Audio Trivia: Check Hybrid System P3190, P0A0F, P3000 - 8 second ride

Hi all,

Starting my journey with a new problem. After some research I noticed there weren't many actual audio references to issues people experience - so sharing in case my scenario is common - or possibly not so common

Issue occured after the car sat for a week and cold start with temperatures in the low to mid 30's F. Drove for 7 miles or so then at a stop the Check Hybrid System display came up, my heart sunk, towed home shortly thereafter.

SOC is less than 20% so not going to try again until the battery is reconditioned or a confident fix is applied.

Appreciate any thoughts on cause and possible fixes - but just hope the audio helps someone ou.as a reference point.

An overview description:

2011 Prius @ 193000 miles

12v battery charged - 12.5 V
EV original battery at 21% SOC (Dr Prius app)

Engine Code: P3190
Battery Code: P0A0F, P3000

Maintenance performed at around 184000 miles:

EGR System cleaned
Air filter changed
Spark plugs changed
PCV replaced
Throttle body cleaned
MAF sensor cleaned (with MAF cleaner)

Oil changed every 4000 miles

Coolant: at Full line - no leaks
Motor oil: Not chocolate milk - looks and smells like oil

Cold engine start: sometimes grumbly after sitting for a few days - shakes/clatters but no coolant leak/loss after 9000 miles

 

Hi Bisco, thanks for the links and I agree. I’ve only got Bluetooth scan tools and need to look into Techstream.

Checked PCV hoses but it’s connected fine it seems.

Performing maintenance on other family cars this week but hope to do more with the Prius this weekend.

Will do the easiest stuff first like check/clean throttle body - look closer at pcv - clean MAF again. Likely will pull the ICE water pump just to see if it’s in good shape since it’ll be right there.

I suspect fuel pump or delivery is keeping the engine from running - so will test that asap but need to create the pressure tester and do the plumbing, etc.

I’ve never heard such a jarring clunk at the end of the start cycle like observed in the video - was/am concerned there’s something “bigger” and more catastrophic happening in the way all the things work. Would appreciate a comment on whether the noise and behavior there is expected - given the engine I think is not starting at all, just spinning. The engine kind of sounds like it running, just not in a strong way.

If there is an obvious major mechanical issue - then I’ll stop researching Maxx Volts vs Prolong vs Lithium vs Sodium vs “buy a reconditioned hv battery off a guy of Facebook Marketplace”

Thanks again for the response - hope to get a method to get sub codes asap.

 

Hi Mendel,

Yes the car was new to me - at around 170000. When EGR was cleaned it was definitely dirty and clogged, but there were signs that the cleaning had occurred at some point - I’m just not sure how long prior. Call me a lunatic, but I’ll consider cleaning again to see how much it can clog up again in 10000 miles or so.

The hybrid battery is very low, so waiting for the grid charger to come and will wait for the battery to charge up before doing much more cranking.

Cleaned the MAF again but it looked fine. Some oil pooled under the butterfly but nothing too crazy. Throttle body seems ok - will try a shot of starting fluid and crank to hopefully isolate to fuel delivery.

Didn’t see a clear leak from the water pump, but have had an Asin pump on the shelf for awhile. Have a few days to wait on shipping so might swap it out if the engine hits easy on starting fluid.

Happy New Years!

 

Just an update, the engine did hit briefly on starting fluid but after a few unhappy combustions it defaulted back to MG1 doing a 8-10 second cycle before stopping - no clunk this time thank goodness.

Techstream freeze frame is showing a P0A0D-350 now - but it’s not the original P0A0F experienced, likely due to the troubleshooting starts.

Waiting on the grid charger to arrive for hybrid battery reconditioning

Did purchase the Acenbay copper bus bars from Amazon and replaced on the hybrid battery. The bus bars had moderate corrosion.

Also did replace the 12v battery - the voltage of the battery connected in the car seems to drop overnight to 11.7 V after a trickle charge to 12.4V the previous day. Given many of the forum posts indicate a solution was changing the 12V - makes sense to factor this simple possibility out. It was a cold start after a week of sitting - maybe that’s it after all…

Probably won’t do the water pump until isolating the battery stuff isn’t the source of the issue.

 

Yep that makes sense - thanks!

