Here goes. A couple of months ago we were driving down the freeway when the car stalled and went into limp mode. We pulled over ( barely coasted into a parking lot ) and were unable to re-start it, it would not read "ready" or go into neutral. Had it towed home. ( For free, as a kindness from a local body shop owner. ) The coolant pump fuse had blown. Replaced it. Then replaced the coolant pump. Then as a Summer project, replaced the entire Hybrid Inverter just in case. ( Fun, learned a lot. ) All the while, no codes are being given via our OBD2 reader. Today we finished re-installing the Inverter and tried to start up the car. Accessories work, and there is turbulence in the Inverter coolant tank. However, on the display flashes the word Problem! and then the red car with the exclamation symbol comes on. On the dash appears the Red Triangle, the engine light, ABS, and the slippery road icon. "Ready" still has not appeared, and I can only shift into Neutral or Park. There is no idling from the engine, the engine is silent. We noticed today that a fair amount of water had gotten into the ignition coil well, so our next step is going to be to replace those, and check the spark plugs. I also noticed that there is no "KEY" button to toggle on-off the smart key, which is a concern because I have read that this is needed in order to do the reboot sequence. I have even tried "clearing" the non-existent codes, which of course did nothing. We tried jump starting just in case, no change. Filled the tank with gas, no change. We even checked the gas cap thinking it was something super dumb and easy to overlook - nope. Again, there are no codes, so we've been flying blind this whole time, going purely off of symptoms. Towing the car or taking it to a dealer is not an option as we are living paycheck to paycheck. We will keep replacing parts until we cannot anymore, but I am starting to worry that this could be a less enjoyable issue, perhaps something with the engine itself. Any advice is much appreciated, as I sorely miss my independence. I have been documenting these repairs, and can upload photos if needed.
Welcome to Prius Chat . How long did the Prius sit before you attempted to restart? How many miles on your Prius? What’s the 12 volt voltage reading? Do you have a Prius aware scanner to tell you the reason for the codes? Good luck and keep us posted .
Oh! It also has a new hybrid battery. However, I've noticed that when trying to start the car it reads as a 3/4 full battery, then quickly drops to one red bar. And the power button light ( start button ) is red, so right after I post here I will be messaging the vendor as it is still under warranty. At least then we can cross that off.
178,000 miles. 13.6v for the reading. The gaps between restart attempts were: A few minutes ( at first ). A few hours after the tow home. Two weeks later when the coolant pump arrived and was installed. One month later, when the Inverter arrived. One week later ( today ), after the Inverter was pulled and the new Inverter was installed. I have pulled codes from this reader before for things like the 12v battery, hybrid battery, oil pressure, and brakes, but am more than happy to invest in reliable Prius aware brand reader that the folks here can rep. If Techstream works on Chromebook I would gladly go down that route as well. Thank you, I have lurked for a long time, and have reached my limit as far as going it alone.
I now see that 13.6v may be inaccurate as it was charging at the time. It is a fairly new battery ( 6 months ), but I will test it again to have an accurate reading. I don't fully suspect it though as all accessories and displays are working properly. Will update when the next step has been taken.
Inverter cooling water pump fails. Inverter gets warm and goes to limp mode. Pump gets replaced. This happens multiple times, every day throughout the world. Car goes on to lead a long productive life. I realize this is a bit late, but why in the world would you undertake the time and expense of installing a different inverter when the car was working normally? Am I assuming incorrectly? Did the car ever work after replacing the ICWP? On another thought, which fuse blew and which pump got replaced? This is important to know. You installed an "unknown" quality inverter to replace a fully functioning one? I'm a bit confused when you say you did it as a summer project and then you say you finished reinstalling it today? Did you replace it and then replace it again? Which inverter is now in the car? Do you have techstream? Do you have a hybrid compatible code reader? Do you at least have an app on your phone like Hybrid Assistant or Dr Prius? These are the kind of things you NEED to have before going "project" on a prius. Unfortunately, until you can get the codes read, using a hybrid compatible reader, we would just be making an educated wildass guess, which is only marginally better than what's currently happening. There's a tremendous amount of knowledge on this site and dozens of people happy to help, but we need good info to start with. we are living paycheck to paycheck. We will keep replacing parts until we cannot anymore, THIS MAKES NO SENSE TO ME...... but I am starting to worry that this could be a less enjoyable issue, perhaps something with the engine itself. Why would you wonder that? If the car was working normally before replacing the inverter, why would you even think it's related to the engine mechanically? Is there something else that happened that would make you suspect that? Any way.......my guess is you missed a plug/connector somewhere on the inverter.
What does new hybrid battery mean? New from Toyota or from another supplier? Are all connections tight and secure?
1. Get rid of the current OBD2 code reader which is not being helpful in your situation. 2. Get Mini VCI which is a Toyota Techstream clone and runs on a Windows 7 or Windows XP 32 bit OS laptop. If that is too much trouble then get one of the other diagnostic devices mentioned above. 3. How do you know that you didn't introduce a problem by replacing the inverter? 4. What is the odometer reading of the car? 5. It appears you did a good job replacing the inverter coolant pump and restoring proper coolant flow. 6. I assume that the AM2 fuse was the one that blew? If that was not the blown fuse, tell us what fuse did blow. 7. Regarding the water accumulating in a spark plug well, use a shop vacuum or something similar to get rid of the water before you remove the spark plug. You do not need that water getting into the combustion chamber and causing a hydrolock, destroying the engine the next time you try to start it.
I am having similar issues after replacing the auxiliary coolant pump. Car would not go into drive or reverse. Car also will not go into inspection mode. Will not start again the red truths lol triangle of death is there.
Iam having the same issue..I really need help my prius engine cannot crank ..the ready light appears on dashboard but flicks on and off when I press start button together with the clicking sound from the main battery pack..battery cells charged ..new fuel pump install and recently cleaned the fuel injectors
