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Check hybrid system

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by ilovemymac, Feb 9, 2019.

  1. ilovemymac

    ilovemymac Member

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    My car has been working fine until this morning I tried to start it started up and ran for about two minutes warming up and then stopped and said check hybrid system.
    I replaced the 12 the battery about a month ago so I don’t see that as a problem. I did notice on my dash that the traction battery indicator normally never goes below two lines and it is only showing one line.
    Please tell me that my traction battery does not need to be replaced my car has been working fine until this morning I tried to start a started up and ran for about two minutes warming up and then stopped and said check hybrid system. I replaced the 12 the battery about a month ago so

    I don’t see that as a problem. I did notice on my dash that the traction battery indicator normally never goes below two lines and it is only showing one line. Please tell me that my traction battery does not need to be replaced I do not have the money for that.
    I have dash board lights all good when tapping start twice.
    I have a green light when I press brake pedal.
    I’m also seeing the red indicator for a check the power steering and I noticed that when looking under the hood I am low on power steering fluid
    But I don’t know what that cause the problem with the hybrid system? Any other ideas? Because at the moment it won’t even let me drive it anywhere
     
    #1 ilovemymac, Feb 9, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2019
  2. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Of its at one bar, it might be below what the system allows and will need to be charged back up more than likely;).

    There is no power steering fluid in a Gen3 as it is electronically assisted.

    You might be looking at the brake fluid if on the drivers side;).

    I’d look to get the codes read and begin planning a trip to the dealer unless you have access to the Prolong equipment (y).
     
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  3. ilovemymac

    ilovemymac Member

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    How do you charge the traction battery?
    Is there no way to figure it out without paying a dealer?
    By the way this is a 2010 Prius with 129K on it. I bought it with just over 50k. First time the 12V battery was replaced in the 5 years I have had it.
     
    #3 ilovemymac, Feb 9, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 9, 2019
  4. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    To charge the traction battery requires specialized equipment ;).

    The dealer can obtain it, but it’s not usually readily available. Hybrid Automotive makes a charger that you can use, but also requires a harness to be purchased.

    Things to remember when this message is displayed:
    • You can only start the car so many times until the battery is run down to the point te car won’t allow another restart
    • Obtaining Techstream and pairing it with an old laptop yields the best diagnostic tools you can have
    • Was there any recent incidents or hitting a pothole, etc that may have caused the message to display?
    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
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  5. ilovemymac

    ilovemymac Member

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    I hit potholes all the time.
    Yesterday I did pop the hood and was going to change my air filter but it wasn’t the right one so I put the old one back in.
    The battery has been charging just fine to my knowledge up till this stupid error message.

    So I can’t even back out of my garage at the moment as it tells me to shift into P
     
  6. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    As @Raytheeagle said, that's probably the brake fluid you were looking at since the steering is electric. Chances are the steering warning is due to the traction battery being too low to provide sufficient power to the steering motor.

    It's called Prolong. There are countless threads here about it. Good product, but possibly too late to save your battery.


    Best option is to get a Mini VCI with Techstream. Available through Amazon or Ebay. TS is the software Toyota uses but what you get online is an older pirated version. The kosher version costs almost as much as a used car. You'd need a Windows laptop with 32-bit XP or Win7 to install the drivers without going through some pretty esoteric stuff. If you have that, it's easy and is "da bomb." They are cheap and easy to find online. Otherwise, there are several OBDII readers for smart phones. Carista is a turn key system, but not the cheapest. Available for Android & iOS. Then there is ToquePro for Android and Engine Link for iOS. There are also countless threads here about those options if you want to explore them.

    Bottom line is that you will need to know the codes in order to know for sure what's going on. Auto parts stores will usually read codes for free, but many can't read the Prius hybrid codes and you'd have to get the car there anyway.
     
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  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Did you by chance run it low on gas and carry on to a gas station. Second gen's would run the battery low in that scenario, thirds gens though I think were protected against doing that. If that is the case, there's a chance it can be recharged, but that'll take a special dealership charger.

    Something has got to give in this equation. There is a chance you'll need a new battery, or at the least some dealership intervention. There's no free lunch. Maybe a dealership can send a mechanic over, hook up Techstream see what's going on. If not, budget for a tow to dealership, and about $100 for code read and diagnosis.

    This is another option for battery replacement:

    Prius Battery Replacement (GenII) Like you've never seen - NEW Cylindrical Cells | PriusChat
     
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  8. ilovemymac

    ilovemymac Member

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    Is there anyone besides a Toyota dealer who can? Because I am on the north end of town and to tow the car to the nearest Toyota dealership is about 30 miles maybe a little further.
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Autozone can read some codes with generic readers, not all, but maybe enough so you know where you stand. Trouble is, right now the car's 100 immobile? Just for giggles: disconnect 12 volt negative cable for about 5 minutes and then reconnect, see if that can get you rolling?
     
  10. ilovemymac

    ilovemymac Member

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    I have done that and it runs for about a minute then it pops the error. I disconnected positive terminal too.
    On another post it said if the 12v is not full power like if it’s low it will do that error but I believe I read it won’t power at al then
     
  11. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    There are many reasons for the check hybrid system message.

    But the 12 volt battery can cause this. But I’d be looking elsewhere unless you left the light on last night through an ajar door or some other drain on the battery.

    What is the at rest voltage for the 12 volt?
     
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  12. ilovemymac

    ilovemymac Member

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    I don’t know I don’t have any tools to check the battery
     
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    make sure the battery cooling fan intake grille is clear
     
  14. ilovemymac

    ilovemymac Member

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    I don’t know how to test the battery
     
  15. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Okay we won't tell you that, even w/one bar. We'll let the dealership will be the bad news bear :whistle:
     
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  16. ilovemymac

    ilovemymac Member

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    I thought the traction battery was supposed to last well into 200k miles
     
  17. ilovemymac

    ilovemymac Member

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    Where is this
     
  18. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Back seat back, at passenger side. Long shot though.

    One bar on the hybrid battery charge display is not good.
     
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  19. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    You never can tell. It can last to 200k. Most do not. Some have gone over 300k. Some have been replaced within the 100k mile warranty. I would guess (I don't have statistics for this) that the average is around 150,000 miles. But the life of the traction battery depends at least as much on time and number of charge/discharge cycles as miles. So driving style and conditions such as heat or big hills are a big factor along with slight individual variables in the quality of the components.
     
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  20. ilovemymac

    ilovemymac Member

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    Well the battery did not read one bar when this issue first started it did that after I’ve tried to attempt to start the car several times because one troubleshooting said to turn the car off and on three different times.