Who can confirm: P0420 DTC display identifying upstream or downstream sensor as cause?

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by ChapmanF, Aug 15, 2024.

  1. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    25,090
    16,359
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    In another thread, discussing P0420 and whether it indicates a cat converter problem or an upstream or downstream sensor problem, and what workup steps are needed to tell the difference, this claim has been made:

    "P0420 will give a description on Tech Stream what sensor or bank it is, signifying upper/lower etc."

    The claim was doubled down here:

    "Tech Stream literally gives the description and/or sub codes to tell the tech where to look and what the actual problem is."

    When asked for more detail, the same poster said this:

    "Bank 1 Sensor 1 Bank 2 Sensor 2 Lean/Rich It's not rocket science, it's a simple DTC with description."

    I'm happy to let "Bank 2" slide as a typo (as the Prius has an inline-4 engine, there is only one cylinder bank, Bank 1), and just focus on whether someone can show Techstream displaying P0420 in a way that pinpoints one or the other sensor as the cause of the code.

    When invited to offer a screenshot or the like, the same poster replied:

    "There's always Google images that show this, if you're just generally interested."

    So taking all that at face value, it sounds pretty easy to find such an image, no?

    Not sure why it's not easy enough to just be supplied by the person making the claim. But I'm happy to ask if anybody else can show what it looks like for a P0420 report to pinpoint that the cause of the problem is one or the other sensor. That's something that would definitely be worth knowing, as it would save a lot of time/effort compared to the troubleshooting steps given in the repair manual, so it's hard to believe the one person making the above posts would be the only one around here to know about it. Somebody else must too, surely?
     
  2. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2016
    6,404
    6,063
    0
    Location:
    Columbia, SC
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    As far as I'm aware, the P0420 does not have subcodes associated with it, at least for a Gen2. It does have freeze frame data.
    Trouble areas are listed as :
    Gas leakage in exhaust system
    A/F sensor (bank 1 sensor 1)
    Heated oxygen sensor (bank 1 sensor 2)
    Three way catalytic converter (exhaust manifold)

    I think I have a Gen 2 in the family that has an intermittent P0420, but I haven't dug into it yet. Maybe I can connect up with it this weekend and post a photo of the freeze frame.
     
  3. V Sport Wagon

    V Sport Wagon Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2023
    347
    115
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Oh the resident Know it All in this echo chamber called Prius Chat seems to be upset and stumped. I'm always honored when a whole thread is made about me.
     
    #3 V Sport Wagon, Aug 15, 2024
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2024
  4. V Sport Wagon

    V Sport Wagon Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2023
    347
    115
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Yes it was a typo, sensor 2 meaning downstream on the Cat. Unless someone can show you their tech stream screenshots you're not going to get the answer you like.
     
    #4 V Sport Wagon, Aug 15, 2024
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2024
  5. MAX2

    MAX2 Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2024
    371
    88
    10
    Location:
    Third Rock from the Sun
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    For the Prius V, the reasons are slightly expanded.
    • Gas leaks from exhaust system

    • Air fuel ratio sensor (sensor 1)

    • Heated oxygen sensor (sensor 2)

    • Front exhaust pipe assembly (TWC: Front and rear catalyst)

    • EGR valve assembly
     
    V Sport Wagon likes this.
  6. V Sport Wagon

    V Sport Wagon Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2023
    347
    115
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    That's probably the most rare one ever. I've yet to ever see a P0420 that was exclusively related to the EGR. Good thing for tech stream and the descriptions or it could lead a book smart guy down a lot of needless rabbit holes. (y)
     
  7. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    25,090
    16,359
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    That's the same list of "trouble areas" you find in the repair manual for the gen 3 liftback—same place you find nine pages of troubleshooting steps you can use when you have a P0420 so you find out which of those things caused it.

    But getting back to this thread, V Sport has claimed "Tech Stream literally gives the description and/or sub codes to tell the tech where to look and what the actual problem is."

    That would sure be faster and easier than nine pages of troubleshooting steps, so if anyone can share the details of what to look for in a Techstream P0420 display to be literally given what the actual problem is, it would be great to get that info more widely known. Lots of PriusChatters, after all, do use Techstream.

    Maybe a concrete example helps with the focus. If you see this shown in Techstream, does it tell you "where to look and what the actual problem is"? If so, what is the actual problem that produced this code?

    [​IMG]

    Also, in a different case where the actual problem was one of the other possibilities, what would be the difference in this display that would tell you that?
     

    Attached Files:

    #7 ChapmanF, Aug 16, 2024
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2024
  8. Datuna14

    Datuna14 New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2024
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    San diego
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Hello everyone.
    My code is p0420 b1s1, does it means that b1s2 is working well because I haven’t trouble code for sensor 2?
     
  9. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2021
    1,283
    482
    0
    Location:
    South Central PA, USA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Trouble code P0420 description is "Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1). It does NOT mean that sensor 1 or sensor 2 are good or bad. You need to follow the 9 pages of troubleshooting in the repair manual to pinpoint what is causing the trouble code. See post # 5 for some of the possible trouble areas that can cause this code.

    There are different trouble codes that are set if the ECU sees a problem with sensor 1 or sensor 2.
     
    #9 Brian1954, Dec 1, 2024
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2024
  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    25,090
    16,359
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    @Datuna14, can you clarify why you wrote "p0420 b1s1" above? Did you actually see the code shown somewhere with s1 in the description? Can you describe where that was, what scantool or app or reference source presented it that way? Can you include a screenshot? Thanks!
     
  11. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    4,057
    1,116
    0
    Location:
    New Yawk
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    In this case, Bank 1, System 1 means O2 sensor 1, whereas Bank 1, System 2 would mean O2 sensor 2.
     
  12. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    25,090
    16,359
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    The question here—the whole original question of this thread—is whether a P0420 code gives you specific "sensor 1" or "sensor 2" information. Notice there is no "S1", "S2", "sensor 1", or "sensor 2" shown here:

    [​IMG]

    @Datuna14 posted about a P0420 code, but wrote "p0420 b1s1", so the clarification question was: why did @Datuna14 write "s1" there? Was @Datuna14 using a scan tool that somehow displayed a P0420 code with "s1" in the description, or looking at some online resource that had "s1" in the description? More info or a screenshot would help.