I reset codes after the couple of attempts - and as part the recent work had the orange plug out and did NOT slide the plug *fully* to the right after putting it back in.

SOC is so low right now and ambient temp low enough that it’s best to wait for the grid charger to get SOC back up to something to remove that ghost from the shell of the work being done

Thanks again for the feedback and response - adds up perfectly

 

Update: A winter storm delayed the shipment of the grid charger to get back to solving the problem. OEM battery so needed to be reconditioned anyway. Arrived yesterday and has charged overnight. Will let it soak through the day. Trying to decide if a discharge cycle or three is warranted given the situation.

Posting to help keep the tread from locking. Know others experience and help will be needed if solving battery problems does not directly resolve.

 

UPDATE:

12V Battery and HV battery charged - all good there. Cleared codes - got things back to square.

Cranked for the grins - no start - 8 seconds or so and then stopped, kind of expected that.

Suspecting Fuel Pump, especially after reviewing multiple threads. Lifted off the back seat and accessed the top of the fuel tank. Ohms seemed to show a fail with my multimeter. A quick bump of the +/- blades for the fuel pump with 12v indicates no joy. Likely a bad fuel pump from initial review - will begin shopping around for the best option forward. Just the pump or the whole assembly - hmmn - big price difference but would prefer to not touch this again for a while.

Preparing to follow:
DIY: Fuel Pump Replacement (10-15 Prius) | PriusChat

 

UPDATE: 100% Fuel Pump was root cause.

For those in the dead cold of winter with these symptoms like I was - don’t try to test the fuel pressure in the engine bay - I did not find it an easy thing to do. The cause of your issue may be any number of things - but by far the quickest thing to do is take the back seat off and test the fuel pump. That is after you make sure some wiring connections and the orange plug in the back are connected properly.

It was exceptionally easy to take the rear seat off, pry the fuel cover off, and carefully disconnect the plug that connects to the fuel tank.

From there a multimeter to test ohms between the two connector pins on the fuel tank side was pretty conclusive; however, a quick bump with 12v leaves no doubt.

Be mindful you are near the fuel tank of course, but that was the clear indicator for me. The pump made no noise. Keep a fire extinguisher near by and take your time. I pushed my car out of the garage first….

For the 2011, and I’m sure most gen3 Prius cars, the pin on the driver most side nearest the front of the car was the positive (red) connection to the fuel pump. Or the Bottom Right pin if you’re looking down from the top.

the negative (black) pin was the one just to the left of it.

I fretted over many things - would have slept better to just go straight to the fuel pump- probably would have been on the road within a couple of days if I just got the fuel pump immediately after determining it was bad.

anyway - putting the interior back together and back on the road.

~$400ish for the traction battery grid charger - which I needed to do anyway - and $35 for a used fuel pump - plus some time and patience was all that was required.

I did pickup a water pump for $150 because indications are that might be the next thing that fails - that or the head gasket of course.

Thanks all for the help and feedback.

P.S. - if you are in the St Louis area and need a battery recondition I’ve got a grid charger you can borrow just hit me up.

 

Youch! Yes that will leave a mark

Most of the time I’d say the car stays between 1/3-3/4 full. Very rarely does it go all the way to empty unless just getting back from a longer trip.

This car is used as a backup vehicle and for longer weekend trips - so it sits for an extended period often between use - but on average stays around 50% full of gas. The 12v battery did get weak - and it’s changed now. Also the hybrid battery was actually in pretty bad shape - we’ll see how the recondition helps it - probably will see some hydrid battery cell replacement in the future. I don’t know if that would have any negative effect on the fuel pump - but that thing was dead toast. 190,000+ honest good soldier miles with it though. Probably will give it an autopsy after the gas dries off. And then probably a bit of stress relief with use of a sledgehammer after wards.

 

Haha - maybe a good idea - backup vehicles are nice but the cost of insurance is real

 

At the time I thought I needed something fast - so researched Prolong and Maxx Volts. There was some debate in the forums over what to get between the two - so I basically decided what I thought would get to me quicker. To be fair - didn’t matter in the end - I think either is an ok choice.

I bought a Maxx Volts unit - worked fine.

DM me and we can work out the details - but yea it would be good for the device be put to use.