EMERGENCY: Car won't accelerate uphill!

There are many different questions that need to be answered... The codes will shed more light on the situation. One thing you could check, with the car in ready mode, is to remove the cap from the inverter coolant tank and check for turbulence. If there is no movement, you have a failed or failing inverter pump. This would cause the hybrid system to over-heat, thus the loss in power. I know it will also shut off your A/C, but I live in Florida, so I don't know about the heat. Good luck and post the codes.

On, a side note, if you have a law in your state that allows you to return a vehicle with 48 hours, I would be at his doorstep with the keys and the title and would document that you attempted to do this within the time period. Good time for a dash cam...

 

That sounds like low or no oil in the car. Check your oil. Those are def not the symptoms for a battery problem.

 

If you're knowledgeable and confident about cars, purchase from a trade dealer and save money. If you're not, pay more from a main dealer for peace of mind.

 

how many miles on her? what state are you in? tell us more about the little dohickey he installed and it's purpose. you might be covered under factory warranty, is it at a dealership for service?

 

Post the codes when you get them. It could be the inverter coolant pump. That's an easy visual inspection btw, just look into the top of the inverter coolant reservoir while the car is in ready. You'll see some fluid motion and turbulence if it's running properly.

Alternatively it could be a weak traction battery. Please take note of the state of charge (the 8 line multicolored battery display) as you drive. If it drops down into the pink/red area (two bars or less) then you can experience hill climbing difficulties.

Try to avoid hill climbing until the engine has been running for more than one minute. Let the engine warm if necessary.

 

As of 1 year ago, when my wife bought her HyCam, California does NOT has a buyers remorse clause. You bought it, you bought it!
Good luck, let us know hoe you make out!
Have all the TSB's been addressed, you can log into Toyota, register the car, and you can read the service that car has had at the dealer! If there are outstanding TSB's, that may help you after they are addressed!

 

Its sounds like your simply running the battery dead by going up a long grade. The first 5 min, the car uses lots of battery. If yer going up a long mountain right after that, and pushing it, the battery will run dry and the car will go into turtle mode to protect the battery.

Most cars, including this one, won't give you a low oil warning until its too late or nearly too late. This car will indicate low oil by displaying the word "PROBLEM" on the MFD just as yours did.

 

You are correct, there is a visual indicator for the turtle mode.

 

Thanks for the info J Moberly. So it turned out as simple as low coolant in the radiator. This is where a simple temperature gauge, like every other car has, would *really* help in the Prius!

Remember that the reservoir for the engine coolant is really only an expansion tank or "overflow", you can't refill a significantly empty radiator from here!

If the whole (internal) cooling system is full and there's only a gradual loss of coolant, then each time the engine stops and cools down there is a little more of the expansion tank coolant drawn back into the system via the pressure difference. So you'll notice the expansion tank level dropping and know that you have coolant loss somewhere. If however you have a situation like this, where someone has drained a significant amount of coolant and not refilled it correctly, then you just can't rely on the expansion tank to help you.

 

Congrats problem solved !

 

Glad to hear you got if figured out and problem solved. Exactly how did you determine that the cause of the problem was the coolant (air pocket). Or to put it another way, what prompted you to check the radiator, refill and bleed the system?

It might be a good idea to check the fluid level in the radiator over the next few days and replenish if needed. There is a chance that small amounts of air will work its way back into the radiator. It should normally be full to the neck when the system is cold.

I am also wondering if there is a coolant leak somewhere. Normally, the system stays full unless it is leaking.

Anyway, again glad to hear you got it figured out. The info you posted is very helpful to the community here at Prius Chat.