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Interesting diagonosis

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by vjz, May 12, 2011.

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  1. vjz

    vjz New Member

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    My fiancee has a 2005 base model and is out shopping today. She just called me and said that she is stuck in a parking lot.

    She told me on the way off the highway today the "big and little" triangles came on, but the car drove fine. When she got back to her car to leave, the car would turn on presumably, but all the warning lights were on. She then said that the car would not go into drive and only into neutral.

    Additionally, she said it wouldn't shut off. I told her to put the fob into its slot and then try to shut it off. That worked, and that's the only way you can shut the car off now.


    We JUST had the recalled water pump replaced at Gates Toyota in South Bend, IN this past Tuesday. It's now two days later and we're having all these odd problems today?

    Is it possible they knocked a wire loose or improperly installed this pump causing errors like this?

    I'm pretty good with a wrench, but I have not had a ton of experience with this car, as it has been a great car.

    All help is appreciated.
     
    #1 vjz, May 12, 2011
  2. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Almost assuredly they botched the job. We have seen stories where either the system is airlocked (improperly filled/bled), or one of hoses was left pinched shut.

    My guess is that the 12V has been run down completely. When the inverter water pump is not working, the DC converter shuts off, and all 12V systems must run from the little battery in the very back. The question now is, do you want to have it towed back to the dealer, or would you like to try to getting running yourself to drive it straight to them? What you would need to do it disconnect the 12V battery negative for 5 minutes, to clear the codes. Then jump start the car, if necessary, following the usual precautions. A portable jump pack with reverse polarity protection, connected directly to the battery, is highly recommended. You will now have maybe 10-20 minutes of drive time before the inverter sets the code again.
     
    #2 seilerts, May 12, 2011
  3. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    With all of the diagnostic lights I would call Gates Toyota and have them tow the car to the dealership and have the DTC (daignostic trouble codes) read to determine what the problem may be. It may or may not be related to the water pump replacement but I would let them determine this.
     
    #3 jdcollins5, May 12, 2011
  4. vjz

    vjz New Member

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    She has AAA, so the towing is irrelevant.
     
    #4 vjz, May 12, 2011
  5. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

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    I don't know what having the pump serviced has to do with it, but how old is the 12V battery? Maybe they ran the battery down while purging air out of the system?
     
    #5 RobH, May 12, 2011
  6. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    I would have it towed to the dealership and have them read the DTC's. Before approving any further work that will be at your expense, I would have them give you the DTC's with sub codes and post here. Let the experts on here help you with the DTC codes to determine if they are giving you the straight scoop and not just charging you extra money for something that they may have caused.
     
    #6 jdcollins5, May 12, 2011
  7. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    It took a dealer two tries to get my pump replacement right. At a guess they didn't get all the air out of the coolant lines. Give them one more crack at it and it should be fine.
     
    #7 richard schumacher, May 12, 2011
  8. vjz

    vjz New Member

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    Off hand I am not sure. I would venture to guess that its not the newest battery out there.

    I'm angered that I can't be with her right now, because I'm sure they're going to try and say its not their fault and that there's something expensive to fix on it. That's the bad part about being a non-car savvy woman taking a car to the dealership. They assume you put full faith in them and whatever they say is the truth
     
    #8 vjz, May 12, 2011
  9. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    DTCs are female, and they stand up for themselves just fine.
     
    #9 SageBrush, May 12, 2011
  10. vjz

    vjz New Member

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    Just got the call. Tow truck has arrived.

    I'm awaiting results of the dealer's inspection.
     
    #10 vjz, May 12, 2011
  11. vjz

    vjz New Member

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    Dealer said they checked the coolant and it was "fine".

    They said they can't "get a read" in order to do a diagnostic. Obviously, some electrical problem.
     
    #11 vjz, May 12, 2011
  12. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Hopefully they know to check (and if necessary charge) the 12V battery before trying to make any other diagnostics. You'd think it would be obvious but apparently they don't always figure it out.

