Common 2G Problems, and What to Do About Them...

You should also start your own thread rather than tack on to this one, as your issue may not be a common problem or what to do about them.

 

Well, it turns out that it was my 12V causing my weird issues. The negative terminal had cracked and was leaking. I had put this one in and I didn't have any fit issues, so it is likely that a pothole caused it (I hit two on my trip to DC back in the Spring, one was so bad that it bottomed out the car). All of my other systems checked out normally.

Keith

 

My Prius has a a problem too. I watched the converter voltage on my scan tool and it showed the voltage after the converter spiking. Like double the voltage on before the converter. Is there a normal min max for the converter? Are they supposed to be the same voltage before and after?


iPhone ?

 

Problem: shifter clicks and sometimes sticks.
Symptoms: See above
Frequency: Usually after car has been in very hot sun which causes a plastic part in the shifter to distort which causes the noise and the sticking.
Diagnostic: observe
Cure: replace whole shifter assembly ($800) or better, just take out the plastic shield that is causing the problem. No need to replace it.
Other information/Alternate diagnosis possible:
See details on how to remove shifter assembly: Dealer wants to replace shifter instead of even trying to fix the warped plastic dust shield | PriusChat

 

It WAS true that you had to replace the positive clamp and negative wire to fit an Optima Yellowtop to a Gen 2 Prius (and in fact I did so to my 2008) but there is now a direct fit model.

It's DS46B24R.

 

My car makes a weird thudding noise when making a sharp turn at decent speed either way. Does anyone know what that could be and how to fix it?
Thanks.

 

If you don't have the capability to lift the car safely for inspection, take it to a shop that does front end alignment and get an estimate. They may find a worn bushing, mount, axle or joint.

If you can DIY, lift and secure one corner at a time, remove the wheel, and check tightness of all joints and bushings with a crowbar and large pair of channelocks. Inspect axles, bearings, and struts/shocks. (I always do this when I rotate tires.)

Don't delay on that, it could be dangerous.

 

So, not sure if this is the best thread, But, I am looking at purchasing a 2008 Prius Touring w/roughly 90k miles. Curious to know, at what point should I be concerned about mileage (if ever) on a pre-owned Prius. Thanks....

 

Greetings. Some cars are seeing problems with the age of the hybrid battery, regardless of the miles. Ten years is good service, so a 2008 may have two good years. Decent budget replacements can be done for around $2000. That may be your biggest worry for this car. But some are getting up to 300K miles on one battery.

Enemies of battery life are ambient heat and frequent charge cycles. If the car has spent time in desert mountains, the battery will have less life than one driven on flat streets in a temperate city.

Some of these cars start consuming engine oil around 150K miles, but seldom is there a failure if the oil level gets checked regularly.

Common maintenance headaches are the expensive ($200) 12V battery which only lasts about five years, the engine cooling system water pump and "3-way valve," front wheel bearings.... Reading this thread gives you a good idea. If you can do some basic DIY, you can save a lot of money following the usually excellent advice on this forum. Much of the Prius is pretty easy to work on.

90K miles on an '08 should have plenty of life left. Used car prices for Priuses are fairly low now, so I hope you can get a good deal. Then when gas prices hit $4/gal again, you'll be okay with a $2000+ battery replacement if that's ever needed.

 

Wow....wasnt expecting that level of thoroughness and the details. Much appreciated! I'm still looking at a few options. May pay a little more for a more recent option. Good info to know about the age of battery. That will be something I definitely inquire about at the dealerships.

 

My 2008 Prius T Spirit (Touring in the US) just sailed through its annual MOT check yesterday, with no advisories.

This vehicle was first registered in the U.K. 15/10/2008. Even though it's now turned cold in London, I've still got an indicated 60mpg UK indicated on the MFD. It just keeps going, and going, and going! It's my only transport, and is used for both commuting and pleasure.

