Update on my prius...

still rude

 

In the earlier now locked thread, nobody who tried to pitch in could rule it out since you refused to tell us the voltages.

 

Easy. It comes from experience in multiple other contexts (away from PC), where the complainers insist some easy thing cannot possibly be the problem all the way up to the moment it is turns out to be the problem.

 

I understand the frustration on all sides, but the thing I still cannot understand is how you have allowed so much to happen to your Prius and your emotions, yet up until Toyota recently contacted you, you only had your car checked by one dealer.

 

Bad 12 volt batteries HAVE caused mileage problems and/or weird behavior for others here in the past. We had insufficient info in the prior locked thread and thus could not rule it out because you refused to provide us any readings.

We would've been perfectly content to rule it out or point to it, if we received proper measurements, in a couple of key conditions, not statements like "in spec", "the battery is fine", etc. and then refusing to answer and coming back w/your attitude which you're displaying again.

I think I'm done w/this thread. I look forward to hearing the final outcome.

 

Don't get me started on so-called 'factory trained technicians'. I learned that one the hard way before any of us had internet at home.

After six soft-voiced visits to the dealership to 'fix' a technician-induced problem (much worse than the original fault), then having to really fix it myself after the car ground to a halt in a cloud of smoke, 'factory trained technicians' is now an epithet.

At least those visits did provide enough clues to lead me to the real problem. But a good car forum would have done it much faster, before the stranding.

 

Why is anyone wasting their time with this rude, obnoxious troll?

Don't feed the troll and the troll will die.

 

Which thermostat?

 

keep the faith bs, it's members like you who keep things interesting.

 

Thermostats can and do often stick. If it sticks open it will take a -long- time for the engine to warm up, meaning the engine will be in "choke mode" (rich mixture) for much longer. This WILL affect mileage. It's easy to diagnose. You remove the thermostat, put it in a beaker of water and heat it up with a thermometer in there with it. You can see it open.

 

Don't bother with him, David. The guy is a troublemaker and not worth your time. He intruded into a bunch of threads last night with idiotic remarks about 12volt batteries being the problem to everything. Mods removed his posts but his childish behavior is still obvious in his post above.

 

Wow. i'm genuinely interested in what the resolution is here, but come on guys. everyone here is here for free, and sometimes for fun. brookside, i agree it's annoying that you got asked the same question over and over again, both about the 12V battery and the idle shutdown. doing diagnosis of technical problems online is hard, and requires both parties to be clear and consistent. unfortunately the qualiy of your responses wasn't good enough to rule out the battery, which is why they kept asking in different ways. if you search through the threads you'll find a LOT of people with strange problems which -were- cured by a new 12V battery. it's a sensible line of attack.

Maybe online diagnosis just isn't for you. seems like you had good success at the dealer in the end, you may find it less frustrating to just go straight to them next time.

 

Hey, David Beale,

Your "heating the beaker" test will NOT always be a valid test of proper thermostat operation. Years ago when I used to do ALL my own work on my '67 Opel Kadett, I had a problem with my heater in the dead of winter. I am NOT a trained mechanic, but I had the shop manual for the car.

I took the thermostat out of the housing & put it in a pan of water on the stove. I had a candy thermometer clipped to the side of the pan up about an inch away from the pan's bottom & I turned on the heat & watched the water temperature climb. As the temp got near the thermostat's rating the thermostat began to open. Shortly after that it was FULL open. I shut off the heat & slowly added cool water to the pan & it closed back up. I went through this heating & cooling cycle about 3 or 4 times & was satisfied the thermostat was fine, so I re-installed it in the car & went about to check for any number of other things (such as blockages or crimped hoses or whatever) that might cause me to have no heat coming from the heater box.

After exhausting my wits with no solution, I gave in & made a call to the dealer. They told me to just change the thermostat & that should take care of it, but I told him how I had checked it on the stove & that it was working fine at the rated temperature. He said that was NOT a good test & that the thermostat could stop working once it was under pressure within the cooling system. So I went & bought a new thermostat & Voila!!, instant heat with the new one.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)