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P0420 and a few other questions

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by NoPrevius, Jan 7, 2013.

  1. NoPrevius

    NoPrevius New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Hey folks

    Just picked up a 2005 with 146k and full Toyota service history, although seems a steering recall was not done. Will run it to the dealer today to check.

    I need to decide a.s.a.p. if I am keeping the car or not (I know the seller, he will take it back)

    Anyway to cut a long story short, two questions.

    1) Car had P3190 and P0420 when I got it. Seller reset, drove home and within 5 minutes on the road the CEL was back on. Checked the codes at home and see only a P0420. Much to worry about? Seems this might be big (Cat) or small (O2). Car getting great mileage - 60mpg at 60mph and it seems to be running great. Should I worry or forget about it? Note I am in Florida with no inspections.

    2) Seems that on the highway the battery display on the energy screen is mostly minus the top 2 bars i.e. just in the blue. In town it creeps up to minus 1 bar, i.e. all green. I haven't seen it full of green bars yet. Does this imply that there is an issue here?

    3) OK, 3 questions. I have a 400 yd driveway. If I pull up to get the mail at the road after a long drive home I can do the full 400yds at 10mph on battery only. Creeping this speed up each time so may get more speed out of it. But, when I start the car first thing and go to drive away I get 50yds tops before the motor kicks in. Again, anything to worry about? Or is cold start battery performance poor? Note I saw thiscold behavior before I ran on battery down the driveway

    4) OK, 4 questions. What have the Romans done for us etc.... Car only has one key (and has Smart start). Best (i.e. cheapest and easiest) way to get a spare key made?

    BTW Have done about 200 miles so far and it's behaving really well. As am I, as my other ride is a 540i...

    Loved the Toyota owners site and ability to plug in a Vin and get the history. Hugely helpful and reassuring. Also, FYI, plugged my VIN into Google and up popped a link to a full carfax. Which was nice.... ;o)

    Thanks all.

    Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/p0420-and-battery-charge-screen.120456/#ixzz2HIf4FJYW
     
    #1 NoPrevius, Jan 7, 2013
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    1. You can forget about it if you are not concerned that the Prius is emitting unnecessary HC.
    2. No issue. If you want to see 8 green bars, you will need to descend a relatively long hill.
    3. Nothing to worry about, the gasoline engine starts up to heat up the catalytic converter, thus reducing HC emissions during the engine warm up phase.
    4. Easiest is to go to your local dealer and pay $300 or so. Cheapest is to buy a new, unused Smart fob wherever you can (i.e. eBay) and have your local dealer or locksmith program the car to accept the fob. It is important to obtain a new fob as a counter within the fob will increment as the fob is used and the car's Smart system will not accept the fob if the number is greater than some reasonably small value.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Jan 7, 2013
  3. NoPrevius

    NoPrevius New Member

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    Patrick, thank you, I feel kind of honored that you took the time to reply!

    I took the car into local Toyota dealer and they ran full diagnostics on te battery and it came back fine which is reassuring!

    They want $204 for the smart key/fob and $80 to program it.

    Will any second gen key work OK? Or does it have to be from the same year?

    I also need a pair of headrests, dealer laughed....and then told me the price. $398 each!

    Quite impressed so far with the dealer, very upfront about everything. Way better than local Volvo and BMW dealers. If only the key wasn't $300....!

    Thanks for the advice!

    andre
     
    #3 NoPrevius, Jan 8, 2013
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Maybe you can find used headrests of the correct fabric color from a salvage yard?

    Any new 2G Prius Smart fob in principle should work.
     
    #4 Patrick Wong, Jan 8, 2013
  5. NoPrevius

    NoPrevius New Member

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    Yeah, best price I found so far is $165 for the pair shipped. Beats $800+tax I guess...:eek:)
     
    #5 NoPrevius, Jan 8, 2013
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