prius repair scam in las vegas

[rockwind]

i have a 2001 prius, bought new. it just turned 100K and i get all these error symbols and the engine refused to turn over. so i barely make it home on battery power. let it sit for a few hours, then it starts up, most of the error symbols except one, are gone so i drive it to the nearby toyota dealership. it doesn't drive right, kind of hesitates, but the farther i went, the better it acted.

they say that the ecm "logic programming" went bad and needs to be replaced. they also say there is a dent in the gas tank and it is reducing flow.

they want 2800 dollars to fix all this, claiming the ecm all by itself costs 1400$


does this sound reasonable to anyone? has anyone here had their ecm replaced?

would appreciate any help.,,,i've rebuilt lots of american muscle cars so i am very handy. but the computer stuff is a mystery. has anyone put in a ecm themself?

[Patrick Wong]

Please see the attached TSB for info, which is what the dealer tech relied upon in coming up with the various recommendations. Regarding the engine ECU, note that nothing has failed within. The reason for suggesting a new ECU is that the current version allows more time for the engine to start before logging a DTC.

Since you are comfortable working on cars, I suggest that you follow the troubleshooting suggested in the TSB. To be specific, change the iridium spark plugs (using the correct NGK or Denso plug model), ensure that the engine oil is 5W-30 and not overfilled, make sure that the engine air filter is clean, and clean the throttle body interior and throttle plate.

If you still have problems, check the fuel line pressure and the circuit opening relay as the TSB discusses. Hopefully you can avoid replacing the engine ECU, since $1,400 is too much money to spend on a car that is 7 years old. If you decide to replace the ECU, you may be able to buy a salvage unit of the correct part number. It is located behind the glove compartment. Good luck.

BTW I had the engine ECU replaced on my 2001 under warranty. The car experienced similar symptoms on a trip to Palm Springs during the summer, when the temps are similar to Las Vegas.

[bwilson4web]

Patrick is quite right and this might help on the throttle cleaning:

Cleaning Prius Throttle

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

[Flying White Dutchman]

Originally Posted by bwilson4web

Patrick is quite right and this might help on the throttle cleaning:

Cleaning Prius Throttle

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

he bob a off topic question
whats that white tube from the air filter compartment thats nog OEM or is it?
http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/pri_throttle_050.jpg

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by Flying White Dutchman

he bob a off topic question
whats that white tube from the air filter compartment thats nog OEM or is it?
http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/pri_throttle_050.jpg

That is part of an on-going experiment looking at the high Si/Al values that came back from transaxle oil testing. We have two hypothesis being investigated:

• Si comes from transaxle case sealant - currently there is a sample of virgin transaxle oil going to PdMA that has been exposed to a large area of transaxle case sealant for 8 months with solar powered, heating and cooling cycles and vehicle motion circulation.
• Si/Al comes from dirt/grit - the vent plug eliminates the negative pressure inside of my transaxle to minimize ingestion from the differential seals and possibly the engine shaft seal. It appears to do no harm and there is insufficient information to determine if it does any good. Sad to say but there is a significant carry-over between transaxle oil changes ~15%, plus an issue of trying to clean inaccessible areas.

I am thinking about alternate approaches to particulate removal and identification ... ways to find out what sort of material is showing up over time. However, these are not ready for public discussion. I'm not keeping a secret as much as I don't want others to think some 'speculation' on my part is 'the way it is.'

If you have more questions, carry them to the YahooGroup, "Prius Technical Stuff" where I feel much more comfortable discussing the technology in detail.

Bob Wilson

[tochatihu]

A dent in the gas tank restricting fuel flow sounds quite silly to me.

Rockwind, we need an update! Also if you would not mind, identify the Shop in Las vegas. My brother in Carson City is about to receive his Prius (yay!) and I'm sure he'd appreciate the info.