Prius Sporadically Dies When I Accelerate - Codes P0303, P0420, P3191, P3125

Ok I was trying to find a previous post I made that I thought was on this forum but I can't find it. Here is the problem that I am having. On any given day my car will cut-off when I put my car in Drive or when I accelerate as soon as I touch the gas pedal.

I have cleaned the throttle with spray, toothbrush, and rag. Air filter is still good. I added fuel injector cleaner. None of that seems to have helped. So I noticed that I started having the problem the same day I bought gas from a different gas station (cheapest one in town). So I burned most of that gas off and went to a different gas station. Car ran great for a few days but today it cut off on me again when I stepped on the gas pedal.

All the hybrid warning lights come on and the check engine light.

So I had a parts store pull the error codes and here is what they came up with: P3191, P0402, P0303, P3125. I have had the car for only 3 years now and never had a tune-up. It has 150k miles on it. The P0303 codes says, "cylinder 3 misfire detected; weak or missing spark; plugged fuel injector, engine mechanical fault; Large vacuum leak specific to cylinder" The clerk said that I may need a tune up. I am hoping that if I replace the spark plugs then it will resolve the stalling issue.

 

Ok this Prius is working my nerves. Over a week ago I cleaned the throttle plate; then it stalled on me again; So I cleaned the MAF - stalled on me again a day later; Thought maybe I bought some bad gas so I refilled the tank with less than a 1/4 tank of gas and added a fuel cleaner. Then it ran good for a few days. But stalled again. So last night I changed the spark plugs and they looked bad. Hours later stalled again. Today, I noticed I was around a quart of oil low so I added oil, put some gas and injector cleaner in the car - stalled twice.

It seems that it is more likely to stall when I am sitting on an incline. Car is in drive and as soon as I put any pressure on the gas pedal the gas motor shuts down. While sitting at the light some times the idle isn't always smooth. I can feel the car vibrating because of the engine (it feels like sitting on a suspended bridge). But most of the time the idle is smooth. So I am wondering if there is a way to increase the idle RPMs or is the problem the fuel filter?

 

My air filter was kind of dirty so I removed it and put a paper towel inside of the air filter housing. The idle seems smoother but vehicle still dies when I am on an incline and press the gas pedal. I went to another auto parts store and she hooked up the thingy to my car and said it has one code P0420. I told her that it was 4 codes before but she claims only one code was active. Not sure if she knows what she is talking about or not. But her computer stated that Code Definition: (Bank 1) Catalyst deterioration
Possible causes:
Base engine mechanical fault that affects one cyclinder
Catalytic converter has failed
Check for air leaks
HO2S has failed; or is loose.

But when I am driving even at high speeds the car runs smoothly. Acceleration has gotten better with new spark plugs.
Should I remove the throttle plate and clean it more thoroughly? I thought I did a pretty good damn job.

Any suggestions?

 

I change the oil around every 6000 miles. I bought npk iridium plugs but didn't use a torque wrench when installing. I cleaned the the throttle with throttle spray and the mass air flow sensor with mass air flow sensor spray. I punched the gas pedal real hard from a stopped position and the engine revved up and didn't stop so I had to turn the car off. I started it back up and it idled fine. I am taking it to the dealership because I don't have mechanical experience.

 

Well .... Unfortunately, I have been too broke to even take it to the dealer. I am still driving it and still having the same problem. I have learned to just gradually accelerate. So I can go days and days without it cutting off. But if I am on an incline that requires more acceleration I stand a 30% chance it will die out unless the idle on the vehicle is high at that time. Several times I thought I smelled antifreeze on different days. I do notice that my temperature light stays on longer even in the hot weather it can take several minutes for the light to go out. So I am looking for a job and just hoping that the car will get me there. It still runs great and hopefully will hang in there with me until I get a check big enough for the Toyota dealership.

 

Ok welll......

I went to the good folks at the state Emission's office to let them test my car so that I could drive it on Illinois dangerous roads and I failed the test because a P3125 code came up. My Check Engine light wasn't on but they said it may come on - so i failed. I never took care of the other issues with the previous codes that I mentioned in this thread.

So I was driving my car last night and learned to not accelerate from a stopped position so that I wouldn't die out. Well I began to accelerate and it felt like my parking brake was on. I pulled over and as I accelerated again it felt like I feel when trying to get out of a chair. Suddenly the Christmas lights all came on on my dashboard. The Warning Triangle of Death and the Check engine light.

I do not have a device to read codes and I am scared to drive it anywhere after watching videos about this error code being linked to the transmission or inverter. I just got a job and was working a lot of overtime so I could save money but now I am trying to gather info about how much it will cost to fix my car or just try and find out how much is this going to cost me. I am too out of shape to work on this kind of thing on my own and lack even the slightest confidence that I can get any self-repairs on my car to be effective. Sooo anyone know how much this will cost at the dealership or a guy in the Chicago area that will fix this?

 

Well not as many resources as the folks in California have. I am on the south side, so I may have to drive or tow it to the north side where most of the Prius mechanics are. If I take it the dealer I am sure it will be over 1000 to fix everything. Maybe another mechanic can do it all for 800 or less. Oh well I am off Monday so will take it to someone then.

Thanks for the prayer

 

Ok so after watching some Youtube videos about the P3125 code, I am hoping that prayers were answered. I went and checked on the Inverter Pump to see if the pump was working and the fluid was at the Low level. So I read about using specific Pink or SLLC coolants to refill it and decided that the leftover antifreeze in my car would suffice. It was lime color but now is pink since I poured it in the resevoir. The doesn't feel like it has the emergency brake on now but I will drive it for 20 minutes tonight to see if this has taken care of the problem.

I am also going to buy

 

Well it is running good. The warning lights are all out and no problems. I am going to drive it to Atlanta with some hesitancy but if it it can beat around the City of Chicago and survive it should make it to Atlanta.

I tried using this OBDII device with the Turbo OBDII app but it doesn't seem to work with Prius because even when I made the Check Engine Light come on the app read no codes off the OBDII device. So I just ordered this OBDII USB device so that I can monitor my vehicle.

I am content now and just hope this car will last 2 or 3 years until I am ready for a newer vehicle.

how is your Prius doing?

 

Ok so like a Braveheart I drove my car to Atlanta (11 hour drive) and car ran good going there and the check engine light came on around 6 hours into the trip. But I got there fine avg around 41 mpg at 72 mpg avg. But on the way back around 3 hours into the trip home my PS warning light came on and the red triangle of death. I hit a bump and the warning lights went off. Again around 3o minutes later the lights lit up again. I hit a bump and the lights went out. So I am thinking that maybe a part on my frontend is about to break. So I drive around 2 hours more (or much less) and the warning lights are back. But this time I hit bumps and the light doesn't go off. So I begin to exit the expressway and notice that my power steering is going and I am having a harder time turning the wheel. I get to a gas station and turn the car off and then back on and the warning light is off and the power steering is working fine. But when as I am turning the steering wheel vibrates and the warning lights are on again. So I drove it around another 6 hours like this and made it home with the lights on the entire time. I pull the codes off the car with my crappy ODB II reader and it says P0420. - something to do with the catalyst system failure. No codes about the power steering.

So I take it the dealership to let them overcharge me for repairs but I wanted to see if the motor would cut off as I begin acceleration and of course it did. I then checked the warning codes again and no new codes. So I mention to the service department about several problems and they said it would cost $105 x 3 for them to look at each issue. So I told them to just tell me why the Check Engine light is on. I also requested they flush the Hybrid Coolant out of the car and that was quoted at $150 so I nixed that idea.

So now I am just waiting to hear back from them after they check the Engine light.