    We've had other cases reported here where problems have been misdiagnosed at the dealers because the battery was flat.
     
    #12 uart, May 12, 2011
  13. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    If the 12V sagged too low, as indicated by the initial issue of not being able to turn off the car, then the DTC was erased. Meanwhile, the car was off for a couple hours, and the 12V recovered just enough to put the car into ready. The DTC for inverter cooling system problem will not set just because the coolant isn't moving, the car does need to be driven for a while for it to get hot enough.

    Look at it this way. You have a completely trouble free car that, two days post dealer service, shows signs of a problem. What are the chances that the current problem is not related to the prior service????

    If they send the car on its way, when (if) you make it home, put your 12V battery on a charger, 4 amps or less, overnight. You can also check the inverter cooling system for proper operation by following the procedure shown in this video:

    http://www.youtube.com/v/XHe5dpHaFY4
     
    #13 seilerts, May 12, 2011
  14. vjz

    vjz New Member

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    Dealer just called back.

    They said the 12V battery was very, very low. They got it back to full charge and recommended a maintenance trickle charge overnight at no additional cost.

    Awesome!
     
    #14 vjz, May 12, 2011
  15. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    Glad to hear your story has a happy ending for you :)
     
    #15 jdcollins5, May 12, 2011
  16. xpcman

    xpcman Senior Member

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    If you still have the orginal battery it's probably time to replace it. Five years is often when they fail.
     
    #16 xpcman, May 12, 2011
  17. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    Keep a very close eye on that battery. Check it every morning with a multi meter and see if it is at or above 12.2 volts or more! If not change the battery. Hal
     
    #17 Hal W, May 12, 2011
  18. KTPhil

    KTPhil Active Member

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    #18 KTPhil, May 12, 2011
  19. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Well awesome maybe, but don't forget that there was almost certainly something else going on that caused the battery to discharge initially. Since the warning lights came on while she was driving there was definitely something else happening.

    Ok so they told you the coolant was fine. Perhaps they found the problem and fixed it, but said "no problem" so that they cant be held accountable for any incidental problems that may arise.
     
    #19 uart, May 13, 2011
  20. vjz

    vjz New Member

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    Well, this story did NOT have a happy ending.

    Last night as she was headed to work the warning lights came on again. When she parked in the parking garage, she turned the car off and then back on.

    Same issue. No movement or anything.


    We had it towed AGAIN to the dealer. This time, they claim it either needs a new inverter or transaxle, but aren't sure which one.

    They cleared the code and said that we could leave it over night and they would drive it around tomorrow to see if the code came on, and then they could diagnose it better.

    I'm not buying what they are selling. I mentioned that it was fine before they did the recall, and his reply was that "sometimes these things happen."

    They said the 12V battery was just fine.

    The guy at the counter said that its an intermittent problem and that he can't make a guess on when it will come back on again. After clearing it, the car reverted back to its normal happy self.


    What bugged me the most is that the guy at the counter told me that we should just try to sell it if we can't afford to fix it.

    For what? To pass on a problem to someone else? Bull.

    I was not happy and they wouldn't do anything about it.

    Another thing that bugged me was that I asked them prior BOTH times this car was in for the battery issue to provide me with a print out of the DTC and sub-codes. They didn't the last time, and I didn't complain because the car was fine and they charged us only $40. This time, it supposedly is throwing the code for the inverter. He gave me a TSB sheet with various codes on it, he circled one starting with PA I believe. I forget the code, but supposedly it was for the inverter.

    Neither of us can afford $4,000. So it looks like it will sit until we get back from Europe.

    So, now she's going to be driving my 00 Celica GTS and I'll be in my 76 Celica GT until we get her a new car or figure out the problem.

    I'm not taking anything back to Gates Toyota ever again.

    Any suggestions?

    I can't check for anything because there are no codes.
     
    #20 vjz, May 25, 2011
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