OBD2 Issues with Smog Check on 2006 Prius

I’m need of help!! I live in California and I’m due for a biannual Smog to renew my registration. I’ve taken the prius to two Smog shops and as soon as they hook up the smog machine to run the test the car throws a check engine light and the Red triangle and VSC lights all come on. Codes state it has lost connection with the hybrid system (p1000). I have to reset it everything to get it driving again and everything is works fine. All monitors are ready and no warnings till we try connecting the Smog machine again. Not sure what’s going on. If it’s a computer issue or something wrong with the actual OBD2 connection. When I connect my scanner I have to mess with it before it can make a good connection. Any help would be greatly appreciated with this issue!! Thank you all in advance!

 

Thank you for the response. I am calling everyone from the shop that replaced my hybrid battery in June to my regular mechanic shop and posting on FB prius groups. I think when this happened it thru a U0293 code. Researching the code now and it can be the 12v battery, the HEV fuse, or the actually computer or wires going into the computer. The fuse was fine but looked like it had corrosion on it...bunch of white stuff so maybe I’ll replace just for the hell of it. Then I need to check the 12V battery reading. I’ll throw it in maintenance mode and see what it says. Battery shop will check it under warranty next Monday. My regular mechanic is slammed so told me to call back on March 8th to see if they have openings for them to do diagnostic stuff to it. I’m trying my best not to give up on it since I’ve invested so much into making a reliable daily driver. Thanks again for the the encouragement I truly appreciate it!

 

I’ve attached pictures of the terminal and they look fine to me. I have another gen2 prius and compared it and they both look identical as far as condition is concerned.

I did just check my 12v battery and it’s reading at 11.9v with the car off. Once I get it started it jumps to 14.0v for a quick second and then drops to 13.9v and is holding.

The issue seems to only occur when the smog shops connect their scanners to run the test. As soon as it gets plugged in it turns on the red triangle, the check engine light, vsc light, and I can hear the engine’s fan running. I can only get my car back to normal by reset the check engine light with the scanner. My car drives a performs fine afterwards.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write out such a detailed response and helping me. I’ll attempt to show my mechanic this as they would have better knowledge when it comes to this stuff. I sadly wouldn’t know how to even start using a multi meter (not saying I could learn) just very limited on time and bunch of other life things going on on top of this. But I don’t want to sound like this was useless because this is invaluable information. Thank you again for being so kind to taking the time to help me!

 

I don’t have anything plugged into the OBD port for an extended period of time, but I did you a Bluetooth scanner to run the Dr.Prius app to diagnose issues I had here and there with the cars. Not sure how that could have messed up the connection. I’m glad your car was fixed easily! I’m hoping for the same outcome! I wish the smog would go smoother. Added stress for no reason

 

So I’ve officially smogged my car today! Thank god! I took it to my mechanic and he noticed that two pins in the OBD port were loose. He tightened them up and tried the Techstream and all the computer showed up properly. I then took it the third smog place and they were able to connect and run through the whole test with no issues! Good for another 2 years! Thank you everyone for your help and guiding me to the solution!! Huge relief!