Central Florida H E L P

Maybe these people can help.

mellor's automotive

I've never used them but they sound interesting. Also, do a search for Mellors on Priuschat and see what you get.

Also, Foreign Affars may be able to help. Foreign Affairs
However, after reading their web pages, I'd try Mellors first.

 

How many miles on the car ? Some part are warranted out to 100k miles

In general, first thing to do is diagnose the problem. Then you can choose how to deal with the problem. If you take the car to a dealer now they will give you nothing for it.


Mellor’s Automotive Inc.
1410 W. Newhaven Ave.
West Melborne, FL 32904
(321) 956-1997
Contact: Joshua J. Mellor

I gather he has a very good reputation, and is near you. This is an independent garage though, so they will not be able to do warranty work.

Good Luck, and tell you husband to calm down.

 

I think before jettisoning the Prius it may be worthwhile to not panic and start figuring out what is going on. This is the right place to do that, there are many, many experts that are willing to help. I'm not an expert, but I am in Central Florida, Bartow, and I will help too if I can.

The first thing to do is to take it in to Advance Auto and get them to read the codes. They should do this at no charge, and will give you a small printout of the codes. After that, you can tell the experts here and they will figure out what is wrong.

My SUSPICION is that it is the Inverter Coolant Pump. There is a recall for that part, and if it is the problem Toyota has issued a recall and there will possibly be no charge to you for fixing it.

I would be amazed if it is the hybrid battery, but there is the distinct possiblilty that it could be the 12V battery is going bad either simultaneously or is causing the problem. I know a low 12V battery is bad. But still, before I would replace the 12V battery I would get the codes.

Good luck.

 

MarathonMan has a good approach, since Mellor is 100 miles away.
I would take the car to a reputable Toyota dealer that charges about $100 for diagnosis. If the repair offered is under warranty let them do it; otherwise get the diagnostic codes and post them here for further advice.

The Coolant pump could very likely be the problem since it sounds like the car has been driven while the problem has been present. Free repair at the dealer.

 

Hi Robin. Please post in the forum the details of what info you currently have on your problem. Who have you taken it to, what did they say, what estimates etc have been given.

You'll find many people here who can really help you identify the problem and also to recommend good places to take it to. But you need to give more information about the problem before people can really help.

 

If it were the hybrid battery, the car would be virtually undrivable -- no reverse, very, very slow acceleration, and very low top speed. +1 on the inverter cooling pump as a potential cause, which would be fixed for free due to the recall.

 

If the problem is the inverter coolant pump, We'll have a data point just how good the safety mechanisms protecting the inverter from over-heating really are, given what sounds like a month of use while the pump is not working.

I guess Florida is warming up.

 

Good start.
Our help does come with a price, you know. A few more periods in your speech to make sentences will make your posts *so* much easier to read.

I doubt this is a traction battery problem, but if I am wrong you have a good chance of Toyota footing some if not most of the bill since you are only 3k miles out of warranty.

For the future: don't let a dealer tell you what maintenance to perform blindly. It is like handing them a blank check.

 

OK, I can understand that happening at Lakeland Toyota. What I don't understand is PAYING $695.00 to Lakeland Toyota. Did they have a signed work order? If not, they did not need to be paid. What a shame that it is apparently too long ago to do anything about it.

However, I completely agree about avoiding a dealer if possible. Why would somebody pay a dealer $60 to $100 to read trouble codes that Advance Auto, or probably any of the other parts stores, will do for free? Unfortunately without the codes things are at a standstill for figuring out what is wrong.

It sounds like you have not had the Inverter Cooling Pump (water pump) recall work done. And it sounds like that is a good possibility, based on the sounds you heard. But once again, without the codes it is only a guess.

One final point. Disconnecting the negative 12V cable will reset the codes, but making a habit of it is definitely not prudent. And I would NEVER disconnect the 12V Positive cable first under any conditions. Even an AGM battery could possibly have an explosive level of hydrogen under the wrong conditions (at least I would guess it would). But doing that isn't doing the electronics any favor either.

