08 Prius struck by Lightning!

The OBDII connector, or DLC, is at the same location as any modern automobile. Look under the dashboard near the steering wheel column.

 

Got news for everyone: The PRIUS is no more prone to a lightning strike than any other vehicle. A bolt of lightning, just like any other electrical circuit, is looking for a way to complete the circuit. That is, it is looking for ground. The PRIUS is sitting off the ground by 2 hugh insulators: the tires. Except for water on the tires, it is better insulated from ground than you or I should we be standing on the ground.
So, the lightning bolt went for the next closest object that would attract its charge and that that also happened to be the highest point: the radio antenna. Once lightnings hits a car, the resultant damage is nearly random - it all depends on WHERE it hit the car. Most vehicles are hit on the roof and the current from the strike flows around the body and tries to reach earth as best it can. When it hit the antenna, it flowed THROUGHT the electrics in the car looking for a way to reach earth and smoked a few things along the way. I knew a guy who got hit on his CB antenna (remember those?) and it blew his radio but spared the car.
So.. it's all pretty much random.

 

The Prius has an antenna on its roof. It's the highest and sharpest point of the car, so that's where lightning will hit.

So, the lightning will follow the antenna cable into the electronics of the car - they're all networked.

Do Priuses get hit more often than other cars? Probably not. When they're hit, is it more damaging to Priuses than other cars? My guess would be yes, because there's more electronic gizmos in it than in other cars.

 

I guess if your car only has 2 wheels, then lightning is the least of your worries!

 

Time to revive this thread again...

UPDATE: 09 Prius Struck by Lightning...

Replaced HV ECU, Battery ECU, ABS ECU, EPS ECU, Transmission ECU, ummm...and a couple of other ECU...

did not replace immobiliser ECU....because ummm...is the immobiliser ecu the same as the key transponder ecu?...have not replaced that yet...have not replace gateway ecu yet either...

got techstream to talk to the car now...it says no communication with immobiliser and no communication with gateway ecu...

the question is...how is it possible that i can talk to the rest of the ecu if i can't talk to the gateway ecu...so...the gateway ecu must be good right?...but yet...techstream says it's bad...what's wrong with this picture???....

here are all the codes that techstream came up with:

Hybrid Control Tab
P3102 - Transmission Control ECU
P3108 - Lost communication with A/C System Control
B2799 - Immobiliser Malfunction
U0129 - Lost Communication with Brake System Control
U0146 - Lost Communication with Gateway "A"

Transmission Control Tab
C2312 - Power Source Control ECU Communication Line Malfunction.

ABS/VSC/TRAC Tab
C1241 - Low Battery Voltage or Abnormally High Battery Positive Voltage
U0073- Control Module Communication Buss Off
U0123 - Lost Communication with Yaw Rate Sensor Module
U0124 - Lost Communication with Lateral Acceleration Sensor Module
U0126 - Lost Communication with Steering Angle Sensor Module
U0293 - Lost Communication with Hybrid Vehicle Control System

EMPS Tab
U0121 - Lost Communication with Anti-Lock Brake System Control Module

These are all the error codes with this car. I've replaced almost all the ECU...i'm guessing i still need to replace a few more...

some questions...to get it to be READY...what's the function of the immobiliser?...what is it's start up sequence? ... why is techstream saying i've got gateway ecu error when i'm able to talk to all the other ecus?

where do i go from here?...got questions for me...ask away...

 

I own the 2008 Prius that was struck by lightning and started this chat by Bear. This past September it was struck by lightning again. The damage was not as bad. The radio needed to be replaced, and one of the ECU's. The car has been running great except I am down about 3 mpg average.

I have 165,000 miles on the car and have had no other problems. Is a drop in mpg normal for this amount of miles? Could the battery be ready to go?

 

Again? Wow, that is amazing.

Traction battery issues? Not sure, Do a search.

 

So much for the old adage about lightning not striking twice, eh? That's pretty crazy unless you park at the top of a mountain above timber line or something.

I have no idea about the HV battery or mileage change, someone more knowledgeable will have to answer that one. It seems logically possible that the lightning could have jumped the gap to the HV battery with at least some current, so maybe some damage was caused? Otherwise it seems more likely that a 3 MPG difference would be the result of something else, like weather/temperature, tires, 12 volt battery etc. Those are just blind guesses on my part.

 

Have you considered...


moving? ;-)

 

I too

 

I TOO HAD A 2008 PRIUS STRUCK BY LIGHTENING AND TOTALLED IN JUNE OF 2008. THE ANTENNA WAS MELTED DOWN TO A NUB, THERE WAS A SCORCH MARK ON THE ROOF AND SCORCH MARKS ON THE TIRES. I WAS DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED DURING A VIOLENT THUNDER STORM WHEN IT HAPPENED. THE STRIKE FRIED THE MOTHERBOARD, I WAS TOLD, AND THERE WAS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE MOTHERBOARD (COST, $10K TO REPLACE) ONCE RE-INSTALLED, WOULD WORK OR RE-FRY THE REST OF THE CAR. AS A RESULT, THE INSURANCE COMPANY CALLED THE CAR TOTALLED. I GOT A GENEROUS CHECK FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANY AND BOUGHT ANOTHER PRIUS WHICH SO FAR HAS BEEN FINE AND LIGHTNING-FREE.

 

Glad to hear you werent hurt or worse....

What was it like when the lightning hit the car, seeing as you were driving it?

 

It is not national CAPS LOCK day, calm down!

Just to make you better informed, there is no "motherboard" in the Prius. Infact, nothing could be further from the truth. A motherboard takes daughtercards. The most recognizable is a PC motherboard. It holds sockets for other things along with supporting hardware. The CPU plugs into a socket. The RAM is a daughter card that plugs into the motherboard (DDR/DDR2/DDR3). The video card is a daughtercard that plugs into the motherboard (PCIx/AGP). Wireless card plugs into motherboard (PCI/PCIx), etc. The motherboard is a host.

In the Prius there are many tens of main ECUs all connected with a wiring system and a common protocol. They are all autonomous and independent of eachother. They all function and send requests back and forth. Some say "hey the headlight stalk turned to on" and they all get that message and make decisions like dimming the instrument cluster and then actually turning the headlights on. When you are low on fuel, the fuel pump says "hey I am low on fuel". The instrument cluster starts blinking, the MFD starts complaining with the "Add Fuel" message and so on.

So more than likely you needed to replace most/all of the ECUs in the car had they have done it. But it is not one unit that just slides in and out.