Prius Starts but only runs for about 10 seconds before shutdown

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by sloftin, Jul 10, 2019.

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  1. sloftin

    sloftin Junior Member

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    I have 2008 Prius with 360,000 miles on it. It's given us almost zero trouble (save for the now very inaccurate fuel level readings) up until yesterday. My wife was driving home from work when it gradually lost power and eventually stopped by the roadside. She could start it, shift into drive, and no matter how hard she pressed on the gas, the car just barely crawled. We had it towed home. I checked the 12V battery, found it almost dead, and recharged it overnight. This morning, the car started, hybrid battery pack started charging, I drove it several miles and returned home - all seemed well...until she got about 25 miles from home and had a repeat of the power loss and shutdown. We had it towed back home again. The 12V battery is now fully recharged again (it was down to 65%), and the hybrid charge level is one purple bar. After letting it sit for about 5 hours in the garage, I can start the car, it'll run for about 10 seconds, then shutdown with the red TODeath and CEL and car w/! icon. DTC is P08A (replace hybrid battery pack).

    If I knew it was the inverter, I'd buy a used one and replace it, along with the inverter cooling pump for good measure. Anyone have any ideas about troubleshooting the inverter (or anything else to check) before I bite the bullet and have it towed to the dealer to diagnose?

    Thanks!
     
    #1 sloftin, Jul 10, 2019
  2. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    The code isn't about inverter, bit a major problem with the hybrid battery pack.
    Replaced with a new one, or rebuild, if you can.
     
    #2 Dxta, Jul 10, 2019
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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    get tech stream, insure the codes point to the battery, and buy a new one for $1,600. from 'newhybridbatteries.com'
     
    #3 bisco, Jul 10, 2019
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    and check the 12v again to make sure it is holding
     
    #4 bisco, Jul 10, 2019
  5. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Are you sure the car is actually starting? A lot of people confuse the engine trying to start with it actually running. What are you using to read the codes?
     
    #5 Skibob, Jul 10, 2019
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  6. sloftin

    sloftin Junior Member

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    OK, so an update...I'm using a generic code reader, by the way.

    About an hour ago, I decided to try starting it again. Low and behold, it started and ran. After about a minute (50 seconds longer than it had been running), I decided to move it out of the garage and drive it around. It ran fine...it starting charging the hybrid battery pack, stopped and started the ICE a few times along the 5-minute drive, and all seemed well. I got it back home, put my meter on the 12v battery, saw almost 14v (which seems to indicate the inverter is charging the 12v battery). I turned the car off...got 12.1v on the 12v battery. I put the car back into ready mode, pulled the cap off the inverter coolant container and saw nice movement and ripples in the fluid (seeming to indicate the intverter coolant pump was working). I'm almost now out of ideas. About the only thing I've not checked is the hybrid battery pack cooling fan in the back seat. If that is running, I'm stumped. If I'm stumped, I'm not going to trust this thing. Thoughts anyone?
     
    #6 sloftin, Jul 10, 2019
  7. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Locate an affordable hybrid compatible OBD2 code reader. The blue tooth version starts at a few bucks delivered, or get a generic mini-vci cable which starts at under 20. One requires an android phone/device and the other will need a windows laptop or tablet.

    Once you have the proper tool for the job, scan again and post the OBD codes in this thread.

    Edit : grammar
     
    #7 SFO, Jul 11, 2019
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2019
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  8. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    First thing that jumps into my mind is intermittent loss of fuel flow.................especially if you add in the recent "very inaccurate fuel level readings"......I'm not a big believer in coincidences.. loss of fuel flow=engine shut down=draining HV battery = HV battery code?

    With that out of the way, the best thing you can do is make certain you are reading the codes correctly. View any available freeze frame data.
     
    #8 TMR-JWAP, Jul 11, 2019
  9. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Both a common signs of HV pack failure.

    With 360k miles, you'll need to assess your options. They are listed in terms of costs and reliability from least to most: repair yourself, get a used rebuilt battery, get new aftermarket modules (cells), or new Toyota battery.

    GOOD LUCK!
     
    #9 fotomoto, Jul 11, 2019
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  10. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    VXDIAG on amazon.com for $66 works with an xp laptop has full Toyota techstream software easy yo set up on laptop. Includes obd connector. It will pull every code the car throws.

    Hundreds of nice xp laptops on Craig’s list most For $25. Overnight the VXDIAG.

    But foto is probably right bad hybrid battery most likely ground fault. To test that disconnect the 12 volt battery then reconnect that will erase all the hybrid codes and allow the car to start up and run till it throws s code again.
    if you see a little car icon top left corner of the mfd you have a bad hybrid battery.
     
    #10 edthefox5, Jul 11, 2019
  11. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    I don’t think a bad battery would stop the engine from starting if it’s spinning. I’m thinking try changing the plugs and cleaning the MAF.
     
    #11 Skibob, Jul 12, 2019
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