I have an 03 Prius with about 130k miles on it. Been a great car. Fluids, lots of tires, and one set of brakes is it..... But this winter we started having issues. On morning when it got pretty cold the night before it would stall out on the first start and throw up a bunch of warnings. Would then start up fine and run fine usually. There was a time or 2 it stalled out several times before starting and twice after we started driving we sort of lost power for a few minutes and the green turtle came on. I have not had any codes read but can anyone comment as to likely causes? I am a little afraid its the HV Battery or the computers running it at this mileage? Thanks
Regarding the engine no-start issue: I suggest that you do an engine tune-up if one has not been recently done. Replace the iridium spark plugs with the correct NGK or Denso plugs as listed in the owner's manual, replace the engine air filter if dirty, and clean the throttle body interior and throttle plate using throttle body cleaner. Remove the air filter housing so that you can access the throttle body. Spray cleaner on a clean cloth or paper towel and use that to scrub off the throttle body interior. Rotate the throttle plate by turning the spring-loaded shaft, to access the edge and underside of the throttle plate. The turtle warning light (which is amber IIRC) is telling you that limited power is available from the traction battery. This may be temperature related. If this continues to light up when the ambient temperature is moderate then this may be an indication that the battery is having a problem.
location: NC. Are you in North Carolina? Have you heard of Taylor Automotive over in Sanford? They are one of the top shops in the country when it comes to Gen I, including offering an upgraded replacement hv battery pack. Likewise, if NC means northern California, you have some options in Luscious Garage or Art's Automotive.
Thanks Patrick, How do you know it has the wrong spark plugs in?? Just curious. I will do that other stuff though and hope it helps. It only happens on cold days. We had a month long warm streak and she started everyday just fine and then it dropped to 25 one night and she stalled out on the first start. It has always been cold related, is that to be expected? Thank you
OH north Carolina and i just heard of taylors so i will know where to go if I need to. Hopefully i never meet them though.
I don't know that the car currently has the wrong spark plugs installed. The correct spark plugs may be installed, but worn out by now. I also want to encourage you to install the correct replacement spark plugs. Do not use a cheap platinum substitute. Yes, cold weather makes the engine harder to start.
Cool, I was mostly hoping to save you a pointless trip to a dealership. If you could get those codes read, that would help.
Can i get the codes read anywhwere else? Like autozone? they do free obd code reading? The dealership is 40 minutes away.
It is located on the engine valve cover on the side closest to the inverter. Remove the engine wiring harness that runs over the valve cover for access.
