Yesterday, while driving at ~50km/h, my 2012 Prius V Five shut down. The dash went dark, no warning flashes or anything, but accessories continued to function. I could not accelerate, and coasted to the nearest commercial parking lot. The only light on the dash that has come on is the door ajar reminder. I went through all the emergency start procedures in the manual, but could not get her started. The brake pedal felt normal as I brought her to a stop in the parking lot. I put in the parking brake to try the emergency start procedure in the manual, and began to push in the brake & power button for 15 seconds, the brake pedal pushed in abnormally easily. When the flatbed tow arrived, the front wheels needed to be wedged and the vehicle dragged onto the bed with the winch because the front wheels were locked. Our 12v battery was tested when we did the ECU update (recall) in the spring, and it was "fine". We haven't had any instances that would have drained it since then. It was about 22 degrees C that day, the car interior was cool with the ac running for the 10 minutes we had been driving normally. We bought our vehicle Toyota certified in spring of 2014, and paid for the extended manufacturer warranty. The vehicle was towed to the nearest dealership, and sat there for the day while they tried to determine the issue, but no solution was found by end of day. Apparently they tried swapping out the power button, I assume they checked the obvious channels for a fix first. Concerning. Anyone have a similar thing happen? X-posted to Prius Gen III (3) forum
Did Toyota indicate whether any codes were recorded? Please let us know what the resolution finally is.
My 2005 Toyota Corolla engine would spontaneously shut off right after starting the car--about once every other month--and Toyota had to replace the ECU completely. It was a Service Bulletin but it turned into a recall once Toyota figured out this could happen while driving. | Safercar | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) It sounds like your problem would have been related to the recall service you already received? The problem is the recall service you got is that the ECU update just puts less thermal stress on the components. Meaning, your car was running high thermal stresses all these years until the ECU update went into place. Toyota to recall 1.9 million Prius cars for software defect in hybrid system
I don't have any knowledge of how things work in Canada, but it looks like you can raise this issue to the Canadian authorities. Defect Investigations and Recalls - Transport Canada If my prius shut down in the middle of driving like that, I would complain for sure.
not sure, but it could be the inverter module or pump, but those should have codes and easy for the dealer to find. it's not the 12v, that is only to start the car. there have been others with car shutting down on the highway problem, it's unsafe and unacceptable.
Toyota dealership called, they said it appears to be a short in "the ignition" which blew a fuse. They replaced the fuse and tested it, which blew the fuse again. They still haven't narrowed down the issue. More labour needs to be racked up to find the issue, their reason for calling. If it's a part covered under the extended warranty, then they'll cover just the part. No news on the cost of our rental car, apparently only covered if indeed a warranty repair, the downside of being a single car family. They hinted at the auto start (installed by Toyota for orginal owner) perhaps causing the issue. They tried to accuse me of trying to jump the car when it was inspected after it was dropped off by the flatbed tow. Unfortunately, the vehicle was brought to the worst dealer by reputation in my region because it was the closest to where it shut down. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
My initial thought was hard failure of the 12v battery and you'd have zero juice but you say you still had some accessory power and lights. Hmmm. It does sound electrical in nature due to the suddenness so a ECU fault or similar electrical gremlin seems likely.
Thanks for all the input. The dealer has fixed the vehicle. The remote ignition that was installed by Toyota at time of purchase for the vehicles first owner had a wire that had rubbed down to the point where it was shorting and blowing the fuse. Apparently that fuse blowing will completely shut down the car when it blows. The warranty for the starter has passed, so we're SOL. ~$500 + one day of rental car. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Sorry to hear that. Yeah in the US, most dealer installed accessories (factory or otherwise) are typically 12 month warranties from the date of the install.
Sorry to hear that. I suppose you can think of it as "you just purchased a brand new remote starter" if you want your glass half full.
I would sooner have cut it out, replaced the fuse, and gotten on with it. It's infuriating to see that it would have been installed incorrectly at the dealership, caused such a big issues, and now I'm out of pocket and that's the end of the story. I don't even get a new (or second) receiver! Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
might be worth a call to corporate, to plead your case. seems ridiculous, they admit fault, but won't cover it.
Not long ago here someone posted about a dealer installing a block heater, and running the 110v cord through the radiator cooling fan so it couldn't turn. I agree with others though, that an obvious failure in workmanship is something a dealer should stand up for. I'm guessing it was not the same dealer.
Unfortunately, not the same dealer. The service manager did say specifically that even if it were their work, it would be long out of warranty and wouldn't be covered by anything. Doesn't seem right, but where's the profit in doing right by you customers? Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
This is why i only ask for factory installed or port installed options when buying a new car. Dealer installed tends to be a huge hit or miss on quality. Unless, it's floor mats. No wait I take that back. On my Corolla I had the dealer install the trunk cargo net.
If you got the Toyota "Certified Platinum" extended warranty, it should cover "all parts installed by the manufacturer or selling dealer". See the first paragraph of your agreement. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
