2008 Prius Fuel Injector(s) Failure

Bad gas?
Maybe when they washed the car they sprayed water at a high enough pressure that it got past the seal above the spark plugs and so one cylinder isn't firing?

Are you on the hook for this or can you just hand the car back to them if itd isn't a simple and free perfect fix?

 

:welcome:



Please be aware that most dealer used car certifications mean they vacuumed the car and washed it. Its basicly a joke.
I doubt they even check the oil level. Which was proven the second you sat in the car and noticed it had a check engine light. Now you know. Your dealer is full of it.

Not sure what to say to you about your situation and how bummed out you are but keep in mind its a used car and they are repairing it. Its basicly a very good little car.

But its a used car and will require you to do a little housekeeping. First thing I'd do is change the oil. No they probably didn't do that either. If you demand they do it on there dime they will use crappy vat oil.

Use full synthetic oil. I like Mobil 1. Used oil tests have proven you can go at least 10,000 miles in a Prius before you need to change it again. Your car takes 3.75 quarts of oil. I say exact amount as an oil overfill will hurt your mileage.

Then have the transmission fluid changed. You are due. That will last you 30,000 miles.

And last but not least and very common is don't be surpised if you need a new battery soon.The tiny little battery in the trunk is very undersized and not a big normal sized battery. This is used to start the car (actually used to control the cpu's that tell the electric motor to start which turns the engine over)
I'm not talking about the big hybrid battery.There pretty bulletproof. I mean the little car battery in the trunk. Alot of people who have just bought new/used Prius experience there battery going dead soon after they purchase the car. Very very common.

It will be no lights..car won't start. Usually because the previous owner was an idiot and killed it or the car just went plain dead sitting in the car lot. A prius has a lot of computers in it and has a slightly higher standby load on it than most cars.

A jump start will usually get it going again but if these little batteries have gone good & dead more than once they never take a good charge again. And will leave you stranded.
There's literally a thousand posts concerning the little battery going dead. Its called the Aux battery or the Boot battery.

I am at work right now so I do not have access to a saved file to post that will allow you to test the battery while your sitting in the car. Takes 10 seconds and you can call up a digital readout on the multifunctiondisplay of the battery voltage and post it here and we will be able to tell you how much time you have on that battery. I'm sure someone wll post it soon or I will tonight.

And in the future if your car does misbehave again and throws a check engine light make sure you get the code it threw from the dealer. With that code we can tell you exactly what the car is unhappy about.

And last but not least always lock the car with the key fob or press the button on the front doors. Make the car beep every single time you get out. Especially in the garage. It will save you the hassle of a dead battery as it will multiple beep if you left a door ajar or the back hatch is not closed completely, leaving the interior lights on draining the battery. It has saved me countless times.

Goodluck and btw, I have very good friends who live in Newmarket. I pm'ed you.

 

Please ask them for the diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs).

You mentioned car wash. There have been problems where water gets into the spark plug ignition coils and causes misfires.

 

Here you go Dan. Try this test for your battery. Its easy and you can get used to using the mfd too:

http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/73400-weird-stuff-happening-mpgs-dropping-test-battery.html

Post back the 3 voltage test levels.

 

If the car broke so soon after purchase I would think it should be returnable. You may want to check with your state's consumer protection agency.

How long is the warranty period? Maybe you could talk the dealer into doubling it?

Does the engine still run rough after the repair? As far as I know the gen 2 Prius doesn't have the same rough engine start problem that the gen 3 Prius (2010 ~ ) has. I have never experienced any engine roughness with my 2009 Prius.

Water may leak through the seam at the center of the plastic cowl cover and drip onto the engine block and find its way down to the spark plug wells causing problem. You may want to ask the dealer to check the spark plugs and apply a bead of sealant at the seam.

Good luck and please keep us informed.

 

where did you read that these engines tend to run a little rough? my 04 and 08 are very smooth and if yours is still rough after they fix it i would take it back again. of course, roughness is in the eye of the beholder, so you may want to drive some other genII's to compare. all the best!

