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10k in damages from a blown tire?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by kemosabe, Jul 25, 2014.

  1. kemosabe

    kemosabe New Member

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    I blew a tire and got a whopping 10k bill from the local Toyota dealership in Springfield, MO! Im on the road (Well, not now!) Can my battery go bad (P0A80) from cables attached to my wheel well getting stripped causing these errors:
    P2601 coolant pump control circuit and
    p1116 coolant flow control valve

    I believe so. Everything was fine before the tire blew. Then slowly more and more error lights came on. I read on this site somewhere about the secret Prius pump/pump that needs to kick on 5 hours after the car is turned off (and one other time) and if it doesn't, it effects the battery. Can anyone confirm this or point me to that thread to show to Toyota? Below is a copy of my invoice. Insurance or (Toyota) should cover this. My Prius only has 137k miles! Toyota says its a separate issue and that insurance probably wont cover the battery bc they think its a separate issue but i dont--nothing went bad 'til the wheel well stripped some cables. How convenient. Everything seems to be tied together on a Prius. Help! This feels like major highway robbery.

    Thanks!
    Kemosabe


    THE BILL (names have been removed to protect the guilty--haha):
    Original Customer Requests Status Cost Declined Approved

    A. CUSTOMER STATES HAD BLOW OUT THAT

    DAMAGED WIRING IN LEFT FRONT WHEEL

    WELL,CHECK ENGINE AND VSC LIGHTS ON, BRAKE

    LIGHT ON ALSO

    B. PERFORM COMPLIMENTARY MULTI POINT

    INSPECTION. $0.00 X

    C. THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO PROVIDE

    YOU WITH EXCELLENT SERVICE. IF YOU NEED

    ANYTHING ELSE





    Placed mat in trunk (Removed floor mat) x Fail $0.00

    Replace front brake pads and resurface brake rotors (3

    mm or less (disc brakes)) x Fail $216.00 See AI-21

    Mount and balance 1 new tire (right rear) (Found

    punctured tire) x Fail $149.00 See AI-32

    Replace left side marker light bulb (Found burned out

    right side marker bulb) x Fail $13.00 See AI-50

    Replace right side marker light bulb (Found burned out

    right side marker bulb) x Fail $13.00 See AI-50

    Repair punctured tire (left rear) (Found punctured tire) x Fail $15.00 See AI-174


    REPLACE HYBRID BATTERY (HYBRID BATTERY

    BLOCK 9 IS BELOW SPEC.) Fail $3,114.00

    REPLACE ENGINE WIRE HARNESS (ENGINE

    WIRE HARNESS IS DAMAGE) Fail $4,760.00

    REPLACE HOOD RELEASE CABLE (HOOD

    RELEASE CABLE) Fail $250.00

    REPLACE LEFT FRONT SPEED SENSOR (LEFT

    FRONT SPEED SENSOR) Fail $468.50

    INSTALL RELAY COVER (RELAY COVER IS

    MISSING IN ENGINE AREA BY AIR CLEANER) Fail $83.00

    INSTALL INNER FENDER WELL (LEFT FRONT

    INNER FENDER WELL IS MISSING) Fail $291.00

    Subtotal $9,372.50

    Perform brake system fluid exchange (Found brake fluid

    low) x Caution $90.00 See AI-72

    Subtotal $90.00

    Estimate Subtotal $9,462.50 $0.00 $0.00

    Environmental Fees $39.78 $0.00

    Tax $742.81 $0.00

    Estimate Total $10,245.0
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    well it's safe to say you shouldn't proceed with the repair and trade the car in for a new one. There's no telling if the car will operate the same even after you spend the $10,245
     
    ibmoses likes this.
  3. vskid3

    vskid3 Active Member

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    So is the battery dead or what? I don't see how a blown front tire would hurt the battery. Does the car start?

    If the full $10k repair is necessary, the insurance would likely total it if they're going to cover it. You could get a newer, lower mileage Prius for that much pretty easily. If they won't cover it, I would sell it to a junkyard and buy another car.

    Just curious, do you happen to know what the pressure in the tire was?
     
