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01 prius warning lights and shut down

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by yamahadude9, Jul 14, 2010.

  1. yamahadude9

    yamahadude9 Guest

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    Hello im writing on here to try and get help for a old friend of mine, hes about 80 and is very frustrated with his 2001 prius and i would like to help him fix it. Here is what is happening, after driving the car for anywheres between 30min to an hour the car will suddenly lose power, you can mash the accelerator to the floor and there is no response. Then the vehicle will shut down forcing you to get off the road. All three warning lights on the mfd come on and the vehicle is essential dead. Although you can turn the ignition on and off three times then the warning lights go off and vehicle will start up and run fine. It shows no signs of any problems until it happens another hour or whatever later. There are no noises or any obvious warning signs that accompany the problem and besides the vehicle shutting down, it seems to run and drive great. Any assistance troubleshooting this issue will be sincerely appreciated by me and my old buddy frank, Thanks.
     
  2. TexomaEV

    TexomaEV Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
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    N/A
    This sure sounds like the HV Battery is coding out on you. When ours did this, it would throw codes P3006, and others in relation to the modules in the battery that were acting up. Once we replaced the bad modules, the car has begun to operate properly.
     
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    It might be helpful to have the local Toyota dealer service dept retrieve the DTC and provide a diagnosis of the problem, to improve the likelihood that you'll be addressing the correct problem.

    The accelerator pedal assembly is a known weak point. It contains two variable resistors and when they start to get noisy, the "lack of responsiveness" driveability symptom that you noted will appear.

    A short-term workaround, if this indeed is the problem, is to rapidly depress the pedal around 30x, in an effort to clear the corrosion.
     
  4. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
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    Prime Plus
    Symptoms:
    Ask your friend to go by an auto parts store and ask if they can read the codes (usually for free.) But it also makes sense to take it to a Toyota Service Center and ask for a diagnosis, ~$100.

    There are multiple things that could cause this symptom and I would not rule out a thermal problem, a failing inverter coolant pump. Open the hood and check the inverter coolant resevoir and make sure it shows a flow. But this is pure speculation, not a diagnosis.

    We really need the codes. BTW, I rent a Graham scanner for do-it-yourself folks. So far, the Auto Enginuity at ~$400, is the next best, affordable scanner but you need a USB laptop. Top of the line is the Techscanner lite but at $1,200-1,500, it is pretty pricy for a one time use.

    Bob Wilson
     
  5. yamahadude9

    yamahadude9 Guest

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    I have a typical diy code scanner but the car currently has no codes, im thinking thats because when it happens (shuts down) he turns it off and on three times and that clears the codes ? I guess i will have to take a ride with him in the next day or two and get it to shut down then scan it. That is if you think my toptak code scanner will do the job ? Its always done the job for me before but i know the hybrids are a breed of their own.
     
  6. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Prime Plus
    This only clears the error lights. The codes remain in the electronic control modules and some of them have to be addressed directly.

    The problems with most over the counter code readers:

    • only address the 'emissions' codes - they assume a single controller and if the failure codes are recorded in another controller, they don't know to read them.
    • ISO-9141 - this is not the CAN bus but an earlier, fixed rate protocol. However, some of the CAN signals are mapped to an earlier, 'flash/clear code' pin and this can induce false codes in the antilock brake system. Harmless, it is disturbing to see more error lights when trying to read a code.
    When I've tested some of the over the counter scanners including the Sears top-of-the-line, I was very disappointed. Your options are:

    • Graham miniscanner rental - I'm running a 'lending library' for a pair of the original Graham miniscanners. They can read three each codes from the Hybrid Vehicle, Engine, and Battery ECU as well as over 50 critical data points.
    • Auto Enginuity - requires your own laptop and costs about $400. It isn't perfect but it is 'good enough' and currently available.
    • TechStream lite - again, add your own laptop but the costs are $1,200-1,500. This is a little pricy for a do-it-yourself mechanic but should cover just about everything.
    Bob Wilson
     
  7. yamahadude9

    yamahadude9 Guest

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    Thank you bob for the very informative responses, He called me tonight and said that the car shutdown again and the warning lights on the mfd changed for the worse. As opposed to the usual PS ,Main and car with exclamation the car with exclamation has changed to the red triangle of death. I'll see about borrowing one of scanner tools you recommend locally and see what i get for codes. Thanks again