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Turtle uphill and Hybrid system overheat... please help

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Shahzad Nayyar, Sep 19, 2019.

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  1. Shahzad Nayyar

    Shahzad Nayyar Junior Member

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    Hello to all. I have been a low key guy who had been going through forums and bemefitting a lot from this app. At present i am at a hiatus and totally lost. Here goes

    I have a JDM 2015 prius which has 74k Km on it. Bought it last year. The car is a beauty. Everything perfect. I live at an altitude of 2500 ft and there's an ascent near my house which takes up to a height of 9500 ft on one hour. When i got my prius i would just go up and down the hill with four adults in the car and the car would not mind. However, somewhere around june, the car showed considerable hesitation on the drive after 8000 ft elevation. The traction battery had 3 bars and the engine was revving only till about 1900 rpms. It did not want to rev more. The last stretch of 500 m, i traveeled at 20 Kmph. Now thag was embarrasing. I started checking stuff. Everything was fine. Inverter coolant had turbulence. ICE did not over heat. 12 v terminals were a bit loose but tightening them did not help. I tried putting in Fuel inj cleaner from Liqui moli, cleaned the air filter, maf sensor, throttle body but the problem persists.

    Today when i went there, the car started slowing down even at 7700 ft. And after 3 mins of driving like a turtle, i got the hybrid system overheat. I immediately stopped the car and checked the inverter coolant. There was turbulence. Torque showed it was revving at 4755 rpm. I didnt know what to do so i did something that i probably shudnt have. I opened the cap of the ICE coolant tank. There was a gush of gas leak and guess what the hybrid overheat sign went off. The car drove normally after that. But after 5 mins.... Turtle mode again.
    I ise 0w20 liqui moli. I am totally confused. I have bothered Patrick Wong A LOT. I must say that he is the most genuinely helpful guy i have ever come across. But i have run out of ideas. There are no codes at all. Help please. Thanx

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #1 Shahzad Nayyar, Sep 19, 2019
  2. Shahzad Nayyar

    Shahzad Nayyar Junior Member

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    The engine coolant was at around 97 c while inverter coolant was at 60 c

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #2 Shahzad Nayyar, Sep 19, 2019
  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    First, I'm not extremely familiar with Gen 3. But...

    Is there a chance your "overheat" warning is actually for the HV battery? Maybe the fan is clogged or the air path is clogged? Is there an intake filter/screen somewhere near the floor on Gen 3s?

    Is torque able to display battery pack temperatures? Does it display DTCs?
     
    #3 TMR-JWAP, Sep 19, 2019
  4. mpg_numbers_guy

    mpg_numbers_guy Member

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    Sounds like the hybrid battery pack overheated - pull it apart and clean the fan and surrounding area, then report back. Probably wouldn't hurt to do a Dr. Prius hybrid battery test just from how hard the battery is being used.

    Any check engine light?
     
    #4 mpg_numbers_guy, Sep 19, 2019
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what was the ambient temp?
     
    #5 bisco, Sep 19, 2019
  6. Shahzad Nayyar

    Shahzad Nayyar Junior Member

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    No check engine light. I had checked the fan. No obstruction. One of my kids is always on-duty with the fan. The fan does show variable speed
    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #6 Shahzad Nayyar, Sep 19, 2019
  7. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    How stable is the engine coolant level?

    What about the engine water pump?

    What code reader do you have?
     
    #7 Raytheeagle, Sep 19, 2019
  8. Shahzad Nayyar

    Shahzad Nayyar Junior Member

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    On motorway, the car would go 180 kmph with 2 adults, 2 kidd and luggage without any issue but here on mountains there r issues

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #8 Shahzad Nayyar, Sep 19, 2019
  9. Shahzad Nayyar

    Shahzad Nayyar Junior Member

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    One more query. Where does the hv fan let air out? I mean there is a vent in the trunk when u remove the xtra storage bin but where does it go from there?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #9 Shahzad Nayyar, Sep 20, 2019
  10. 4est

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    Check the hv battery. Check cell groups voltage
    You can use hybrid assistant. With it you can also manually control the fan speed
     
    #10 4est, Sep 20, 2019
  11. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    Obviously a pack overheat issue here.
     
    #11 Dxta, Sep 20, 2019
  12. Shahzad Nayyar

    Shahzad Nayyar Junior Member

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    Any idea about that. What if somehow the outlet is being obstructed?
    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #12 Shahzad Nayyar, Sep 20, 2019
  13. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    The duct exiting the battery just vents to the area around the plastic tray, then flows toward the back of the car where there are outlet louvers on each side of the car.
     
    #13 TMR-JWAP, Sep 20, 2019
  14. Shahzad Nayyar

    Shahzad Nayyar Junior Member

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    Well no blockade to the fan. The fan itself, not 100% clean but was causing good flow 20190920_165433.jpeg 20190920_165425.jpeg

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #14 Shahzad Nayyar, Sep 20, 2019
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    a good hybrid battery with a good cooling system can still go into battery protection mode in warm climates and steep hills
     
    #15 bisco, Sep 20, 2019
  16. Shahzad Nayyar

    Shahzad Nayyar Junior Member

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    But it worked fine on that climb last year with similar load

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #16 Shahzad Nayyar, Sep 20, 2019
  17. Shahzad Nayyar

    Shahzad Nayyar Junior Member

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    Can it be that the ICE is not performing upto the mark causing the HV battery and inverter to overwork and get overheat?

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #17 Shahzad Nayyar, Sep 20, 2019
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    maybe you need tech stream. torque misses a few codes if i'm not mistaken
     
    #18 bisco, Sep 20, 2019
  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    That's an extreme workout for any car, would tax it near the design limits. Both going up (obviously) and coming back down. Is this a near-daily event? Do you shift to B for the descent?
     
    #19 Mendel Leisk, Sep 20, 2019
  20. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    What’s ICE temp when car limps?
     
    #20 Grit, Sep 20, 2019
    mjoo likes this.
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