ICE not running -- Car stuck on forest road

Hey Kris,
I think you're fine. The ICE likely shut down because it was warmed up and didn't need to keep running. It really sounds like to me that all is well with your Prius. As for what caused all this, who knows. It doesn't surprise me that all the warning lights were gone. If you get an intermittent DTC and there is no "real" problem, cycling the ignition four times will usually clear the lights.

My guesses on what caused this are 1) you put the car in D too quickly for the computer and it defaulted to Out Of Gas mode (this has happened to me in my old Gen I but never in a Gen II) or 2) you had a momentary loss of 12 V pwr or reduction in 12V power (ie weak power). I know you just changed it a year ago so that is less likely. Who knows what caused it but, all the symptoms you mentioned are exactly the same symptoms I used to see on my Gen I if I put it in drive too quickly after starting it. I know this sounds crazy but, I really think there is a glitch in the Prius software that causes this.

Do you think you may have put it in D very quickly (possibly before getting a "Ready" light)???

 

Have you determined the inverter pump is working properly? It really seems like it overheated.

You can leave it in your driveway and keep it in "Ready" mode for a while. See if the warning lights come back from overheating.

 

It is time for you to take the car on a drive, 30 miles or more, and see what happens. Now that you have checked all engine compartment fluids, found them to be satisfactory, and have concluded that the inverter coolant pump is actually working, you won't cause additional damage.

Should you find that you have a recurrence of the original symptoms, you need Mini VCI running on a Windows XP or Windows 7, 32 bit OS laptop to retrieve the logged DTC. Then we can have a clue about what might be wrong with your car.

It is not clear whether you have inspected the engine coolant pump for leakage or not. Look for a pinkish or whitish stain on the inside of the pump pulley as well as stains on the air conditioner compressor below the pump. If you see this then you need to have that pump replaced before you embark on a long road trip.

 

It may be your serpentine drive belt on your ice. It's on the passenger side of the engine. While the car is off just push down on the belt to make sure there is tension on it. Mine broke and the car started to behave in a similar fashion with the same general lights on from memory. I had to let it sit overnight at a Kwik Trip gas station and was able to buy a belt the next day when the stores opened, changed it in the parking lot and all was good.

 

it costs around $28-30 for the miniVCI cable setup, provided you have Windows XP setup. There's a workaround for more recent version of Windows but XP works "out the box". You would be able to pull up the DTC codes and post them here for more senior members to elaborate on your car's history.

In my opinion, $30 is pretty good for peace of mind and definitely less than a dealership's diagnostic fee which is usually around $100. The cable with Techstream will also allow you to bleed the brakes, run the water pump, and get a but of live data from the prius as well.

 

I think you should drive to town and back. If it were me, I would have no problems doing that. It would be best to have someone follow you but, I really don't think you will have any problems.

 

yeah. install the techstream software. wait for the cable. then its a simple plug and play. plug the cable into the OBII port under the steering wheel and the other into your laptop's usb port. start techstream. car should be IG ON (2x power button). run an active test (a selection on the left sidebar of the Techstream program). old DTCs..i'll defer to other priuschat members advice.

 

Maybe the fluid you put in solved your original issue? When sitting my ICE doesn't come on unless the battery drops below two bars then it comes on only long enough to raise it to two bars then it shuts off. Of course its a 2014 vs a 2009, maybe different.

I think you will be fine on the 15 mile trip too!

 

Is it possible your door was ajar when you made your Prius ready? If the door is not completely closed you will get all theses warnings. Open the door after making the car ready and you will see what I'm talking about. I hope this is all that caused you all your grief!. H

 

Just wondering as I plan to get one myself soon. Do you mean it was physically broken, or is it just unreadable?

 

There is a CNET link for it too.

 

P0A0F - engine failed to start
P3191 - Engine Does Not Start

 

Yep. P3191 is "poor engine power" and POAOF is "engine failed to start". So these two are definitely related to the problem you experienced.

I'd be taking a close look at the throttle body, as well as the ingiters and plugs at this point. Your problem seems to be intermittent, so it would be a good idea to check all the ingiter connections etc. Also given your reported problems with mice, it would be a good idea to inspect the wiring as far as you can for rodent damage.