1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

My 7k miles Prius has broken down on me !

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by prius_fr, Aug 8, 2006.

Page 1 of 5
  1. prius_fr

    prius_fr New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2005
    24
    0
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Hello there

    Yesterday, on my morning commute on the freeway, suddenly all the warning lights went on and the car start beeping. I was approximately 1 mile from my workplace and right acrross the street there is a Toyota Dealer.

    Since the car was still running, I thought I was going to try to go straight to the dealer. I quickly notice that in fact the heat engine wasn't running anymore and I was strictly going on the electric engine, draining my batteries. I however managed to stop right in the front of the service department, the last 30 feet on freewheeling. :(

    On the driveway I could turn on and off the car but couldn't engage D anymore.

    They took the car and told me they have only two Prius certified techs: one was on vacation and one is coming back on Wednesday (tomorrow). That's f*cking great. :rolleyes:

    I believe something went wrong with the heat engine. I think this is serious.

    I somehow regret of having continued to drive the car up to the dealer: as soon as the problem occurred and the lights went on, I should've stopped on the emergency lane and called the towing company. What you guys think? Did I made a mistake?

    I attached some picture I took of the dashboard and the MFD. I'll keep you update on what's going on...

    [attachmentid=5059]

    [attachmentid=5060]

    [attachmentid=5061]
     

    Attached Files:

    • 1.jpg
      1.jpg
      File size:
      42.9 KB
      Views:
      598
    • 2.jpg
      2.jpg
      File size:
      65.9 KB
      Views:
      586
    • 3.jpg
      3.jpg
      File size:
      59.5 KB
      Views:
      656
    #1 prius_fr, Aug 8, 2006
  2. DaveG

    DaveG Member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2004
    806
    6
    0
    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius_fr @ Aug 8 2006, 10:01 AM) [snapback]299661[/snapback]</div>
    It's not a good idea to drive only on the high-voltage battery unless you are stopped in an unsafe location and a short drive would get you somewhere safer. The car will shut-down to protect the high-voltage battery when the power level drops too much, however it's still not recommended.

    Your gas gauge reads full, so it doesn't appear that you ran out - hopefully it's nothing serious. Let us know what the dealer reports to you.

    Dave
     
    #2 DaveG, Aug 8, 2006
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2004
    14,816
    2,498
    66
    Location:
    Far-North Chicagoland
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    At least your Vehicle Stability Control was engaged. So you were covered in that regard. :D

    Seriously, sorry to hear of the problem. The dealer should pull the error codes from the car's electronic system. Please keep us posted.
     
    #3 TonyPSchaefer, Aug 8, 2006
  4. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2005
    4,067
    688
    0
    Location:
    Eastern Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    I doubt you did any damage by driving it the extra mile on the battery. DaveG is right, it's not a good idea, but I would have done the same thing. Hope the problem isn't to serious.
     
    #4 tumbleweed, Aug 8, 2006
  5. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2004
    7,663
    1,041
    0
    Location:
    United States
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    How many bars were on the gas gauge when this happened?

    [D'ohh!! Nevermind.]
     
    #5 richard schumacher, Aug 8, 2006
  6. HokieHybrid

    HokieHybrid New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2005
    200
    1
    0
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    You can see the gas gauge is at least half full in the first pic...
     
    #6 HokieHybrid, Aug 8, 2006
  7. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
    9,810
    466
    0
    Location:
    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    take heart... if anything was going to go wrong, it was going to go wrong early. good luck and let us know how it turns out.
     
    #7 galaxee, Aug 8, 2006
  8. Salsawonder

    Salsawonder New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2005
    1,897
    47
    0
    Location:
    La Mesa California
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    When did the ice become heat???
     
    #8 Salsawonder, Aug 8, 2006
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    45,024
    16,243
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    haha

    Anyway, looking at the signs and remembering what it means from the manual, the MFD shows that there's something wrong with the hybrid system and the main HV battery and the usual "Take it to a Toyota dealer immediately"

    The ones on the dash indicate an ABS and VSC problem. Not sure why the CEL came one though. The ABS/VSC lights are "Take it to a Toyota dealer as soon as possible" and wouldn't affect driving. It's the ones on the MFD that would be of greater significance and would require you pull over immediately.
     
    #9 Tideland Prius, Aug 9, 2006
  10. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2005
    10,339
    14
    0
    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Do I see that you were running the AC?

    How hot was it in the car and was the back seat vent to cool the batteries blocked by anything?

    You didn't have a radiator leak and the car overheated, did you?
     
    #10 Godiva, Aug 9, 2006
  11. Oxygene

    Oxygene New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    52
    0
    0
    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    I had similar experience last weekend with my '04 as posted in this forum:
    Master Warning Light
    Malfunction Indicator Lamp

    and on the MFD:
    Hybrid System Warning Light

    Inverter coolant pump failed (not covered by Hybrid System 10Y/100K warranty!)

    Repair took 3 days waiting on part. Dealership (Toyota of Winter Haven, Winter Haven, FL) did "goodwill extension" of 3Y/36K warranty to cover it.

    Good luck to you. Please follow-up and let us know how it worked out.
     