  4. drmanny3

    drmanny3 Member

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    May I suggest that a lot has to do with how the tire blew. With all the road damage it is easy to see where you could have hit some debris in the road causing the tire to explode. This could have then resulted in some of the damage. That might be covered by your insurance less the deductible. You probably have a really high deductible but worth a try. The insurance company is going to need to do a cause and effect to show that the collision is a direct cause of the damage. I do not know of anything located in the wheel well that would have caused the traction battery to run down. And even if something did cause it to run down they are saying that you have a bad block. Perhaps they don't try and repair and just replace? The engine harness is a surprise. Again did your car crash as a result of this blow out? You may have had a lot of stuff wrong with your car prior to the blow out. It is a 2005 so I bet you have a bit of mileage on the car. You may have just let your car go over the years and now that you have a blowout everything is coming to fruition. Good luck on this one. I don't think you can blame everything on a blowout.
    Manny
     
  5. kemosabe

    kemosabe New Member

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    Manny,
    We were on a long road trip and got the oil change in Kansas and all checked out. They noticed I had my tires at 40 and I reluctantly let them reset them at 35 in the front. A state later, one blew, tearing out the wheel well and damaging cables in the front left (drivers) side. I read online here somewhere about the secret Prius pump/pump that needs to kick on 5 hours after the car is turned off (and one other time) and if one of them doesn't, it effects the battery. Since the cable frayed/disconnected from the pump(s) when the wheelwell was destroyed, and the pump(s) cool the battery, wouldnt that make the battery effected by the accident we had, therefore covered by insurance? 137k miles of battery life seems way too low. Most people online are complaining about battery problems at 250k miles. I got regular maintenance/oil changes on my Prius. Definitely didnt "let it go." We are stuck in MO and need to solve this quick. Does anyone know about that thread about the secret pump that cools the main battery?
     
  6. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    Look at the number of things wrong with the car that weren't in all probability caused by the tire failure and tire debris and you can see why people might suspect maintenance issues.

    There also could have been some tire valve issue left over by the resetting of the tire pressure leading to lower pressure leading to tread separation due to overheating.
     
  7. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    There are a number of pumps and valves etc that actuate at various intervals after parking, but I can't think of any that would affect the battery. Mostly as I recall they have to do with the hot coolant storage bottle (which is in the left front), brakes, fuel evap recovery, etc. A problem with the cooling system could eventually affect the inverter, but I can't see it affecting the battery. Its cooled only by air from the cabin, not through the cooling system.

    It seems unlikely that much damage could have occurred from a blow out, even a spectacular tire shredding one. My guess is you hit something in the road that kicked up in there taking out the tire and lots of other stuff.

    Hope your insurance comes through!

    Rob
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the secret prius pump/pump is a secret. that thread has been deleted by the nsa. if we tell you, we'll have to kill you.;)
     
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  9. vskid3

    vskid3 Active Member

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    There aren't any pumps that do anything to affect the battery. The HV battery shouldn't even be electrically connected to the car when its turned off, so nothing outside of its case should be able to drain it at that time.

    How much air is in the other front tire? Maybe they lowered it too much, 35PSI should have been fine. For something as easy to do and easy for someone else to screw up (or at least not do to my liking), I always do it myself.
     
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  10. drmanny3

    drmanny3 Member

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    Ok, from what you have indicated some or all of what has happened could possibly be attributable to the blow out. It is important that you document the accident (accident even though you were the only one involved) with your insurance company as soon as possible. Just let them know that there was a lot of damage to the front end and some of the damage is collateral. My first NSX back in 1992, I was driving having only had it for about a week into the Los Angeles Valley. Up front I saw what looked like debris come out of a pickup truck. It bounced and I heard a bang as I ran into it. I was upset but did not think there was damage. As I drove on the windshield became wet (it was not raining). It was thick and smeared on the glass. About the same time I saw the temperature gage start to climb. I immediately began moving over to the slow lane to try and make a off ramp. By the time I hit the off ramp the temp gage hit the top of the gage Red. I pulled over at a gas station and got out to find that a faucet head (like from an old basin) had plowed into the radiator. The insurance company treated it as an accident and my collision insurance took over. I think the bill for the radiator was about $1500, plus the rental car at about $300 to $400. Thank goodness the engine did not seize. So report it and then give them the report. I would have the body shop give you the cost estimate rather than the service center. Then it will be looked upon as arising from the event. They may choose to junk the car. You will need to see if that makes sense. They should give you its value as well as the used car tax and License fees. Because it was catastrophic there may be reason to tie everything together. This could perhaps have pushed the battery block to failure. I cannot help you there. My 2006 traction battery was replaced by Toyota when I had only 50 to 60,000 miles. In California we have a much better battery and emission warranty. Good luck.
     
