2004 prius won't accelerate

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Maria Navarro, Oct 7, 2014.

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  1. Maria Navarro

    Maria Navarro New Member

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    I'm having the same problem. Just got a 2004 prius. The previous owner said i need to replace the battery. My uncle bought a "refurbished" battery that has a warranty for 3 years for 3k. The mileage i guess is over 200k. Whenever i turn it on maintanence reqd is lit on (the other signs too). We had it oil changed and the filter too. There are times when i try to accelerate it and it wont just go higher. It scares me on the freeway (sometimes i only run 40mph). I try to release the gas then step on it again harder. It would work at times. But sometimes it will really take awhile to go higher. When i try to accelerate on steep road i always get stuck on 10 mph. Its just really hard. Then there are times the the car starts jerking when i brake. Pls help! Thanks
     
    #1 Maria Navarro, Oct 7, 2014
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Just curious how much you paid for this thing?

    Instead of guessing at the problem, maybe you can get the diagnostic codes read? That way you can pinpoint what is wrong with the car.....without guessing.
     
    #2 JC91006, Oct 7, 2014
  3. vskid3

    vskid3 Active Member

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    The maintenance light comes on every 5000 miles. You have to manually reset it, it doesn't sense that the oil has been changed. You can find the instructions on this site.

    So was the battery dead when you bought the car? Sounds like these issues should have come up in a test drive, if it was possible to test drive. You are flooring the gas pedal, correct? Some people don't because they're trying to get good gas mileage and then they complain that it has no power.
     
    #3 vskid3, Oct 7, 2014
  4. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    One possibility is that your inverter cooling system is not functioning. Put your Prius in Ready mode (in park) and take a look at the inverter coolant reservoir. There should be turbulence, if not you need to either get some air bubbles out of the system or have the inverter coolant pump replaced. Your Prius will go into a safe operating mode when things overheat to prevent expensive damage.

    JeffD
     
    #4 jdenenberg, Oct 7, 2014
  5. Maria Navarro

    Maria Navarro New Member

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    Thanks for the information! My uncle got it from her niece. He didn't pay for it. He just replaced the battery which caused us 3k.

    How can i find the diagnostic code?

    I will try to manually reset it today. Yes i am flooring the gas pedal hence still no acceleration on my speed. It scares me alot!

    This is what shows on my dashboard when i start the engine
     

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    #5 Maria Navarro, Oct 7, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 7, 2014
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you can get the codes read at a dealer or auto zone.
     
    #6 bisco, Oct 7, 2014
  7. Maria Navarro

    Maria Navarro New Member

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    Thank you bisco. I will let you know once i have it
     
    #7 Maria Navarro, Oct 7, 2014
  8. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    It sounds like you did.

    However, the picture you show above, the Ignition is on. Since you are new and unfamiliar w/ a Prius Ignition system, here it is simplified like a traditional car.

    Foot OFF Brake, press Power Button once = Accessory (radio can be turned on)
    Foot OFF brake, press Power Button again = Ignition (this is what you did for the picture above; power windows can be open/closed)
    Depress Brake, press Power Button again = car is Started (The car is now started and ready to be driven. "READY," will be illuminated on the Dash. You can start the car right away by depressing brake then press Power Button.)​

    Read the owners manual to become more familiar w/ the car. If you don't have it, download it from Toyota. LINK

    I would encourage you to just goto Luscious Garage (SF) or Art's Automotive (Berkeley), to have them take a look at the car, and tell you what is currently wrong, and what other maintenance items need to be done. Both shops have EXCELLENT reputations.
     
    #8 exstudent, Oct 7, 2014
  9. Maria Navarro

    Maria Navarro New Member

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    Hi all I got this codes, P0A80, P3019, P3019. Does anyone know what these means? Thank you.
     
    #9 Maria Navarro, Oct 10, 2014
  10. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    P0A80 points to the HV battery, sorry.

    JeffD
     
    #10 jdenenberg, Oct 10, 2014
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the good news is, you have a 3 year warranty, but more work for uncle.
     
    #11 bisco, Oct 10, 2014
  12. Maria Navarro

    Maria Navarro New Member

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    Hi jeffd, do we need to replace the battery? Thanks for helping


    Oh oh.. thanks for your help
     
    #12 Maria Navarro, Oct 10, 2014
  13. posey1981

    posey1981 New Member

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    #13 posey1981, Jul 27, 2015
  14. posey1981

    posey1981 New Member

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    My car wont accelerate after I let it idol for 10 mints
     
    #14 posey1981, Jul 27, 2015
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like you might have a problem...

    after giving it serious though, i think your throttle cable has become disconnected from the carburetor.
     
    #15 bisco, Jul 27, 2015
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  16. Cocooningweb

    Cocooningweb Junior Member

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    Hello,

    I'm having a similar problem with a 2005 Prius - 257,000 miles. Acceleration is getting really painfully slow. I've owned a Prius since 2006 and it's never been like that.

    I got a PA080 code about a month ago, changed the traction battery and not too long after I started getting code C1242. C1242 is related to the ABS system, but from reading a post on the 1st Generation Prius (Gen1 Prius C1242 fix - Inverter coolant pump and AM2 fuse | PriusChat), the inverter coolant pump may be responsible for the problem as suggested by Jdenenberg above. It could also affect the acceleration from what I read somewhere else (I can't remember where I read that, I've been reading non-stop all weekend).

    A friend of mine suggested the throttle cable or accelerator sensor, he wasn't really sure what it was called.

    I'm not sure what to try next. Inverter coolant pump?

    Sorry OP, I don't mean to hijack your post, but our problems are too similar to create a second post, hopefully we'll both get a solution out of this!

    Thank you.
     
    #16 Cocooningweb, Jul 27, 2015
  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    all you need to do to check the pump is see if the liquid is swirling and pump is making an aerator noise like an aquarium. if it is, your gonna need to download toyota tech manual and follow troubleshooting tree. are you using mini vci?
     
    #17 bisco, Jul 27, 2015
  18. Cocooningweb

    Cocooningweb Junior Member

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    I checked my coolant reservoir at lunch and it's not bubbling, but the liquid is definitely flowing and moving. I don't have a Mini VCI, I'll order one off eBay tonight. Hopefully that'll give me a better idea of what else I should be looking into. Thanks.
     
    #18 Cocooningweb, Jul 27, 2015
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  19. posey1981

    posey1981 New Member

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    I need help on 07 Toyota prius .after i let my car set and idle for 10 too 15 mints it wont accelerate. .this don't happen all the time
     
    #19 posey1981, Jul 27, 2015
  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    don't let it idle.
     
    #20 bisco, Jul 27, 2015
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