Not shifting from second gear to third

MplsMicah · Dec 28, 2016

I bought I used 2005 Prius with about 120K miles, six months ago and haven't had any problems with it, until now. The car slowly started getting louder in a way that I didn't notice until it was really quite loud. The car was not only loud though, it would also vibrate a bit. It has no issues starting, and when just the electric motor is powering the car it has no issues, but once I get up to about 18 MPH it starts to make a sound that sounds like grinding or maybe vibrating. When I take a right turn it doesn't seem so bad.

The first thing I thought was a wheel bearing issue so I brought it in. I have so far had four people look at it and here is what they said.

1st place I brought it was a a local shop. They said it wasn't a wheel bearing but that there is an issue with the transmission. They don't work on Prius transmissions so they were not able to help me but said it will probably be around $2500.00.

2nd place was another local shop. They said the car wasn't shifting from 2nd gear to 3rd gear and that the wheel bearing on the driver side is also bad. Quoted me $2500.00 to repair the transmission and $400.00 for the wheel bearing.

3rd person to look at it is a friend of a friend that works on Prius. When he first heard the car he said "wheel bearing" but after driving it he confirmed the car is not shifting from 2nd gear into 3rd. I asked him if he thought there was an issue with the wheel bearing and he said he did not. He was surprised that the car was not shifting and said that when a Prius transmission goes bad the car usually won't run at all. That was also what I had read during the research that I had done online. He said there is a sensor that tells the car when to shift and that it might be bad.

4th place a brought it to was another local shop. Fearing that there might be an issue besides the bad transmission I brought it to another garage to confirm there wasn't an issue with the wheel bearing. I went on a quick test drive with him and he immediately said it is not a bad wheel bearing but that a motor mount is broken. His diagnosis was immediate (in a way that makes you think he knows what he's talking about) and he said that the reason it doesn't vibrate when I turn to the right is because the broken motor mount is on the driver side. His garage was full so he wasn't able to confirm his diagnosis today, but told me to bring it back first thing tomorrow.

So I have two questions. My first one is, has anybody had an issue with a Prius that doesn't shift from second to third gear and what did you do?

Second, does the motor mount diagnosis make sense?

Data Daedalus · Dec 28, 2016

MplsMicah said: ↑

I bought I used 2005 Prius with about 120K miles, six months ago and haven't had any problems with it, until now. The car slowly started getting louder in a way that I didn't notice until it was really quite loud. The car was not only loud though, it would also vibrate a bit. It has no issues starting, and when just the electric motor is powering the car it has no issues, but once I get up to about 18 MPH it starts to make a sound that sounds like grinding or maybe vibrating. When I take a right turn it doesn't seem so bad.

The first thing I thought was a wheel bearing issue so I brought it in. I have so far had four people look at it and here is what they said.

1st place I brought it was a a local shop. They said it wasn't a wheel bearing but that there is an issue with the transmission. They don't work on Prius transmissions so they were not able to help me but said it will probably be around $2500.00.

2nd place was another local shop. They said the car wasn't shifting from 2nd gear to 3rd gear and that the wheel bearing on the driver side is also bad. Quoted me $2500.00 to repair the transmission and $400.00 for the wheel bearing.

3rd person to look at it is a friend of a friend that works on Prius. When he first heard the car he said "wheel bearing" but after driving it he confirmed the car is not shifting from 2nd gear into 3rd. I asked him if he thought there was an issue with the wheel bearing and he said he did not. He was surprised that the car was not shifting and said that when a Prius transmission goes bad the car usually won't run at all. That was also what I had read during the research that I had done online. He said there is a sensor that tells the car when to shift and that it might be bad.

4th place a brought it to was another local shop. Fearing that there might be an issue besides the bad transmission I brought it to another garage to confirm there wasn't an issue with the wheel bearing. I went on a quick test drive with him and he immediately said it is not a bad wheel bearing but that a motor mount is broken. His diagnosis was immediate (in a way that makes you think he knows what he's talking about) and he said that the reason it doesn't vibrate when I turn to the right is because the broken motor mount is on the driver side. His garage was full so he wasn't able to confirm his diagnosis today, but told me to bring it back first thing tomorrow.

So I have two questions. My first one is, has anybody had an issue with a Prius that doesn't shift from second to third gear and what did you do?

Second, does the motor mount diagnosis make sense?
Click to expand...

I'm afraid the Prius doesn't have a regular transmission gearbox that changes audibly from gear to gear. Instead, it has a "Planetary Gear Set" - an e-CVT system. There are NO gear changes like you'd get in an ordinary vehicle.

The noise might be directly related to a badly damaged wheel bearing. Or not.

