Dashboard lit up this morning

[mchlmrtz]

Originally Posted by Patrick Wong

This sounds like your car had run out of fuel, but I see that the fuel gauge reads full.

I am wondering if your fuel pump has a problem, or maybe the fuse or relay feeding 12V power to that pump failed.

Patrick. I like your ideas. Keep it cheap for me. Still waiting to hear from the dealership. They sure like to take forever to call.

[Priusaurus110]

Originally Posted by mchlmrtz

I am still waiting to hear from the dealer. I should have been a little more clear on the issue. My wife started having problems half way to work yesterday. The warning lights came on and the gas engine shut down. She made it to work though. After work, she made it about a mile and couldn't go any further. When I drove out to her, I tried starting the car. Everything turned on, the gas engine came to life for about 3 seconds then shut down. everything else was still on though. I just couldn't move the car. I think the main battery had drained also. I'll update everyone as soon as I can.

Just one other word of caution for future reference: trying to drive extended distances on traction battery alone can lead to bigger problems. Best action when the ICE cuts out is to use battery power only to safely exit the highway to a spot where you can call for a tow.

Good luck with the fix. I'm curious to hear the outcome. I had same lights and same symptoms about 2 years ago on my 2005. Technician said a stability contol systme error code popped up but he couldn't isolate a specific cause. Code was cleared and I haven't had any problems since but it was certainly disconcerting to lose the engine at 35 mph on the road! Of course there are numerous problems that can lead to the malfunction lights that you got so getting the exact code is critical...

[mchlmrtz]

Ok. I just got off the phone with the service guy. They have to keep the car overnight because they want to run tests on in first thing in the morning while it's cold. He mentioned something about some kind of coils they're looking at. I forget what he called them, but it's like the old spark plug cables. Whatever they're called now. he did say they were able to drive it around, so they must have gotten the engine to stay on. I'll have more info tomorrow morning.

[mchlmrtz]

I just remembered what the service guys said. He was talking about the coil packs. Right now, they suspect them but want to run more tests in the morning.

[mchlmrtz]

Update time!
Just got off the phone with the service dept. It was the ignition coil. Of course, since they never had to replace one before, they don't have any in stock. I'm without my Prius for one more day. The good news is that it's under warranty, so no cost for me. WOOOHOO!!
I'll ask a few questions tomorrow when I pick it up. I really want to know what made it fail.

[Patrick Wong]

Thanks for the update. Prius has four spark igniters; one for each cylinder. It is possible for water to enter a spark plug well and cause corrosion and damage to the igniter, as rain water can drip down from the cowl to the engine valve cover. This will also cause DTC P030x, where x is the affected cylinder number from 1 to 4.

[Mike Dimmick]

I suspect then that 'running' for 3 seconds after switching on was actually the car trying and failing to start the engine. Because it spins the engine up to normal idle speed before applying fuel and spark, starting sounds like running.

[mchlmrtz]

Just got home and the Prius is alive again! The hybrid battery was pretty drained, but was recharged by the time I got home. Thank goodness the Ignition Coil was under warranty. It would have been a $500 job. Here's a list of the codes that came up:

P0351
P0352
P0354

The dealership said my car was the first time they've done this type of repair.

[Patrick Wong]

Thanks for your update, I haven't seen anyone post with the P035x codes before. This happens when the ECM (engine ECU) does not receive the IGF (ignition confirmation) signal from the spark igniters (aka ignition coils).

Please look at your repair invoice and post the part numbers, descriptions, and quantities that were replaced. Thanks again!

[mchlmrtz]

Looks like they replaced all 4 coil packs.

4: 90919-02240 Coil, Ignition