  11. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The only pump that turns on after five hours is a pump that checks the integrity of the fuel tank. This has nothing to do with the traction battery.
     
  12. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Were the tires morning cold, or highway hot, when the pressure was set to 35 psi?

    If the former, OK. If the later, then they were left underinflated. I'd place some blame on the shop for not appropriately accounting for tire temperature.

    I encountered this on my only Prius oil change during an extended road trip, but fixed it the next morning after a night's stay just a few miles from the shop.
     
    #12 fuzzy1, Jul 26, 2014
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2014
  13. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    As I read this, check with your Insurer to see if the collateral damages caused by or because of the blown tire (tire itself is usually not covered) are covered under the "Comprehensive" portion of you policy...if you have it. Wish you the best.

    By the way, hot and cold differential tire pressure is seldom more that 3 to 4 psi on a Prius wheel.
     
  14. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    On my roadtrip service encounter, the difference between highway hot at the shop and morning cold shortly thereafter was 7 psi. But that was also the sum of at least three different things -- tires cooling from a spirited Sierra Nevada mountain crossing to ambient temperatures, a sharp change in weather (cooling), and a substantial descent (Tahoe to sea level, 6000 feet).

    Shortly after I came in from that mountain crossing, the tech declared my tire pressure 'dangerously high', and was going to lower them to placard level. After a somewhat hostile standoff, we finally compromised at the very highest pressure he would allow out of the shop, 40 psi. But with the first overnight cooling at that elevation, followed by the descent and another overnight cooling, I had to add 7 psi to bring the pressure back up to that level.

    Without my adjustments, his 'max tolerable pressure' of 40 would have actually left the fronts underinflated at 33 psi for the trip home. Had he gone all the way down to his intended 35, and I hadn't re-checked and fixed it, that would not have been good.
     
  15. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    If one was to get scientific about it, you could use uncorrected baro to temp charts and adjust more times than feasible...but I think we are all on the same channel here. ΔP of 3-4 is average daily in town however, even a ΔP7 using your scenario is not cause for concern. Respectfully, my question to you is how you got into a hostile standoff with a Tech telling you what "he is going to do" with your car's tire pressure. This is your vehicle...not his.

    Let us know how it turns out kemosabe.
     
  16. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    I am of the opinion that the P0A80 was not the result of the tire damage. From the brake wear report, it looks like the car has higher mileage, and so it could be that the battery is well into its old age. I would ignore that one for now. The only "pump" associated with the hybrid battery is the air vent blower, so it is not suspect here (although it could be clogged with dirt). If the car had to go into limp mode and the battery discharged below normal, such a condition (one module out of spec) will surface.

    If there was wire damage, then all kinds of knock on effects can be expected from reading the DTCs. So the coolant valve and pump may or may not be fine, but the wires would have to be repaired first to find out. Note that when ever there is wiring damage, no matter how localized, the service manual always says to replace the whole wiring harness, which is excessive in most cases but is at least sure to repair the damaged wires. If the section of damage is small, and only involves splicing some wires, then specific repair will always be a cheaper solution. But that is something only independent shops are willing to do.

    It could be that the total bill might be much less to get back on the road. Best case would be to splice a dozen wires, and address the wheel and brakes.
     
  17. Mr.Electric

    Mr.Electric Member

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    I think the battery issue is unrelated to the tire damage. As for the tire damaged stuff you could probably fix everything with junk yard parts for around $1000. I would estimate the thermos bottle and pump, wheel well liner and some wire harness parts would cost $300-$500 then labor another $500.
    As for the battery you could install an aftermarket Dorman pack at one of their authorized installers for around $3k.
    With the time and money involved in repairing this car it is coming very close to the total value of the car considering the high mileage. Maybe better to cut your losses and sell it on craigslist for $1000.
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no pump/pump?(n)
     
  19. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    Battery probably failed from age regardless of miles in the hot LA. There is no frigging way it was damaged by tire, no matter how bad the explosion was. Actually, people die from tire failures like that, the OP should be considered lucky to survive it unharmed.
     
    #19 Former Member 68813, Jul 28, 2014
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2014
  20. Robert Holt

    Robert Holt Senior Member

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    Jeez! At least get a second opinion and estimate from a different dealer?
    Assuming facts are true, could causal chain be wiring harness failure --> cooling fan failure --> HV battery overheat and then HV failure?
    (I'm using a Scanguage II to monitor BT2 and cooling fan speed to try to forestall that type of failure.)