Is there the right transmission fluid in the transaxle? Has it leaked out? Been replaced by the wrong fluid?

Either way, I'd advise you to get it to a Toyota Dealership for a proper diagnostic check. You are more likely to get a precise prognosis of what the problem - or problems really are.

iPhone ?

bisco · Dec 28, 2016

welcome!
agree^^ but if you insist on a local shop, i would use number 4, since he didn't make the mistake of putting his ignorance on full display. all the best!

Britprius · Dec 28, 2016

As already stated above the Prius does not have any changeable gears.
In fact it has no true neutral and no reverse gear. Reverse is purely an electrical reversing of an electric motor to give a reverse direction of travel. Allowing the two electric motors to spin freely with no electrical connection gives neutral.

John

bhtooefr · Dec 28, 2016

Could also be a worn out CV joint, but yeah, there's no such thing as "2nd", let alone "3rd" in a Prius transmission.

Kate Harvest · Dec 28, 2016

The Prius transmission doesn't have gears, so anyone telling you that "the car isn't shifting from second into third" is talking out their nice person and can safely be completely dismissed as someone who shouldn't be working on this car.

If there's a problem with your transmission chances are MG2 is going to be running very hot. The temperature value can be read pretty easily with a the right scanner - a ScanGauge II or even the Torque Pro app - Gen2 Prius: Custom PIDs for Torque (Android App) with formulas | PriusChat... However reading this value is very much one of those things that shops that only pretend they know how to work on hybrids are probably going to give you the runaround on.

Getting the transmission fluid inspected and changed if it's dirty would possibly be a good idea, but as Data Daedalus said earlier, if you go there make sure whichever place does it uses the correct, Toyota recommended fluid and not just any transmission fluid.

bhtooefr · Dec 28, 2016

The correct, Toyota recommended fluid is Toyota ATF WS, by the way. Not ATF T-IV (that's what's recommended for the Gen 1), not CVT Fluid of any kind (the Prius doesn't have a true CVT).

MplsMicah · Dec 28, 2016

Wow, thanks everybody. I just joined today specifically for this issue and am amazed at how quickly people are responding and with such useful information.

This is my first Prius (or Hybrid/electric car), so a lot of the subtleties of the sounds (or lack there of) that this car makes are beyond me. The sound it is making doesn't sound like a bad transmission to me, but then again like I said this is my first hybrid.

I have a follow up question, is it true that the transmission would just "not work" if there was an issue with it? Do transmissions get loud and start to vibrate when there is an issue with them? From all of the research I have done I'm just not finding anything that sounds like my issue and am hoping this isn't gong to be an expensive one to repair.

JimboPalmer · Dec 28, 2016

I am not in Los Angeles, but Avi has the right reputation! I have been hearing positive things in the 7 years on PriusChat.

Hybrid Fix - Auto Repair - 1050 La Brea Ave - Inglewood, CA - Yelp

ChapmanF · Dec 28, 2016

MplsMicah said: ↑

2nd place was another local shop. They said the car wasn't shifting from 2nd gear to 3rd
Click to expand...

Can we find out what shop that was and hire them to do PriusChat comedy?

-Chap

bisco · Dec 28, 2016

what i want to know is, how did they diagnose 2nd to 3rd, and not 1st to 2nd, or 3rd to 4th, speed?

hill · Dec 28, 2016

ChapmanF said: ↑

Can we find out what shop that was and hire them to do PriusChat comedy?
Click to expand...

yea! Maybe he can help me figure out why our Leaf won't even shift out'a 1st gear .... for nearly 75,000 miles now!

.

WilDavis · Dec 28, 2016

MplsMicah said: ↑

I bought I used 2005 Prius with about 120K miles, six months ago and haven't had any problems with it, until now. The car slowly started getting louder in a way that I didn't notice until it was really quite loud. The car was not only loud though, it would also vibrate a bit. It has no issues starting, and when just the electric motor is powering the car it has no issues, but once I get up to about 18 MPH it starts to make a sound that sounds like grinding or maybe vibrating. When I take a right turn it doesn't seem so bad.

The first thing I thought was a wheel bearing issue so I brought it in. I have so far had four people look at it and here is what they said.

1st place I brought it was a a local shop. They said it wasn't a wheel bearing but that there is an issue with the transmission. They don't work on Prius transmissions so they were not able to help me but said it will probably be around $2500.00.

2nd place was another local shop. They said the car wasn't shifting from 2nd gear to 3rd gear and that the wheel bearing on the driver side is also bad. Quoted me $2500.00 to repair the transmission and $400.00 for the wheel bearing.

