining in "D". (with auto AC and fan off).

1. Does the car continue to idle for about 7 seconds and then cut off or does it just continue to idle?

2. If the engine does cut-off in the above test then immediately continue to drive. In this state does the car still keep the engine running when you're coasting. (again, auto AC and fan off during this test).

Please test the above and let us know the results.

 

I asked a very specific question and you still haven't answered it.

When your car is fully warmed up (AC and fan both off). When you come to a stop (a complete stop as in not moving), keeping your foot on the brake and the car in drive. While the car is stopped does the engine continue to idle or does it turn off after about 7 to 10 seconds.

Please test this and answer this specific question.

 

You keep writing a lot of words but seem to refuse to answer the questions at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...-answer-these-questions-esp-if-youre-new.html. I'm not sure why. Complaining here won't solve the problem. I guess I'm going to need to ask some of them one by one and hope you respond. The bolded ones are more important.

If you coast or go downhill at >41 mph, the gas engine will run, by design. If you do it w/a "full" battery or once it reaches ~75-80% state of charge (looks like all green bars on the MFD), the gas engine WILL kick on and run, by design. If the heat at HI and fan is on, while FWT is <146 F, the ICE WILL run.

Since you mention "50 mpg", the 2nd gen Prius after adjustment by formula per Side-by-Side Comparison is rated at 46 mpg on the EPA test. To read about what goes into the EPA test, see http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...uth-about-epa-city-highway-mpg-estimates.html.

IIRC, another symptom of a failing HV battery is that the battery level on the MFD goes very quickly from full or nearly full to empty and vice versa. Are you experiencing that?

- What are the approximate outside air temps?

- How long are your trips?

- How much of it is city vs. highway? Roughly what's the average speed in overall and and of each segment? Is there a lot of stop and go driving?

- What's the terrain like of your drives? (e.g. flat, gentle hills, steep hills, etc.)

- Is your oil overfilled? (i.e. above the full mark on the dipstick)

What is the voltage reading of your 12v battery after sitting over night? (Method Here)

Have you had your alignment checked? Any pulling or abnormal tire wear?

- Are you using the factory tires and wheels? If not, please indicate tire make, model and size (e.g. Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max 185/65R15).

- What are your tire pressures now (not weeks ago)?

- How are you trying to drive (e.g. trying to stay in electric only?) and how hard are you braking?

- Are you "warming up" the ICE (internal combustion engine) by letting it idle after powering on?

- Are you driving using D or B mode?

- HVAC settings? Are you using the heater, AC, auto mode, etc.? If using auto, what temp is it set to?

- If reporting a mileage drop, did anything significant change on your car (e.g. accident, hit a curb or big pothole throwing off alignment, oil change/other maintenance/repairs, changed tires or wheels, etc.) or your commute?

 

Please humour us and answer the questionnaire as well as the idle-stop question. Even if you have before, just answer them line by line in a post.

 

GUys, I'm starrting to beleive we're the ones humoring him.

 

Vancouver is a big city, you must have more than 1 Toyota dealer.
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