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Prius S4 Stage

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Priuswil, Nov 18, 2014.

  1. Priuswil

    Priuswil New Member

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    Hi guys..
    I have different problem about my prius 2008 Gen II. Recently I have done some maintenance work for my prius from Toyota dealer..they replaced air filter, four ignition plugs and done engine tune-up. After all they execute EDS(Engine Diagnostic Scan) and told me that vehicle is 100% normal even HV battery.

    The problem started when I drive after this service. Before the service my car engine normally will stop when soc>60% in low speeds <55kmh (34mph) (and also when use break) and it is normal as previous it happens.

    But when it reach beyond 34mph and releasing or controlling accelerator It can glide until SOC<50%. Then ICE will start up and it will never stop even mild slope or when breaking. (Previously this is not happen when I using break or drive in mild slopes engine going to stop)

    Again if I increase my speed beyond 34mph and when it release the accelerator ICE going to stop.

    Previously it is no sense for the speed and when I using break even computer shows ICE is used for charging battery it is going to stop.

    If I drive my entire trip< 34mph it behaves like normal as previous, but once it go beyond 34mph it is going to some odd mode that I described as above.

    I am from Sri Lanka and no any temperature variation below <20 Celsius

    Have anyone had this type of problem faced????
     
  2. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    By the title of this thread, I presume you are describing these symptoms once you've achieved S4, correct?

    How long have you been driving this Prius and how many km's is it at?

    To clarify, what you're describing as "normal" should be possible at any speed below 65 kph (42 mph). Are you really sure of your before and after service observations? I suspect you may be a bit hyper sensitive after the service and be noticing things as new that were always there.

    Are you sure of the 55 kph speed? As the threshold speed for engine always on is 65/66 kph.

    Also, your SoC observations, I'd expect that the ICE will run more to charge up the HV battery once the SoC drops below 6 bars.

    In summary, I'm not entirely sure you have any problem.
     
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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    probably just your imagination running wild. i would pull and inspect the ignition plugs, make sure the air filter is installed correctly and no leaks. try to find out what the 'engine tune up' involved, sound like a scam.
     
    #3 bisco, Nov 18, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2014
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  4. Priuswil

    Priuswil New Member

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    It is around 65000km of odometer reading and I bought it in 2011/ May. I observed that this incident will trigger in 60kmph and observed that several times.

    Before doing engine tuneup it happens very rarely and after some time it goes to normal mode. This is sure thing for me because after engine tuneup I have to drove way to the home in heavy traffic with 2/3 of entire length.

    Initially I started at above 70Kmph and it reduce in below 30kmph at heavy traffic in this entire time engine not stopped fully even battery SOC level >80 (In diagram it shows Green). when SOC>80% in slow speed diagram shows that energy is gaining from battery, but engine running while idling. This is very annoying thing to me because of that it reduces my fuel efficiency significant amount.

    Now I have to maintain above 60kmph speeds and that speeds fuel efficiency is okay. If i plan to go with traffic I should not pass that threshold limit I observed.

    :(
     
  5. Priuswil

    Priuswil New Member

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    I also suspect engine tuneup lead these symptoms :(
     
    #5 Priuswil, Nov 18, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2014
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it could be that whilst doing the tune up, they got the engine timing set wrong. or perhaps the points aren't gapped properly?
     
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  7. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Seriously, Bisco, timing??? points???
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what else would you do on an engine tune up, adjust the electronic ignition, and gap the injectors?:cool:
     
  9. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    I was out driving today and the penny just dropped as to what you are getting at.

    You are talking about EV mode (not forced by the EV switch), AKA Stealth Mode, at under 50 kph.

    It is possible that in the service they disconnected the 12V battery for some reason and it may take 2-4 wks for the engine ECU to relearn its settings.

    However, what you have observed is a (sad) fact of battery life for the hybrid, in that the battery will degrade over time (and by time I mean 10 years), so you may just be observing the fact that your HV battery is not what it was when you first bought the car.

    Also, in my experience you will only get significant EV only (under 50 kph) when there are 6-8 bars showing on the energy display. I would also caution you against trying to manipulate the car into driving on electric only as the battery must ultimately be charged, one way or another, by the ICE using petrol -- there is no such thing as a free lunch. At some point you must pay the piper. So once again, the advice is to not try and be clever, just drive the car and let the HSD do what the HSD does. You will get the best tank to tank average l/100 km (or MPG) by doing so.

    To answer your original question, yes we all have faced this "problem", but it is actually not a problem, it is normal.
     
    #9 dolj, Nov 20, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2014
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  10. Priuswil

    Priuswil New Member

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    nothing else just 4 ignition plugs were replaced
     
  11. Priuswil

    Priuswil New Member

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    I'm not using EV mode since I bought this car but I tested it once to ensure EV mode is working. By the way the now car is performing normal..I mean car is just to normal as it was in previous in last couple of rides...Thank you Dolj
     
  12. bisco

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    pleasure.
     
  13. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Good to hear, on both counts.

    Cheers.