Check Hybrid System....message received

I checked my settings it was set to no on faster comm.

 

I've read discussions of problems with the cheaper OBD II ebay adapters sometimes (often?) causing problems. For us who might consider purchasing their 1st OBDII adapter and prefer to hopefully spend only once on this item, is there one a bit more expensive that people have agreed is reliable? Maybe a $40-ish price (or a bit more)?

Can folks here report OBD II adapters that a consensus here have found to be reliable?
Brand, P/N, price and where purchased would be very helpful.
Thanks

 

Mine was off too and I'm pretty sure its always been off

 

IIRC (and hopefully USB will chime in here), this is the one usbseawolf2000 is using:

Amazon.com: PLX Devices Kiwi Bluetooth Wireless Trip Computer and OBDII Scanner: Automotive

The PLX Kiwi OBD2 adapter ($92 at Amazon)

This may be helpful too.. supposedly a list of available adapters and their compatibility.. although I wonder how these vendors are with hardware version and components control..

Bluetooth Adapters - Torque OBD2 Wiki

 

Yup, I got the Kiwi Bluetooth.

 

Good to know Guys (though I was hoping a dependable unit might be less pricy). I have an iPhone. My Wife has an Android, but would not like her phone to be the dedicated "hubby's OCD device" when we drive together.
I'll hold off on an OBD App until I decide if "I" will drop my iPhone for an Android when I'm elligible for upgrade in March. I do own a standard OBDII reader, but it just gives codes. Not all the cool 'other' data.

 

After reading this threat again I tryed plugging in the transmitter 2 days ago usually drive about 20 miles a day when we are in north Jersey so far no alarms or malfunctions.

 

Alright getting back to the topic.
(I've now had the Check Hybrid System - Stop the vehicle in a safe place) 4 times now.
The code that is given is P0C3E.
The last time Longo Toyota signed off the defect as air in the system compromised the cooling ability.
The code reappeared 2k miles later.
Carson Toyota has looked at it for preliminary trouble shooting with a day of diagnosing scheduled for this Wednesday.

 

I tend to be a bit skeptical of a one-time check-engine warning. It happened a time or two in my first year of driving my 2006 Dodge Ram. Nothing ever came of it, and I now have 260,000 kms on it, with no repairs at all. The shame of it is that I paid a lot for the extended warranty and roadside assistance, which I never used.

 

Toyota ended up changing the inverter.
Carson Toyota did a great job.
Carson even had the car washed and charged for pickup.

 

A good dealer should be supported and used as inspiration for other dealers, by leaving constructive feedback online. The two that seem to count the most are Google reviews and DealerRater. A Toyota dealer I dealt with previously, and was unhappy with, is not even listed on the DealerRater website. That should say a lot to potential customers.

 

That same error message came up when I was driving recently. I was reading about this error message on two different forums. In both cases, where the situation was solved with minimal tampering, it involved the 12v battery. In one case, a man replaced the battery and, in the other, a man disconnected the negative terminal to the battery and then reattached it. In both cases, the car began to function normally again.

So here is what I did. I went to O'Reilly's and to Advanced Auto. They both checked my battery and stated it was working properly. So, I went home and disconnected the negative terminal on the battery. The error message still came on. I drove the car about 30 miles, and then stopped at Walmart. When I got back in, the message disappeared. Everything was back to normal.

I did not leave the negative terminal off that long. It was probably disconnected for less than a minute. I wonder, if you wait a longer time, whether the results would be better.

Anyway, just to let you all know, I waited a lot of miles when it came time to do an oil change when the "Maintenance Required" screen came on. I wonder if that had something to do with it. I will never know. Problem solved, so who cares.

 

welcome! the maint. reminder comes on every 5k, but oil changes are only required every 10.

 

I now have the Check Hybrid system message.

It's time for regular scheduled maintenance and the message on the dash just changed from soon to now. Then I noticed the low tire pressure indicator was on. One tire seems to need air every 6 months or so so this was no surprise. I planned to inflate it when I got home. I was driving home and as I was running out of electric range soon after accelerating onto the interstate there was a Beep like the low fuel warning. The last fuel gauge segment was lit but not flashing and when I got in the car the range had indicated plenty left get to my usual gas station. Then I noticed where the display normally displays the flow of power a message about PCS whatever that is and a PCS warning light clear over there where Toyota expects you to have a passenger reading the dash and telling you if anything appears there :-D. There were more beeps and the display began alternating between the Check Hybryd system warning and PCS message.

Car was operating 100% normally. No good place to stop and no exit for a long while so I just slowed and monitored the operation of the car brakes/regen etc. No indication of any issue at all if it wasn't for the message on the dash. I got off the interstate at the next exit and found a place to stop and googled the messages. PCS (Pre Collison System) was certainly no emergency that requires a tow. No useful info on Check Hybrid system other than maybe the cooling pump. It has coolant and the inverter coolant hoses are pretty much compartment temperature. With the car still on but engine not running I felt vibration in the lower hose and hear the inverter cooling pump running quietly. Pinching the top inverter hose changes the pitch of the motor. So I thought maybe it was related to low fuel somehow though the engine was running normally as needed. I drove slowly to the nearest station and got gas. Turning off the car stopped the PCS message from appearing when I powered up again. Hybrid system message still there though. Only a about a mile from a Toyota dealer so I drove there. They listened to my tale but had no clue. Service dept. closed. I inflated the tire and checked everything under the hood that one can check without a code reader. Drove home slowly on surface streets just in case. Plugged in to charge and the charge started as normal. I can hear the inverter cooling pump running louder as it typically does when charging.

I'll see what the Dealer has to say tomorrow.

 

The dealer is going to replace the inverter cooling pump.

 

wow, on a four year old car? not good news.

 

Toyota covered the repair and a loaner car was provided to me so I'm happy with the service experience.

This is however the first time I have ever had a drive train failure in any car I have owned. Normally preventive maintenance is all you need to do to prevent being stranded or you get cues that something is going bad by vibrations or noises giving you time to get somewhere for a fix. You carry a spare for flats or in this case tire sealer and inflation kit. There is no warning or prevention for this this error message it seems. Essentially being told by the message not to drive the car leaving me stranded is a very helpless feeling. Not enough information provided to evaluate the best course of action. This is a case where an idiot light that tells you more specifically what's wrong would have been useful information. When a car engin cooling system overheats and notifies you with an idiot light or gauge you can pull over and let it cool then add water move on slowly or whatever.

This experience was like driving without a spare tire or emergency tire sealer and inflation kit. I cover my self for the lack of a spare tire in this car by carrying tire repair products, repair tools rain gear etc. so I can handle a flat in the middle of no where even in bad weather. Check hybrid system is far scarier. I'm glad the car remained drive-able and wasn't disabled by the computer error message but more information about the problem should be provided to the driver without needing a code reader in a repair shop. Codes are fine for non critical failures such as emissions equipment which won't leave you stranded.

 

agreed. it's a good thing it doesn't happen as often as some other cars.

 

Got the message again about a week after Toyota replaced the cooling pump. Happened in the exact same place getting on the interstate. This time Toyota replaced the Inverter. So far it seems to be fixed this time.

 

yikes, i hope so!