3rd person to look at it is a friend of a friend that works on Prius. When he first heard the car he said "wheel bearing" but after driving it he confirmed the car is not shifting from 2nd gear into 3rd. I asked him if he thought there was an issue with the wheel bearing and he said he did not. He was surprised that the car was not shifting and said that when a Prius transmission goes bad the car usually won't run at all. That was also what I had read during the research that I had done online. He said there is a sensor that tells the car when to shift and that it might be bad.

4th place a brought it to was another local shop. Fearing that there might be an issue besides the bad transmission I brought it to another garage to confirm there wasn't an issue with the wheel bearing. I went on a quick test drive with him and he immediately said it is not a bad wheel bearing but that a motor mount is broken. His diagnosis was immediate (in a way that makes you think he knows what he's talking about) and he said that the reason it doesn't vibrate when I turn to the right is because the broken motor mount is on the driver side. His garage was full so he wasn't able to confirm his diagnosis today, but told me to bring it back first thing tomorrow.

So I have two questions. My first one is, has anybody had an issue with a Prius that doesn't shift from second to third gear and what did you do?

Second, does the motor mount diagnosis make sense?
Click to expand...

…sorry, I'm late coming to the party! (…nothing new there, then!) …however, if it's any comfort, my 2009 Gen II has never ever shifted from second to third gear, in fact I can't recall it ever even shifting into second gear! (…perhaps I'm missing something! ) The only gears I use are D and occasionally R, and the odd occasion where I might use B (…mighty useful for slowing down without giving the game away (…brake-lights)).
I hope you are able to get your problems sorted out, and my advice to you is to go to someone who knows something about Prii (PriusChat is the perfect place for just that!) - Good luck! hope this helps - Wil

BTW - Welcome to PriusChat!

Kate Harvest · Dec 29, 2016

I had a transmission problem with the Gen1 I owned before my current Gen2. It still worked but it made a loud humming noise that got louder proportionally to my acceleration, and it also frequently made a sound like bits of metal were clanging around under the hood on the driver's side.

JC91006 · Dec 29, 2016

I think you should at least get your brakes checked and make sure they aren't grabbing.

Data Daedalus · Dec 29, 2016

Either propulsion shaft from the engine to the front wheel might be worn out or compromised in some way. This might explain some of the noise / vibrations over a certain speed. It might not be visible from behind the rubber boot / gaiter cover. Worth an inspection too. Has the front suspension been damaged in some unusual way?

Does a crucial drive belt need replacing? I'm clutching at straws now.

And no, you don't need a new clutch. There isn't one!

iPhone ?

Neohippy · Dec 29, 2016

Very good chance it could be a motor mount since you are hearing it while you turn one way. If he puts the car on a lift he could easily see if that's the issue

MplsMicah · Jan 6, 2017

Hello All,

Just wanted to give a final response to this post in case anybody in the future has a similar issue.

Following the advice of everyone here I finally decided to bring it to the Toyota dealership to have them run a diagnostic. I honestly wasn't excited about spending $130.00 just to find out what the issue was but now am glad I did.

They gave me a long list of issues, but the two most important were bad hub and bearings on the front (both sides), and a bad axle seal on the drivers side. They quoted me $1050.00 for the hub and bearings (that's for both sides), and $420.00 for the seal. The second amount didn't include replacing the axle, it was just to replace the seal.

I called around to a few places and found a guy to do the hub and bearings for $460.00, and the axle seal for $180.00. He said that when he opened the cap (my word not his) on the top of the transmission that the fluid literally shot out of the transmission (the car wasn't running at the time). He said the transmission had too much fluid in it and may have contributed to the car having issues (does that make sense?). Since the repairs have been finished the car has been running more or less perfectly and the noises have disappeared.

One of the other issues the Toyota dealership mentioned was that the drive belt had excessive cracks. They told me that if I have any of the quoted repairs done there, they will subtract the $130.00 diagnostic charge from it. The quote they gave me for replacing the drive belt was $175.00 so I am thinking about brining it in to them to have them replace it for $45.00 so that I get a little more out of that $130.00 initial cost.

Again, thanks to all of you for your advice, it was very helpful.

bisco · Jan 6, 2017

it's not easy to put too much fluid in the tranny, because it's a hole in the side, not on top.
after you drain it from the lower plug, you fill it at the upper plug until the oil runs out over the threads. that's how you know it's full.
maybe someone jacked up one side of the car to fill it, instead of putting it on a lift, or stands and crawling under.

generally speaking, the belt should be replaced by 120k. check your owners maintenance schedule.
some people do the water pump at the same time.

congrats, all the best!

Kate Harvest · Jan 6, 2017

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Not shifting from second gear to third

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