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Prius won’t get over 30mpg after new engine installed

Discussion in 'Prius v Technical Discussion' started by Chardone69, Apr 29, 2021.

  1. Chardone69

    Chardone69 Junior Member

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    I’m actually replacing the inverter pump tomorrow. Looks very straightforward once the drivers headlight is out of the way. Yeah,I don’t want that to fail totally on the long test drive.
     
  2. Samuel Williams Jr

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    Cool, you gotta get that fixed cause you know it's questionable? And I have no advise on the Gen 3 and the inverter pump swap swap out?

    But the freaking Gen 2's ... I couldn't even change the light bulbs on the freaking thing! It had to go to the Hybrid Shop for new light bulbs! Are you freaking kidding me?? Uh sorry I saw "head light's," and had "Flashback's." :)
     
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Too esoteric, lol.
     
  4. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Given its a 2012 in 2021 America, the proper units might be miles/9 years, a wee bit slower than distance covered in a light second.
     
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  5. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    Are you talking in air or a vacuum?
     
  6. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    I have a hard enough keeping a gen3 running in air; I don't think even Elon could make it run in a vacuum.
     
  7. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    Speed of light is faster in a vacuum....
     
  8. Chardone69

    Chardone69 Junior Member

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    Greentec arrived today with the battery. Ran some diagnostics and did some other tests and it turns out the battery and inverter are fine. The TCM is the whole fault of the drivability issue. They where honest and refunded my money. I’ll definitely use them when it comes time for actually needing the battery because of their honesty.
     
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  9. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Hasn't he got a roadster traveling in a vacuum already?
     
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  10. Samuel Williams Jr

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    WOW, well first that is an incredible level of integrity on Greentec's part, to say the least!

    Not only did they not sell you a part you did not need? But they told you what is wrong with your car! You can't do better than that. But TCM is that a Transmission Control Module? Does that mean no road trip for the "Prius," today?
     
  11. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    If possible, can you provide any additional details on this. My knowledge on the transmission control module is fairly limited and I'm trying to understand how it would cause your issues. My understanding was that this module mostly takes care of the parking mechanism and some safety interlocks. My initial thought is someone is f-o-s, but as I said, my level of knowledge on that system is limited..
     
  12. Samuel Williams Jr

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    Well likely we will have to wait because he did say he had to take long trip. But he did have a third party make the diagonios and they lost a sell. And it makes sense to me?

    Our second Gen going up hill SOC goes to two purple bar's if you hit the throttle for a big climb. But it still moves, if you really want a "Speeding Ticket," it is happy to oblige!

    Our Dayton hill is short at only a mile climb from 4300 ft to 5000. But a week or so I took it to Reno over 341 at least 8000 ft I think but I'm not sure I missed the sign at the top.

    But SOC was nothing during about 6 miles of climbing and the car easily kept going as fast as you wanted to go. With a "Prius with stock suspension," uphill is no big deal, and if you wanted a speeding ticket it was happy to accommodate you.

    The CVT tranny did whatever they do to accommodate the increase in elevation, the SOC of the battery did not seem to make a difference?

    The part of that trip that ticked me off was the very fast Mustang behind me and the very slow SUV in front! With a stock " suspension Prius," I could not safely overtake the SUV.

    And the Mustang was being a "PIA!" So I pulled over and let the Mustang go, he made an illegal pass on the SUV about two mile past where I would have passed him in my modded Tercel! The pull over for slower vehicle lane. And a sharp bend at the end.

    The Prius would have been flying if I would have tried that pass. But stock tires, rim and suspension and traction control on? Yeah uh No!

    The Mustang did not make the pass there (Candy nice person) but he did make the pass a bit later and I must say a flat plane Mustang V8 at full throttle, sounds awesome!

    But back on point a CVT, transmission that does not know what gear it is supposed to be in would suck, I would imagine?
     
  13. Chardone69

    Chardone69 Junior Member

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    The TCM blew the circuit that controls the overdrive. So the car is running with two speeds forward. No overdrive equals crappy fuel economy. I ordered a TCM last night. Got a new one cheaper from the dealership then what eBay prices where for used. Just waiting for it to ship. Probably get it Friday or Saturday.
     
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  14. Chardone69

    Chardone69 Junior Member

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    You can actually see the burnt circuit when you remove the board from its protective case.
     
  15. Samuel Williams Jr

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    LOL, so you're still here and not strained in the middle of nowhere? What happened with the planed out of town trip?

    And the CVT tranny shifts? I can't tell? We had a 2001 PT Cruiser that I managed to destroy ... but ours was a AT. And the cool thing was you could put the tranny in first gear and nail the throttle and the tranny would take care of the rest! It was a throw feature from back in the day ... pretty cool.

    But our Prius and the tranny, I have no idea what it is doing?? Climbing a hill SOC goes to two purple bar's. But it does not slow down. And if you press the throttle down it goes faster while climbing. I have no idea what gear it is in? It just goes there is not really anything to think about?
     
    #75 Samuel Williams Jr, May 13, 2021
    Last edited: May 13, 2021
  16. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    How did you know to change the #4 coil pack, repeatedly?

    moto g(7) power ?
     
  17. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    The TCM blew the circuit that controls the overdrive. So the car is running with two speeds forward. No overdrive equals crappy fuel economy.

    Now I'm even more confused. Again, I'm more of a Gen 2 person, but I wasn't aware there was 2 forward speeds and an overdrive in a Gen 3. Apparently I have some learning to do....

    But this gives me some ideas for a Gen 2 I've been working on that sounds like a bicycle with a baseball card flapping in the spokes during regen. Sound completely goes away if you shift to neutral. Thought it was axles, so I installed new axles and front hubs. Sound pretty much didn't change. Suspect it to be a transaxle issue as it's at it's worst during regen. Perhaps swapping the TCM would be an easier, much less PITA thing to do first, just in case it's something similar. I just don't know that the Gen 2 TCM would have anything to do with it.
     
  18. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    I can believe the board is burnt if it looks smoked. Hard to believe it somehow continued to run and forced the transaxle to operate at a low gear ratio.

    Unless the engine was low in power. The engine was recently replaced. Obviously the hybrid system employs a continuously variable transaxle and will select a gear ratio appropriate to climb the grade. Which will force high engine rpms. Time will tell.
     
  19. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    I'm also curious what indicators in techstream the tech saw that pointed him in that direction.
     
  20. Chardone69

    Chardone69 Junior Member

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    Check engine light