Take it one step at a time and hopefully it will be back on the road soon. The Prius really is a spectacular and reliable car.

 

This might be also be nothing more than a weak 12V auxiliary battery, since it seems like the car was left for about 4 months without being driven.

4-robinsnest, it's really easy to test the 12V battery yourself and no tools are required. There's a neat little trick that lets you enter the service menu on the MFD (multifunction display) and get a reading of the battery voltage, all without getting out of the drivers seat.

Follow the instructions in my post (reply #8) here : http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...conditioning-12v-aux-battery.html#post1188923

 

Ouch Robin! That sounds so much like my experience with our local dealer. Two years ago they sold us a "certified" 2005 prius with 42000 miles on it. Great car and they gave us a three year "dealer" warranty, but this warranty had a clause that we had to have all the scheduled servicing done by them (the dealer). I was half expecting something dodgy about this and sure enough when we took it for the first service (car was perfect not a thing wrong with it) they charged my wife $650, and all they did was change the oil and filters (air, fuel and oil). That was it, nothing else but oil and filters and the scumbags charged her $650!

That was the single biggest rip off I'd ever seen in my life and I basically did the same thing as your hubby. I just said they can shove that warranty where the sun doesn't shine and I've never been back there since. Luckily though I found this place where so many people have helped me learn more about the car and how to do my own maintenance .

 

Good lord... trading in a car because it might need one simple repair would be a huge waste of money. Getting any different car would cost many thousands.

Take it to a different dealer and have them diagnose it, and have them explain what they think it needs before you let them do anything. It may only need a new 12V battery, or a new inverter coolant pump (which is covered by a recall from Toyota, and will be free to you). Don't *ever* give a dealer permission in advance to do whatever they want. You might as well hand them your checkbook. That goes for any car, not just a Prius.

The only regular maintenance needed is shown in Toyota's (not the dealer's!) Scheduled Maintenance Guide that came with the car when it was new. If you don't have it you can find the same info here:
Toyota Parts and Service

Finally, 1,500 miles is way too frequent to change the oil. 5,000 miles is plenty. That dealer has been buying a boat with your generous help.

 

Just SageBrush, please.
I'll 'page' an expert

Sorry to hear the forum software is giving you problems.

 

Okay, let's go through these codes.

P0A93 is an inverter cooling problem, almost always related to a seized inverter cooling pump. This part has been recalled, and they should have replaced it for free for you while you were there.

I can't remember, have you checked your 12V battery? That would likely be a problem if you have an inverter cooling pump problem. There is a small chance that a low 12V battery has caused the HV battery codes listed below.

Now, the heavy stuff. P0A80 means that the voltage difference between the highest and lowest cells exceeds 1.2V. P3000 comes with P08A0. P0A90 can happen in conjunction with P3000 -- I think there is a race condition where the HV Battery ECU throws a code and opens the system main relays, but the HV ECU sees a problem with MG1 before it hears from the battery ECU. P3000 usually has a subcode, which is informative.


What I don't understand is why you don't have a specific code for a low battery block. I do wonder, could the HV battery fuse have blown and caused all of these codes?

P0335 is the Crankshaft position sensor, but that is related to low 12V battery (there is a tech tip on this code)

C1259 and C1310 are ABS codes for when there is a problem with the HV system that prevents the use of regenerative braking.

I'm kinda surprised that the dealer didn't give you a quote for $9000 to replace the battery AND transaxle, since it is possible to read both into these codes.

Honestly, as long as you are convinced that your 12V battery is good, I think you need to start with Josh Mellor down in Melbourne.

Mellor’s Automotive Inc.
1410 W. Newhaven Ave.
West Melborne, FL 32904
(321) 956-1997
Contact: Joshua J. Mellor

 

Seilerts, what do you think of her letting the dealer replace the inverter coolant pump at no charge and replacing the 12v (assuming the price is reasonable), and then see what if any codes remain ?