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Prius base 2007

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by TommySI, Apr 2, 2023.

  1. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

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    We got in the Prius this morning to take a short trip. The car was vibrating when stationary and less so when driving. It never got better so we came home. YouTube I searched said either a head gasket or ESD? In either case, is it worth it do get an engine repair? Curious.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Any trouble codes?

    might just need plugs, injectors, throttle body cleaning, etc
     
  3. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Nobody can make that call but YOU.
    But if you are still on the factory original hybrid battery, the odds are that another major expense is in your future.

    I suggest that you get a diagnostic service at a Toyota dealer and expect BAD news.
    But it could be a lot of less major things too. Like plugs or injectors.
    Any "trouble" lights come up on the dash ??

    If it is a major engine fault, like a head gasket, I certainly wouldn't consider dumping that much money into a 15 year old car.
     
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Head gasket on a 1NZ I mean it is possible on any internal combustion engine this engine is not a popular candidate for that type of thing unless extremely abused which mine is and hasn't even come close to a head gasket failure I would be looking at plugs coils the throttle body cleaning of course stuff like that Head gasket would be a last ditch diagnostic when you pull your plugs you should be able to tell if you have a head gasket leak pull them picture them label them but I doubt it My 2007 is my work vehicle If it blew an engine Yes I would probably change it The one NZ is a great engine. Unlike it's ZZ counterpart through 15 or 16 but whatever I need my 0709 second gen Prius on road and generally I'll do what it takes to keep it so an engine for this model is relatively cheap they can last 600k so when I replace it everything on the car will be falling off by the time I'm done with it so my money's out of it regardless there's no way you're going to get a cheaper car to operate today no matter what you buy an '09 Prius and better condition okay that would do it
     
  5. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

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    Check engine warning light came on and off.
     
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  6. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

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    I will call my mechanic tomorrow and see what he recommends. He’s worked in the car over a bunch of years.
     
  7. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    How much is that much money One NZ can be had from the JDM importer sometimes for $800 going to spend about eight to get it shoehorned in so 1600 bucks on your 15-year-old car that you've done all this other stuff too Not such a bad deal or you can go out and spend $8,500 on them whatever and start all over always options.
     
  8. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

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    Your right. Could be anything. We park our car on the street, no DYI there.
     
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  9. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

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    Turns out, mice got into the engine area and ate through some wires. Strange thing, the insulation ion the wires is made from soy. U get purchase a spray and/or rat resistance tape. I bought the tape to wrap around the wires. Once the mechanic replaced the connector, she’s running fine.
     
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    glad you found the problem and it wasn't too big of an expense.

    all cars suffer wire chewing from rodents, but prius is especially attractive to them due to the veggie based manufacturing
     
  11. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

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    Now, the tire pressure warning light is on. I checked the four tires, pressure is good. I am wondering if one of the batteries in one of the sensors had died. Ten year life span? Back to the mechanic on this one?
     
  12. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    Techstream can give you some information, but yes, it is probably just going to show you 3 working sensors and one that has gone to the great beyond. It won't tell you which wheel it is though. While this situation can be fixed, in terms of cost effectiveness, a tire pressure meter used regularly will get you 99% of what the TPMS system is for. What it won't get you is a warning if you have just run over a nail and a tire is going flat while you drive.
     
  13. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Yes, probably.
    But first ADD 3 to 4 PSI to all 4 of the tires and drive it a bit.
    Just to be sure that it isn't a minor calibration problem.
     
  14. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    There is a reset button for the TPMS. Set the tires manually to the correct pressure and then reset. If the battery is dead in one it won't help, but if it was a calibration problem it should fix it.

    This is for a gen 3, but I think it was the same on a gen 2

    Reset Tire Pressure Monitor System? | PriusChat
     
  15. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The second part there really tells you what the "SET" button does. It is for telling the system "see the pressures I have in the tires right now? Remember those are the pressures I want." It will then remember those pressures, and light the warning if any tire goes so many percent below the remembered pressures.

    So the main times you'd have any reason to press it are when you've changed your mind what pressures you like, or, if you run different pressures front and rear, at tire rotations after you've adjusted the pressures for the ones newly front and newly rear. (The car remembers the pressures you want according to which transmitter, not which corner of the car.)

    Beyond that, it isn't a magical reset-things button. There isn't really any calibration to do. The car doesn't second-guess what the transmitters say the pressure is. You can see what the pressures are with a scan tool, and if one disagreed with a good gauge, that would just mean a bum transmitter. But I haven't seen them go bad that way; mostly they just conk out when the battery is done for.

    There is a difference in what the warning light is telling you, in whether it comes right on solid, or blinks for a minute or so and then goes solid. So that's worth mentioning, in questions about it.
     
  16. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

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    I recently was diagnosed with a faulty TPMS valve front passenger. I had it replaced and recalibrated. Light gone. First highway trip since then, TPMS light flashed then stayed on. Pressures are good. Being that this car is a 2007 and TPSM lights have a 10 year life span; likely they are all going bad. DYI replace? Recalibrate later? Let dealer diagnose and correct? I have no place to do the work but have a mechanic I trust. I could get OEM replacement valves and he could do it.
     
  17. ColoradoCrow

    ColoradoCrow Active Member

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    TommySI,
    My 2008 had very similar issues. 1 TPMS sensor died and then 2 months later a second. I just bought all 4 new ones and had them replaced when I got new tires at Wal-mart. Once all the new ones were in they reset the system with the button under the steering console and no more issues. That was 1.6 years ago...still going strong.
     
  18. TommySI

    TommySI Junior Member

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    Had on sensor replaced at a Toyota dealer. The warning light went out and then came on. I purchased 4 new ones and had them installed today. They told me it would recalibrate after some driving. Still on. I guess I didn’t drive enough. I looked for that button but couldn’t find it. I’ll have to look again. Any other way to reset them?
     
  19. pasadena_commut

    pasadena_commut Senior Member

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    The button is under the steering wheel. My understanding is that all it does is tell the car "whatever the TPMS are reading now are the right pressures". Driving around isn't needed. (My understanding is theoretical since one TPMS is out, so the button is useless.)
     
  20. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    The button under the dash won't do anything for this problem. There is no "calibration" process. The Prius can't "learn" what sensors are on the car- it has to be "told".

    What sensors did you buy from where? What exactly did the shop do?

    If you get a sensor from from Toyota (or equivalent), it's "correct" for your Prius but the car doesn't know that it's there. Every sensor has a unique ID number, and that number has to be entered into the TPMS ecu on the car with a scantool (or fancy TPMS tool) via the OBD port.

    Many aftermarket sensors are "universal" and must be programmed with a special tool before installation. This tells the sensor what frequency it should use for a given year-make-model. And it creates the sensor's ID number. Which have to be entered into the ecu.

    If something wasn't done correctly, it can take a few miles before the TPMS system realizes that it hasn't heard from one or more sensors and turns the light on.



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