3 service attempts for check engine light diagnosis not found

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Meredith12830, Feb 21, 2018.

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  1. Meredith12830

    Meredith12830 New Member

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    Hi everyone!

    I bought my first Prius, a used 2009 with 58k miles. I've driven it for 11 months without too many problems. Once the mater warning light came on. I was caught in a flash flood and had to drive through 2 feet of standing water. I was told that may have caused the warning light. That was 9 months ago, lots of long road trips and no problems. Until now.

    After a longer trip, about 300 miles, the check engine light came on the next morning. The car jerked a little at idle but didn't run horribly. It's usually a little "chunky" on a cold start in the morning, ever since I bought it. It was the least chunky of the ones I test drove! I was able to get it to Autozone to check the codes: P0304. I took it to a local mechanic and they had the car for two days. These are their notes:
    Tried swapping the ignition coil, spark plug and injector. After this process, the misfire moved to cyliner 1. They set PO301 code. It showed evidence of an intake leak near manifold gasket. Replaced gasket and the problem persisted. Need more time to locate intake leak.

    They had multiple mechanics and two full days of work. No answers. I drove it home, the engine light stayed off. A week later the master light came on. Took it to another mechanic:

    P0A0F - Engine failed to start
    P3107 - Lost Communication with Airbag system control module
    These were codes for HV ECU (current, history) and Cruise control.

    He basically told me, let me know when you want me to start randomly replacing parts. So, no thank you. The master warning light was reset, stayed off. But the engine light was back on.
    I bit the bullet and brought it to the toyota dealership. Day one, same misfire code, multiple hours, no answers. He asked for more time to make a case with toyota.

    Everyone seems to want more time and more of my money. But nobody has answers. There is no warranty left, no recalls that need fixing. Just an $8k hunk of mysterious junk.

    I bought this car because it was dependable and needed nothing! I want to donate to mechanics Olympics to see who can be the first hero.
     
    #1 Meredith12830, Feb 21, 2018
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome!
    sad to say, two feet of water may have,for all intents and purposes, basically totaled your car. have you discussed it with your insurance company?
     
    #2 bisco, Feb 21, 2018
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  3. Meredith12830

    Meredith12830 New Member

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    I have not. Do you have any advice on how I should frame it? Just give them all the information? I'm just looking for a way to put this car to its death and not have someone else inherit the problem!
     
    #3 Meredith12830, Feb 21, 2018
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Why not just replace the coil? If you moved it and it moves....the failed part is the coil
     
    #4 JC91006, Feb 21, 2018
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  5. Meredith12830

    Meredith12830 New Member

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    UPDATE:
    They say there may be water in the fuel. Any additional thoughts?
     
    #5 Meredith12830, Feb 21, 2018
  6. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    If you think you have a vacuum leak a good way to find leaks is with a "Smoke Machine" . Here is a goofy guy showing you how they work
    and they are for sale on Amazon and eBay or you can go on YouTube and build your own. You could take it to a shop and have them use their $1,000 smoke machine on it.

     
    #6 padroo, Feb 21, 2018
  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I don't understand the diagnostic, when the coil is moved and the misfire moves. How does that point to fuel?
     
    #7 JC91006, Feb 21, 2018
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  8. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    If you are trying to find a misfire on one specific cylinder I say it isn't because of water. If it was water the misfire would be on random cylinders. You could put some of the stuff in your gas tank for water and it wouldn't hurt anyway. If you drove it 9 months after you drove through water the water did't come from that it would have showed up immediately.
     
    #8 padroo, Feb 21, 2018
  9. Meredith12830

    Meredith12830 New Member

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    That guy is amazing. The first mechanic did actually use their smoke machine. And didn't find any leaks. They said it may just be a tiny leak?
     
    #9 Meredith12830, Feb 21, 2018
  10. Meredith12830

    Meredith12830 New Member

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    Right. I drove through water then a few hours later all the hybrid warning lights came on - master, check engine, airbag, etc. I took it in the next day, they checked it, found nothing. Reset it. Never came on again. I also would think that all those lights would come on again if water was the problem?
     
    #10 Meredith12830, Feb 21, 2018
  11. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    Modern cars don't handle water well because there are so many electronics, some are actually under the floor of the car. I don't know if the Prius has any but some do so water is a no no.
     
    #11 padroo, Feb 21, 2018
  12. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Assuming you have comprehensive coverage, call your insurance company already and see if they will write it off.

    I am inclined to believe they will write it off:
    • 2ft of water,
    • radom intermittent problems,
    • and esp P3107 - Lost Communication with Airbag system control module
     
    #12 exstudent, Feb 22, 2018
  13. Meredith12830

    Meredith12830 New Member

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    Can you give me more information on products to put in the tank to deal with water? They want two more service hours to drain the tank and test the fuel. That's a lot of money plus a loss of gas if thats the case.
     
    #13 Meredith12830, Feb 22, 2018
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    agree with post #12, just tell them what happen.
     
    #14 bisco, Feb 22, 2018
  15. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    First of all I am not saying there is water in your tank but you hate to say someone is wrong and later find out if they are right, I understand that.

    If I thought I had a lot of water in my gas tank the first thing I would do is run it down low and pump as much of the gas/water out of the tank as I could. These pumps from Harbor Freight work well for doing this.

    Multi-Use Transfer Pump


    After removing the gas I would really want to know if there was any water by inspecting the gas I took out and then I would start putting the product called Heat or similar product sold at auto parts stores. Here is a video that shows it being tested.



    Good luck.
     
    #15 padroo, Feb 22, 2018
  16. pashko90

    pashko90 Junior Member

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    I'm sorry, but i don't get it.
    Are you want to fix your car and pay no money for it? I don't think what is gonna work.
    Draining fuel tank on prius does not requre tank removal. It have a service hole under rear seat.
     
    #16 pashko90, Feb 22, 2018
  17. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    Are those "water" removal products compatible with the bladder? They might introduce other problems.

    IIRC, the factory service manual has a specific procedure to drain the gas from the bladder tank and the lines.
     
    #17 exstudent, Feb 22, 2018
  18. pashko90

    pashko90 Junior Member

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    You can use isopropyl alcohol 91% from your local pharmacy. It works. Just add 2-3 qt in fuel tank.
     
    #18 pashko90, Feb 22, 2018
  19. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Original post says drove car for nine months after it’s sailing trip now 9 months later there’s water in the fuel tank?

    How is water supposed to get in the fuel tank from underneath. I would not bother chasing this guess work.
    You will just make the situation worse.

    Thought the misfire moved with the coil on plug move?
     
    #19 edthefox5, Feb 23, 2018
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  20. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Ya know, why did everyone take that "flooded path." It is doubtful that has any bearing nine months later. Listen to edthefox5
     
    #20 Stevewoods, Feb 23, 2018
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