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2008 Prius dies - dealer can't figure it out

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by DBusch, Sep 28, 2021.

  1. DBusch

    DBusch Junior Member

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    I gave my son our 2008 Prius - so I haven't been the driver in a while. Sometimes it runs great, but intermittently it just dies. When it happens it starts fine, but within a few moments all of the lights come on and it just stops. It has been towed several times. When the dealer starts it - it runs fine. The dealer says that the codes are not present or have "reset" themselves. They have no idea what the problem is. It has happened 5 times. The car has 155,000 miles and has always been dealer maintained. Does anybody have an idea? We've even left it with the dealer for a few days and it won't replicate the problem. We've shown the dealer pictures of the dash lights. We're ready to dump it. All thoughts are appreciated.
     
    #1 DBusch, Sep 28, 2021
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    did they check the 12v health, and all the connections?

    the only way i can think of that would reset the codes would be a 12v disconnect
     
    #2 bisco, Sep 28, 2021
  3. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Crankshaft or camshaft angle sensor?

    Very very odd that no codes are set.
     
    #3 Rebound, Sep 28, 2021
  4. donbright

    donbright Active Member

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    seems like a bluetooth dongle and the torque app would allow you to at least see some data before it shuts down? i realize thats a bit of money to spend on a car you may junk but if you know anyone who has a BT dongle, might be worth a shot
     
    #4 donbright, Sep 28, 2021
  5. T1 Terry

    T1 Terry Active Member

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    I agree with Bisco, that sounds very much like a 12v circuit problem. When I was limping my '06 Prius to the workshop, I hit a bump and the whole vehicle operation died .... but that included the park brake not engaging when the vehicle stopped moving. A jump to the 12v battery post under the fuse box up front and away it went again ..... I'd be checking all the positive battery connections from the battery itself right through to the connections and fuses in the front fuse box ..... check both ends of the battery negative cable as well, are the surfaces clean where the negative terminal bolts to the body?

    T1 Terry
     
    #5 T1 Terry, Sep 29, 2021
  6. DBusch

    DBusch Junior Member

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    Supposedly yes. I'm thinking something 12V as well. The battery was 5 years old when this began and the voltage was low. He changed the battery and it seemed okay for a couple of weeks. But it wasn't, and the confounding variable is time. It does work for a while between incidents. That makes it hard to tell if a fix has worked. We were hoping for 200,000 miles. It has been otherwise an excellent car.
     
    #6 DBusch, Sep 29, 2021
  7. Another

    Another Senior Member

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    Get a dongle and try a different mechanic.
     
    #7 Another, Sep 29, 2021
  8. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    An easy way to tell if your problem is due to a loss of 12v power at the battery or fuse box main connection is to observe the things that are immediately affected by it:
    1. On a temporary 'complete' loss of 12v power the fuel indicator will go to one blinking dot until it recalibrates itself. This can be 5 minutes or 5 hours. Seems to vary a bit on each car.
    2. The driver window will lose the 'auto up/down feature and must be reset by holding the window switch in the up position until it reaches the raised position and then hold the button for ~5 more seconds.
    3. The radio will normally lose all it's preset values.
     
    #8 TMR-JWAP, Sep 29, 2021
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2021
    Another, donbright, SFO and 1 other person like this.
  9. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    Since the codes appear to reset with time. have you ever tried to restart the car after it happens?

    If it doesn't restart right away after shutting her off and waiting a few minutes, you might want to wait a half hour of an hour to see how long it takes for the car to start again.

    If you have the pic you took of the dash lights on, why not post it, that might give some more clues.
     
    #9 vvillovv, Sep 29, 2021
  10. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Tighten the 12V battery ground strap where it attaches to the body of the car.
     
    #10 Rebound, Sep 29, 2021
    donbright and vvillovv like this.
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