    #11 Oxygene, Aug 12, 2006
  12. Zerkster

    Zerkster New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2006
    21
    0
    0
    Location:
    SanDiego
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxygene @ Aug 12 2006, 10:26 AM) [snapback]302181[/snapback]</div>
    Curious how many times has this happened? does anyone know? or how many posts of this nature accured.
    I love my new '06 Prius (proud two week owner)>>(VERY PROUD)
     
    #12 Zerkster, Aug 12, 2006
  13. yorkeyng

    yorkeyng New Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2006
    37
    0
    0
    i thought those pictures looked familiar--you're on flickr!

    good luck with your problem!
     
    #13 yorkeyng, Aug 12, 2006
  14. bulldog

    bulldog Member

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2006
    224
    1
    0
    Location:
    CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Any updates?
     
    #14 bulldog, Aug 14, 2006
  15. prius_fr

    prius_fr New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2005
    24
    0
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bulldog @ Aug 14 2006, 09:25 AM) [snapback]303019[/snapback]</div>
    Hello guys

    So here is an update. I got my car back on early Wednesday afternoon. They told me they didn't found anything wrong with the car. They just had to manually charge the main battery (they told me it was not fully drained) and test drove it.

    On that same Wednesday, on the evening on my way home, one the freeway, the EXACT same problem happened again!! :eek:

    This time I managed to exit the freeway and stopped on a parking lot before I drained the main battery. I turn off and on the car for like 10 - 15 times. After a while it was back to normal with "only" the "Check engine" light on.

    I went right back to the dealer, it was around 8:00PM. By luck the Prius Certified Tech that had previously checked my car was here. I explained him my ordeal and he then plugged his device to retreive the error codes. He then took it for a long test drive, came back and then had a long conversation on the phone with one of his fellow Prius Tech.

    He then told me this is very strange and that nothing was wrong with the car. He felt we can take the car back.

    I crossed my fingers and drove the car back. I've driven approximately 250 miles since then and nothing wrong happened, like normal.

    So what I'm doing is documenting everything in the case of this comes back, what else can I do, except touching wood? :unsure:


    richard schumacher -> I had driven approximately 120 miles since the last fill up. So 1 to 3 bars on the gas gauge had disappear

    Godiva -> yeah at this time I was running the AC, on low, but the car wasn't overheated and nothing blocked the seat vent.

    Oxygene -> funny because while waiting on Wednesday evening, I had a chat with a fellow Prius Owner who was waiting for his 05 Prius. He had 20k miles on it and I believe he had to change the Inverter coolant pump too !
     
    #15 prius_fr, Aug 14, 2006
  16. Ichabod

    Ichabod Artist In Residence

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2006
    1,794
    19
    0
    Location:
    Newton, MA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    This is just a stab in the dark, but could something like this happen in really slow stop & go traffic if you over-discharge the hybrid battery? I've seen my battery meter go very low in that type of situation, and then the computer takes over and tells the ICE to run in order to charge the battery... Maybe your car is mis-callibrated and allows the hybrid battery to drain too much??
     
    #16 Ichabod, Aug 14, 2006
  17. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2004
    7,663
    1,041
    0
    Location:
    United States
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Definitely a bummer! The next time it happens, turn the car off and leave it off, and then have it towed to a dealer. Turning it off and on can erase symptoms of the problem and make it harder to diagnose.
     
    #17 richard schumacher, Aug 14, 2006
  18. prius_fr

    prius_fr New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2005
    24
    0
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Aug 14 2006, 10:57 AM) [snapback]303085[/snapback]</div>
    Well guess what ? It happened again today at almost the exact same place it happened the first time. :( I'm starting to believe there is Prius jammer after me !

    So again being less than one mile away, went straight to the dealer, this time without draining the main battery: I didn't turned it off, the dealer took it. They say they will call me back probably tomorrow. I said I don't care how long it's gonna take, I just want it fixed !

    I'm getting desperate, this is now the 3rd time this is happening in one week. :(

    What should I do ?
     
    #18 prius_fr, Aug 15, 2006
  19. Zerkster

    Zerkster New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2006
    21
    0
    0
    Location:
    SanDiego
    Wow, I am terribly sorry it keeps happening to you.
    currious weather conditions surrounding the times it happens, A/C on-off anthing that might give some clue?
    I assume dealer is clueless as well too....

    in any rate it isn't enough to say good luck as it doesn't comfort any, but none the less hope they get it for ya and get your baby back to ya,

    lol The Zerkster
     
    #19 Zerkster, Aug 15, 2006
  20. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2004
    7,663
    1,041
    0
    Location:
    United States
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius_fr @ Aug 15 2006, 05:16 PM) [snapback]303766[/snapback]</div>
    Going straight to the dealer is even better than turning it off and getting towed, and I should have thought of that. Make sure that they confirm that all service bulletins and recalls applicable to your car have been applied. If they can't find the problem now, then take it to another dealer. If the 2nd dealer can't find the problem then get Toyota involved.

    But while we're waiting for an answer from the first dealer:
    - Have you read all of the owner's manual?
    - Do you ever shift into "N" or "B"?
    - Do you ever do anything while driving that takes one or both hands away from the steering wheel?
     
    #20 richard schumacher, Aug 16, 2006
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 1 of 5