 

i would think your ignition coils would cause this type of problem and be a problem around this mileage... not fuel injectors... shrug.

i had a point when my engine was reduced in power.. i was only getting 29mpg before it thew misfire codes (1 cylinder wasn't firing for about a week or two)... replaced coil 1. that was around 65k miles. just before 100k i changed spark plugs (that helped too)

at these times i take it to my mechanic friend with a scan tool... he will tell me what's going on so i can make the changes i need. live feedback is nice... imo..

 

The coils and injectors don't fail in multiples, they fail individually. Someone else had a similar problem recently, IIRC all he needed was the MAF sensor cleaned.

His dealer also tried to sell him a set of injectors

At least you got a new set of injectors without paying for them.:rockon:

 

Just this past weekend I had my 08 apart to check plugs - almost 90,000 miles on the car and I decided to run through some of the 100,000 mile service recommendations from Bob Wilson. The plugs looked remarkably good, but I (perhaps foolishly) went ahead and repalced them anyway while I had the cowl and wipers torn off.

As it relates to this post - During the above work, I had the fuel rail and injectors out (curiosity only). I botched the alignment of one of the injectors when putting everything back in and crushed one of the lower seals where the injector seats in the head. The result was an imperfect seal, slight hissing sound from cylinder 3 and a VERY noticable vibration/knock from the ICE. Backing the bolts out (at this point I didn't fully realize what I had done yet), adjusting things slightly and retightening seemed to solve the problem temporarily, or for that afternoons 30 or so miles of driving.

The following morning the car had reverted to serious vibration/knocking and the hissing sound was more noteable. I removed the rail and injectors completely this time and found the damaged seal. I managed to clean it off completely and verycarefully get the injector to seat properly and seal. I have ordered new and will try to remember to post a picture when I get the old one out.

The moral of my story is that the symptoms the OP outlined seem remarkably similar to what I experienced and the car never did throw a DTC to me. What the likelihood of having this seal go under normal operating conditions (i.e. not having someone like me come in and "fix" them, or more than one going in close succession) I dont' know. If this was the case, replacement of the injector would not have been required, as you can get the seal separately, and the dealer was simply throwing parts at the car as usual.

 

P0102, P0113 are mass air flow (MAF) meter + intake air temp codes. The air intake temp sensor is built into the MAF sensor. Both are open circuit codes. Maybe the MAF sensor was unplugged.

 

Great! Have a nice conversation with the shop foreman and please let us know what you learned from observing the inspection procedure (take pictures if you can). Thanks!

 

Ask for a load test of the HV battery, and a detailed inspection of the throttle body (sensor wiring, MAF sensor, throttle plate). An HV battery load test involves tracking the highest and lowest voltage blocks to see if there is significant divergence under load as SoC approaches 40%. A large divergence would indicate a weak module. I think it is extraordinarily unlikely that you would have an HV battery problem, but it would be an interesting test of the foreman's knowledge and skills regarding hybrids. The throttle plate is well-known for accumulating black gunk.

It sounds like the dealership/service center is trying to do the right thing. I don't think you have a lemon.

 

Hi Dan,

Thats very cool. Sounds like there stepping up! Be interesting to see what there certification inspection is. Try and weasel a free front end alignment also for your troubles.

As far as the boot battery numbers they don't sound great. Compare to my 07 at 12.6 unloaded and 12.4 loaded. Thats right after a 20 miles run.
Please try this. Do another battery check after the car has sat for a day or two. Don't start the car but do the test first.That will give you a much better look at its ability to hold a charge especially in a Prius which has a nice standby load on it always.
On a 2 day sit my unloaded shows 12.1

In the meantime keep locking the car up every single time. It will save you many times.

Also if you can afford it buy a decent battery charger. Here's a nice one:

Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more


Once every few weeks throw it on the Prius for a 1/2 hour in the 2 amp mode. Your battery will thank you.
Its helpful to observe how fast the battery will reach fully charged over time as a sluggish charge will indicate a tired battery and forewarn you of desertion.

 

I don't think the injectors would just fail like that unless they put bad fuel in it. I think it's more likely that someone just got a bit overzealous with the cleaning/detailing and accidentally got some water into the sparkplug/igniter wells. It wouldn't be the first time that had happened.

They probably said injectors just so they could give you something definite since if they said "we don't know why" you wouldn't be happy.