Electric Power Steering light, Prius died :(

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by ankhtaco, Apr 8, 2017.

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  1. ankhtaco

    ankhtaco Junior Member

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    Crusing down the highway, lost accelerator power, Prius slowed down to a stop, turned off.

    Turned car back on and Electric Power Steering light came on, Prius started, engine kicked in, for like 10 seconds and stopped, power steering didn't work at the time either.

    Replace electric power steering gear?
     
    #1 ankhtaco, Apr 8, 2017
  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Check inverter coolant fluid level, if ok, when the car is in Ready mode, check for turbulence in the reservoir which indicates that the pump is circulating the coolant.

    These were the only warning lights on the dash?

    It's more common to lose power while driving due to problems with the inverter (coolant loss, overheating, or IPM failing).
     
    #2 xliderider, Apr 8, 2017
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome!
    how many miles on her?
    you'll need to pull the trouble codes with a prius aware reader.
     
    #3 bisco, Apr 8, 2017
  4. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Is there even such a thing as an electric power steering warning light?
     
    #4 xliderider, Apr 8, 2017
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  5. ankhtaco

    ankhtaco Junior Member

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    Inverter coolant level is half way between full and low.

    The Electric Power Steering light was only on
     
    #5 ankhtaco, Apr 8, 2017
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what does the light look like?

    is there movement in the inverter reservoir when the car is in ready?
     
    #6 bisco, Apr 8, 2017
  7. ankhtaco

    ankhtaco Junior Member

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    Electric power steering warning light
     
    #7 ankhtaco, Apr 8, 2017
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what does the light look like?
     
    #8 bisco, Apr 8, 2017
  9. ankhtaco

    ankhtaco Junior Member

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    the light looks like a steering wheel with an exclamation point
     
    #9 ankhtaco, Apr 8, 2017
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    is there power steering fluid?
     
    #10 bisco, Apr 8, 2017
  11. ankhtaco

    ankhtaco Junior Member

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    not sure but i believe the electric power steering takes place of the traditional hydraulic power steering system
     
    #11 ankhtaco, Apr 8, 2017
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  12. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    It's electric, not hydraulic. ;)
     
    #12 xliderider, Apr 8, 2017
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  13. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    You should have the codes read. I don't think an electric steering assist problem would cause a loss of drive power. For that to happen, you'd usually have a Check Hybrid System error.
     
    #13 xliderider, Apr 8, 2017
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  14. MeGuinness

    MeGuinness Member

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    Had the same problems my self yesterday ..CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM ..came up.... engine stopped working...RED WHEEL WITH EXCLAMATION MARK ON!
    Only way to bring back to life was to switch OFF and ON again.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #14 MeGuinness, Apr 20, 2017
  15. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    What was the cause of the problem for you guys?
     
    #15 douglasjre, Sep 5, 2018
  16. Arjy

    Arjy New Member

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    I have same issue with engine light on-P261B
     
    #16 Arjy, Apr 1, 2019
  17. kmcarlson97

    kmcarlson97 New Member

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    I had a similar experience last night.
    Was going into Wendys parking lot and my car resisted for a second. This had never happened. We in the drive thru, made my order. Then my car wouldn't go (had 3 cars behind us). It was still on but we had to push it into a parking spot. We ere almost out of gas and my fiancé thinks it was that. I turned off my car. It sat for maybe 20-30 mins. Turned it back on to take a picture of the symbol to send my boss. Buuut it was gone? My fiancés brother followed us home to make sure we were okay and my car drove to the gas station and home fine. We don't know if it was a fluke or what but we are supposed to drive an hour and a half away to my little sisters 7th birthday. Not sure what to do here because we currently only have about $400 to our names. Did you guys ever figure out what was wrong?
     
    #17 kmcarlson97, Oct 16, 2020
  18. MikeMcCa

    MikeMcCa New Member

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    Did anyone find what was causing these issues?
     
    #18 MikeMcCa, Dec 24, 2020
  19. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Refill gas tank?

    Those symptoms sound like what Bob Wilson experienced on his initial intentional out-of-full test on his 2010 Prius. It is an extremely non-intuitive symptom or warning for empty tank, caused by continuing driving (due to lack of warning of engine quitting) until the traction battery also got too low for the electric power steering.

    If it isn't out of fuel, check for any other causes of fuel starvation (plugged fuel filter or line, fuel pump failure, etc?)

    [WARNING] Running out of gas (Gen III) | PriusChat
     
    #19 fuzzy1, Dec 25, 2020
    Last edited: Dec 25, 2020
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  20. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    Where in your prius do you put that?
     
    #20 douglasjre, Dec 25, 2020
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