1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

2017 Plus not charging

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by MikeDee, Feb 17, 2023.

  1. MikeDee

    MikeDee Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2013
    1,534
    581
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    I even swapped out my L2 EVSE to my original EVSE, so it's not the EVSE. I set the car to charge now and it doesn't charge. Even the overnight charge schedule didn't charge the car. Anyone experienced that and how to fix?

    I noticed that the green light at the charge port is flashing rapidly and then turns off, which according to the manual, indicates some sort of fault. I made an appointment at the dealer for Monday.
     
    #1 MikeDee, Feb 17, 2023
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2023
  2. MikeDee

    MikeDee Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2013
    1,534
    581
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Anyone know if the problem turns out to be the charger built into the car, if it would be covered under the CARB warranty?
     
  3. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,194
    1,690
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    Delete all charging events on charge schedule and retry.
     
    bisco likes this.
  4. MikeDee

    MikeDee Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2013
    1,534
    581
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    That didn't work.

    I could try disconnecting the 12v battery to see if that will reset everything (I think that's a long shot anyway), but I don't want to do that as I understand from reading an older posting that these events may be in memory that can be read out by the dealer using TechStream to aid in trouble shooting.
     
    #4 MikeDee, Feb 19, 2023
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2023
    Gokhan likes this.
  5. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,194
    1,690
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    You tried other outlets, right?

    What happens when you use the charge mode (long-press the EV button) when you drive? Does the battery charge?

    Could it be that your 12-V battery is too weak and needs replacing? Check its voltage with the car off. It should be 12.2 V or higher.

    [​IMG]

    I find it hard to believe that your charger broke down.
     
    #5 Gokhan, Feb 19, 2023
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2023
  6. MikeDee

    MikeDee Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2013
    1,534
    581
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Yes.

    Haven't used charge mode (ever) but since it maintains the hybrid battery, I don't think that'll do anything. It's the external charging that's not working.

    12v is practically new and there's no problem starting the car.

    Yeah, weird. Stuff happens, I guess. Hopefully, I'll find out more tomorrow as I take it into the dealer then.
     
  7. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,194
    1,690
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    What is the error message you are getting on the multiinformation display?
     
  8. MikeDee

    MikeDee Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2013
    1,534
    581
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    It says "Charge Stopped Check Charging Source." When do a charge now, the green light at the charge port comes on and my EVSE indicates its charging. Then within a few seconds, charging stops and the green light flashes rapidly and then goes out.
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    When you say ‘swapped out L2 to original evse’ exactly what did you do?
     
  10. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,194
    1,690
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    This is using the OEM charging cable at 120 V, right? Unless there is a problem with your electric wiring, it could be a problem with the car then.
     
  11. MikeDee

    MikeDee Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2013
    1,534
    581
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    As I said in my first post, I have a L2 charger and the original one that came with the car. Both are not working to charge the car using 120 and 240v outlets, so it isn't the outlets or the EVSE, unless both are bad, which is highly doubtful. I got the L2 EVSE right after I bought the car, so the original has been not used much.
     
  12. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,194
    1,690
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    Perhaps the aftermarket EVSE damaged your charger. You will find out. Keep us updated.
     
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i would make sure those outlets work
     
    Gokhan likes this.
  14. MikeDee

    MikeDee Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2013
    1,534
    581
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    I've used it for six years. Doubtful. It's a Leviton, not some cheap knock off. No fault lights were lit on either of the EVSEs. Both outlets work fine. Pretty much impossible for both electrical outlets to not be. Maybe one, not both. EVSE power lights are on so they are getting power.
     
    Gokhan and bisco like this.
  15. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,194
    1,690
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    They are probably working, but just in case, I would try charging the car at a public ChargePoint station first because a repair job will cost around $5,000. I am not sure if the warranty covers it.

    It is also a very good idea not to use a cheap Chinese EVSE bought on Amazon etc. If you want a Level 2 EVSE installed, buy a ChargePoint EVSE.
     
  16. MikeDee

    MikeDee Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2013
    1,534
    581
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    One would think to eliminate the highly unlikely scenario that both of my EVSEs / electrical outlets are bad, I would think that the dealership would use one of theirs to verify.

    I'm convinced it's the car. Maybe a simple computer reboot will clear the fault, maybe it's hardware (probably). From reading the warranty manual, I think repairs should be covered under the CARB warranty. If they say not, I'm going to appeal to Toyota Corporate.

    It's unfortunate that no one else has experienced this problem. A Google search came up with nothing either.
     
    Chris HV likes this.
  17. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,194
    1,690
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    Definitely go to a public ChargePoint station first. You don't want the dealer to charge you $1,000 to tell you that the problem is with the circuit in your garage, such as a circuit breaker in a zombie state, which is not covered under the CARB warranty.
     
    #17 Gokhan, Feb 19, 2023
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2023
    BiomedO1 and Chris HV like this.
  18. Chris HV

    Chris HV Member

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2017
    64
    35
    0
    Location:
    East Coast, USA
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    Hi Mike,

    I've only had my Prime for a short while BUT, having witnessed first hand the combination "nasty repair tactics/ outright incompetence" at my local Toyota dealership, if I were in your shoes I would simply let them investigate and give you a solid, written estimate for the repair.

    YES, do not disconnect the 12V batt at this point.

    Whatever they say, do NOT commit to anything at that point ("aaah need to tawk to the wife" works great.) Do NOT mention "corporate" etc.

    THEN, see if you can find some type of Techstream-equivalent tool to verify whatever error code(s) for yourself (lots of help on this quite possible on this amazing forum.).

    Why am I saying this? Because years ago I had a similar event on one of our Gen3 cars. I found out what the real problem was (the dealership had lied through their teeth), fixed the problem myself and saved us over $3,000.
     
  19. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2021
    1,263
    691
    0
    Location:
    SacTown, Ca
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    When you tested the 2nd EVSE charger; did you go back into the same house outlet? Have you used a "monkey face"; outlet checker to see if your household outlet is OK? Need to isolate the issue, car vs house circuit.
    Have you tried a public charge station, as Gokhan suggested?
    If it's the car, there's a couple of threads here - where the charge pins got pushed back or a loose chassis ground on the car; below and behind the car's charge plug.

    Hope this helps...
     
  20. chogan2

    chogan2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2008
    1,066
    756
    0
    Location:
    Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    Sounds to me as if you've diagnosed it right, unfortunately.

    My sole suggestion is to get a flashlight, open the charging port, and carefully inspect all the pins.

    Those are potentially subject to wear-and-tear, or, more likely, to having a little bit of schmutz get jammed in there during one of the charges. Might even go so far as to take a wooden skewer and gently prod them to look for motion.

    Also, I'd do the same for the ends of both charging cables, make sure that one of the pins didn't break off and is stuck in the charging cable.

    Anyway, a physical part like that, subject to a few thousand cycles, it's entirely possible that can break. Maybe corrode. Particularly if you've got a humid environment. And some of the chemicals typically kept in and around a garage may accelerate the process, e.g., pool chlorine, or even household bleach.

    FWIW, I had a Hymotion add-on pack that used a standard marine (boat) charging outlet, and that managed to lose a pin roughly every 500 cycles. I got really tired of replacing that outlet.