I officially hate my prius and toyota

Frequently, repair manual documentation will show a graph plotting resistance vs. temperature. I don't believe such a graph is available for the engine coolant sensor. However, at the ends of the operating range, 79 ohms would be interpreted by the engine ECU as 140 degrees C while 156K ohms would be interpreted as -40 degrees C.

Since Toyota expects the tech to have available the diagnostic laptop, the current procedure is to see what coolant temp is reported by the engine ECU, and compare that to the actual coolant temp ascertained by using a handheld IR thermometer.

Also, while looking at the engine ECU DTC list, I noticed that there exists a DTC P0128 which is supposed to report a bad engine thermostat. When the engine ECU thinks that the engine has run long enough so that the coolant temp should be at least 75 degrees C (167 degrees F), and if the temperature per the coolant sensor is less than that value, then that DTC is supposed to be logged.

I haven't noticed any posts where an owner has reported the presence of that DTC, so either the engine thermostat is extremely reliable, or the engine ECU may not report the DTC when it should.

 

Whew! I don't know why, but I read thru all the posts on this thread. I don't think there's anything wrong with Brookside's Prius---I don't think he even has one. But, Brookside seems to be a very sick puppy. He needs to go get some help from an "anti-troll" doctor

 

I am unsure about that. But what I do know is BROOK posted about this same problem last August. He says he is a licensed electrician and has been asked a number of times to measure the 12V battery voltage, open circuit, after sitting for a time.

He has not given a voltage value to my knowledge, but insists that the Optima battery 'is fine'.

I imagine the Toyota Canada owners manual lists a corporate number one can call if things are not going well with any dealership. So, my question is ....

why has the OP not called to file a case with Toyota Canada or US that his mileage has gone from 5L/km to 8L/km, given them dates of service and results of that? If not satisfied with a dealer or three, that is one of the first things I would do.

 

I tested Rudy's this morning, before taking him to the shop and (among other things) getting him a new 12v

He tested out at 11.6 (unloaded) and 11.9 (loaded), with a 14.0 charge when in Ready mode.

After we got the new battery installed, before leaving the dealership, I tested again - 12.9V in both unloaded and loaded!

 

Why any of you continue to put forth any effort for this @sshole is beyond me. He certainly isn't worth any of it...

I don't blame his dealer at all for trying to just get rid of him. Can you imagine how rude he must be to the dealer personnel? Let him be.

 

I don't think it is necesssary to be too harsh on Brookside. I have many ideas, but I will not state them. I do presume he is honest and not a troll! I am not sure his troubleshooting procedures are sound and this could be be because he is angry and frustrated with his dealer. Just because he is a Lic Electrician does not endow him with innate Prius electric/electronic knowledge. I worked in Electronics for years, but I am still not sure of where the Neg portion of the HV battery is. If in the front, around the inverter, that means one must run a proper size jumper, that can handle the current, to the back of the car just to look at the HV voltage. Does the average Prius owner know this? Does the average Prius Chatter know this? Brookside could have gone to different dealers, but does he have time? Or other obligations? My personal desire is to help Brookside solve his problems and not lose a enthusiastic Prius owner. Calling the OP names is unnecessary and rude.

 

actually, i have found many electricians know nothing more than black to brass and white to bright. and, not to exclude plumbers who know lefty loosey, righty tighty.

 

Thats good, I never heard that one. I did know one electrician whose favorite procedure was to strike a wire to ground, to find the hot one. ie: AC

 

Bad choice of thread title.

op2:

 

i know, sad, right? they give the good ones a bad name. unfortunately, when you hire one, the license means nothing. you have to get references from people you know or it's buyer beware.

 

I do. he's gone out of his way to be evasive and rude towards people who want to help him. He doesn't deserve your energy.

We can't help him anyways because he won't try any of the things people have suggested that he do or check, so theres not much additional benefit in even continuing this thread.

 

we look forward to hearing the outcome of this issue

 

Wow-this thread lol..

brookside: I feel for you because I know I would be pissed beyond belief if this was happening to me. I personally will not buy a toyota again, we got rid of our prius for a MINI...still have one prius left and figured we'll just keep it until something else comes up. we have no regrets thus far, but ill tell you, night and day difference between the service at toyota vs the BMW dealer. toyota treats their customers like shit, whereas the people at BMW are actually friendly. toyota service departments suck--but hey, you get what you pay for! :amen:

I can't offer much help on the issue, but offer my sympathy and can understand your frustration. it's well justified.

 

And while you say that, I'll say the opposite.
I had a mini that had nothing but problems.
The 3 BMW dealers I went to were a joke. I finally ended up giving the car away who has since sold it.
They also got tired of 4 different dealers then the 3 I went to.
However, the 3 Toyota dealers I've delt with are all amazing.
The only reason I've delt with 3 are because 1 is right next door to my work, the other is a distance from my house and since dealing with them they've built another really close to my house.

It has nothing to do with 'getting what you pay for'. It's just the dealers within your area.

You can keep the mini, 170,000 on the Prius and not a single problem and hardly any maintenance done to it either.
You won't find many German cars that can claim either of those....I already tired it.

 

Touche! We got rid of our second prius because it was starting to have some problems at 131,000 miles....I am sure my car won't make it to that without more maintenance than the prius required, but hey we wanted something more fun to drive. The prius served its purpose. I also think it's a bummer how dealers can have their own way with people, I wish they were managed at a more corporate level where they had to follow rules, like treating customers kindly. After all, customers are the ones who are forking out 25k+ on cars at their dealer, they deserve some respect.

 

I can't say I agree with all the talk about dealers having their way, doing what they want.

Dealers may be independently owned, but they are highly accountable to the manufacturer. The dealer exists because of the manufacturer.

When I go in for service, even something small like a simple front end alignment, I get a customer survey everytime after the service, usually through email. Is someone saying these end up in the trash or are tossed over shoulder?

Aren't dealers keenly aware that customers can take their business across town to another dealer or brand?

Toyota and Honda have been pretty darn good to me so far. Toyota did a $1k replacement of inner driver door panel which I cracked with my elbow. Free replacement under warranty.

Honda was quite nice at my service to have door edge guards installed. They have invited me and mine to a new owner's workshop this month with free food.

Geez, all this talk about dealers out to screw customers. Try documenting all dealings with a dealer and work from there. Things seem so much worse and weird on the internet don't they.

 

But it really does depend on the dealer management and culture. Where I lived before, my closest Honda dealer was a 15 minute drive away - so when my '05 Ody was due for it's first service I went there. They tried to hit me with $150 worth of useless crap, like draining the window washer fluid and replacing it, 30 day roadside assistance, AND they broke the glove box damper while changing the cabin air filter (which I hadn't even asked them to change).
Drive 45 minutes to another dealer and they were the polar opposite, going out of their way to keep stuff off the bill if they could hit Honda with it instead (like fixing the damper).

A bit OT but it does re-inforce the advice to find a different shop, which it sounds like the OP is doing.

As for the 12V battery, yes it is frustrating being unable to rule it out but it's the OPs car/problem so they can make that choice.
Funny, I watched an episode of "Overhaulin" last night where they had basically rebuilt a car from the ground up, new wiring, new battery and all. Then went around checking all their wiring/grounds because they only had 8.xV measured at the starter or something. Turned out it was a bad brand new battery. Even experienced experts can make incorrect assumptions.

- D

 

You're joking, right ?

The only difference between the BMW and Toyota dealer is how much lighter your wallet is after the service.