It is easily the most reliable vehicle I have ever purchased. It was acquired with 55,000 miles on the clock in June 2013, and now has 88,000 miles on the clock. And that's all mostly driving in London.

I was given the option of extending the warranty on the entire vehicle for another 2 years, and have quite happily done so. I'm probably wasting money here, but it's worth it, methinks - if only for the peace of mind. I'd wager there's at least another solid 100,000 miles of reliable use left in "The Spaceship", though, I'm hoping I'll have upgraded to a Prius Prime before then


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I lent my 2007 Prius to my grandson while he was home for Christmas break and now can't get it started. I don't blame him, more of a swarm of problems all at once. First, it's been VERY cold (below zero for at least two weeks); second, it wasn't driven for a while (3-4 weeks) before I loaned it to him, but did start for him; third, when he couldn't get it started a couple of days later, he just let it sit for a week during continued cold weather; forth, when they did get it started, he drove it only about 1/4 mile then turned it off. When he came back, it wouldn't start again; tried jumping it and no go. He then told me it wouldn't start.
Now my experience. Tried jumping it; no luck. I inserted the key-fob and nothing came on; pressed START button and green light came on, but no interior lights, clock or anything else. Pressed Start button again and light turned orange, "check engine" light came on. I also felt brake pedal pump up (?). A knowledgable friend told me that long periods of very cold weather could drain battery, so removed battery, let it come up to about 40 degrees for 8 hours and recharged it. Read good on tester, 410 cold cranking Amps, so reinstalled and tried again. Still no start (engine did not turn over). Tried jumping at front fuse box location, still no start and nothing worked but the light on the START button and "check engine" light. Any suggestions as to what to try next (dealer is 90 miles away!)?

 

12v battery how old? Did you test it with a load? What was the voltage with the load?

The 12v battery handles the startup of all computer in the car, does not start the gas engine, that comes from the hybrid battery.

Also, most likely hybrid battery is drained below startup threshold. You need to get the trouble codes that is setting off the check engine light to really see what you are up against. A mini vci with techstream software (check amazon) and a old xp laptop can do it. It will also tell you what the voltage is for the different cells of the hybrid battery. Otherwise, best go to the dealership. If the hybrid battery is drained down best get charged up by the dealership. You could try to recharge with a hybrid grid charger, but it's not initially plug n play. Check in the shop on this site for one. If nothing else, get the car inside and warm it up, it can't but help you in your repairs.

 

I am taking my 2007 to the dealership for a multi-point inspection, but I have noticed a strange sound from what seems like behind dash. It is something along the lines of mice behind/in the dash chewing/coffee brewing/cd player trying to start. Any ideas so I know what to expect?

 

I have 80K on my 2005. In the last couple years I've had intermittent shut down while driving. For no apparent reason (plenty of gas and 12V battery good) I get the check engine red triangle yellow ! (exclamation point) and either VSC or ABS. I lose power and have to pull over. After several recycles of power, the alarms eventually go away. Sometimes only the check engine and triangle are left illuminated, and I can drive on. Usually after sitting for a while, and recycling, those will also clear. Today however was the worst. After pulling over due to loss of power, I could not turn it off. I even started pulling fuses to disconnect power. Eventually it did shut down and after recycling I only had the check engine and triangle. I drove on to an appointment. After sitting for two hours I came out and still had those two indicators. Stopped at a Goodyear and had the codes read. I had P0A1B and U0100. After recycling a couple more times I was able to clear everything

 

I think some of the problems can be resolved depends on the type of the car's engine - diesel or benzine.

 

My 2009 Prius has some issues with the cruise control. The problem started about 6 months ago and has progressively gotten worse. It will engage fine but will disengage when hitting a bumpy patch of road. Does anybody have any thoughts or ideas on whats going on & how to fix this?

Thanks

 

Hmmm, its not because its losing traction. It happens far too frequently for that to be the case. Maybe I should just try and replace the switch then. Any other thoughts on what it could be or should this be my first step?