My 2005 Prius (~86K miles) went in for new tires and an oil change yesterday. The mechanic called me at the end of the day to tell me that after the tires were put on, they went to drive it around to make sure the shake (caused by old tires) was gone and it died. They coasted it back into the garage and the entire dash was lit up with warning lights and the console displayed the Transmission P is abnormal error. The car will not turn off and the gas engine will not turn on. If you try inserting the key FOB, it gets locked in and you have to disconnect the battery to get it out. He disconnected the 12V battery to keep from draining the power. It is being towed to the dealership as I type. I'm hoping this is an issue with the 12V battery, but I really would like to hear if anyone has seen this happen before so I have an idea of what to expect from the dealership service dept. I love my car - it's like a family member. I've not had one single issue with it since I bought it 4 years ago. It seems odd to me that I have to have it towed on the same day I get new tires. HELP!
My guess is that the 12V was old (it's the original?), and they killed it by leaving a door open during service.
In that case, good luck. If you plan on asking the forum about the dealership's diagnosis, make sure to get all of the codes and subcodes from the dealer.
Sorry about my suspicious mind, but what are the chances that it just died like that taking it for a little drive around the block or whatever. About one in a million right. And we know that neither changing oil or tires can do any harm to the electrical system. So here's what my horrible suspicious little mind thinks really happened. They did the usual mechanic thing and left it in either "acc" or "ig-on" all day to listen to the radio or CD while they worked. They then found that they'd flattened the 12V and it wouldn't start, so they decided to jump start it and GOT IT WRONG. Knowing that they might have done thousands of dollars worth of damage they made up the BS excuse about it just up and totally dying on a simple test drive. Good luck trying to prove any of that though. Anyway make sure you ask the dealer to give opinion on how they think the damage might have occurred.
I don't know what the tire people did wrong, BUT, you gave them a working vehicle and they screwed it up by changing the tires. If they are cooperative you should be able to request a new battery (12V). Just because they may be unfamiliar with the eccentricities of the Prius does not excuse them from the ruination of your battery. It may have lasted 4 more years! As we all know, it is imperative to keep the car in ready mode if: one is listening to the radio, running the AC, etc. AND PARKED. If, the tire company pays this time, they will not repeat that mistake. Be kind, gentle, polite, diplomatic and forceful.
Apparently, there were two issues. One, the tire guys killed the 12V, but nothing that couldn't be fixed by recharging it at the dealer. Second, the dealership narrowed down the dying engine issue to the Mass Air Flow sensor. They found that a bee had flown into it and, obviously, died. It needed to be replaced. Somehow, they think they can charge me $660 for this. This sounds a bit much for something this minor.
The bee in the MAF sensor bit just doesn't sound right. Sure, stuff happens. But if the bee bit is true, something else is wrong too. The Prius has an air filter in the intake tract before the MAF, and it should stop things much, much smaller than a bee getting sucked into the engine. Clean and dirty intake air filters: The air filter is in the black plastic box on the left, the engine is below the box. Did the service writer/tech say anything about the filter having a hole in it, and it needing replacement as well? Did he say anything about the filter not seating properly so the bee could get past it? Strange. Also, if the 12V battery was fully, or nearly fully discharged it will result in a reduced service life, which is normally ~four years. The dealer's recharge gets the car back on the road, but it doesn't restore the battery to its pre-discharge capacity. You got screwed on this. The tire store needs to buy you a new battery to make things right on this.
It is unfortunate your "horrible suspicious little mind..." fogs the reality and passes a judgment on he alleged behavior of a tech you do not know and have not seen. They may have done something improper, like not to power down completely and run the 12V battery down...but a 2005's 12V battery should have been changed a long time ago. As a shop owner specializing in electrical system, I cannot imagine any technician put up a Prius on the lift with radio blaring (thru close doors...mind you) to listen to CD while doing an oil and tire change...but I guess I could be wrong! As far as the bee on the MAF goes...maybe the accumulated blob of dirt looked like a bee. Who knows. Regards, Starky
Yes it might have been a bit harsh, that's why I prefixed it with the whole "my horrible suspicious mind" thing. But from the original description that eweeks gave it did sound like the inverter had blown or something serious was wrong with the electrics. A reverse polarity jump start was simply the most likely thing I could think of to cause that ok. And my scenario was simply the most likely way that a jump start might have been required ok.
All logical, To the OP: Press them for a new battery, they owe it to you. Everything the tire changers are saying is garbage.:cheer2:
