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please help - toyota engineers stuck!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by heymanl, Jun 2, 2010.

  1. heymanl

    heymanl New Member

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    a few days ago the red exclamation mark, yellow exclamation mark with the circle around it and parenthesis, and the VSC lights all came on - along with the main panel's red car with the exclamation mark. The shop told us that we could bring it in the next morning - on the way home, the gas motor stopped and the car completely died. Towed to the dealer.

    The dealer found the following codes:

    P0A2B, P0A37, C1241, C2310, C2318

    They called the Toyota engineers, and tried some things and came to the conclusion that it was a loose connection to the battery - road tested the car for about 30 miles. We went to pick it up tonight... on the way home - between 40-50 miles an hour the car made a whiring type sound when either accelerating or deccelerating. and sure enough - after about 20 miles of driving all the same lights came on again. Pulled the car off the highway and am having it towed back again to the dealer. I've lurked around here - but never posted (never had a problem with the car before - save a dead battery in the fob) - so now I'm asking if any of you folks have had the same issue, and if you had any ideas what could be going on... I'm nervous that I've got a dud - as the guys at the dealership were at a loss to solve this one... (they've had the car for three days). The car has 105k miles on it and all maintenance has been followed. Thanks so much!
     
    #1 heymanl, Jun 2, 2010
  2. Bob64

    Bob64 Sapphire of the Blue Sky

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    Did you have your lead-acid battery ever replaced?
     
    #2 Bob64, Jun 2, 2010
  3. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    The incompetence of most Toyota dealerships never fails to amaze me. Assuming they are not outright trying to rip you off!
     
    #3 jayman, Jun 2, 2010
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    DTC P0A2B: Drive Motor "A" Temperature Sensor Circuit Range/Performance. This points to a transaxle failure.

    DTC P0A37: Generator Temperature Sensor Circuit Range/Performance. Same as above.

    DTC C1241: Low Battery Positive Voltage or Abnormally High Battery Positive Voltage. The 12V battery, ABS1 or ABS2 relays would be the immediate suspects although there are some other components that could cause this.

    DTC C2310: Open or Short Circuit in Battery. PCON fuse, transmission control ECU, wiring harness.

    DTC C2318: Low Voltage Error. 12V battery, HEV fuse, IGCT relay, or wiring harness.

    I would recommend that you start by replacing the 12V battery. That may take care of the Cxxxx codes.

    If the Pxxxx codes persist, then you may need a new transaxle which would be a large four-digit repair. Good luck.
     
    #4 Patrick Wong, Jun 2, 2010
  5. heymanl

    heymanl New Member

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    No - but the mechanics tested the battery (actually both batteries) and they were both at the top of their game.... tested as good and no issues...

     
    #5 heymanl, Jun 3, 2010
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    If you do a search you'll find numerous posts where the owner had the 12V battery tested, it was found good, and the battery failed shortly thereafter. Therefore I would be skeptical that the battery really is good.

    The 12V battery is a known potential problem area as it ages. A flaky battery can induce any number of weird DTC. By replacing that battery, you can cross that potential problem off the list.

    I'm also concerned about the whirring sound that you have started to hear. That may be evidence that your transaxle really has failed.
     
    #6 Patrick Wong, Jun 3, 2010
    1 person likes this.
  7. heymanl

    heymanl New Member

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    thanks for the thoughts... I will definitely keep my fingers crossed that it's the battery and not the transaxle - I think if it's the trans - that might be the end of the car for me....

     
    #7 heymanl, Jun 3, 2010
  8. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Since you have 2004 model, it is time to change the 12v battery. It is possible that the 12v battery is making the generator work very hard. Let us know how it performs after 12v replacement.

    Transaxle fluid change is not on the maintenance schedule. Did you ever ask for a change? If not, I would change it and see if the sound improves.
     
    #8 usbseawolf2000, Jun 3, 2010
  9. skruse

    skruse Senior Member

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    I had the identical situation. Drove directly to the (idiot) dealer. Toyota engineers had to come figure things out. Finally found a single loose connection.
     
    #9 skruse, Jun 3, 2010
  10. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    #10 richard schumacher, Jun 4, 2010
  11. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    so Heyman!, did a new 12V battery solve your problem? If not, what did?
     
    #11 3prongpaul, Aug 23, 2010
  12. actros

    actros New Member

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    heyman1
    Don't fret on the transaxle!!!
    You can get a good low mileage take out for about $1000--that's no more than a comperable unit from an ICE powered premium car.
    Labor--budget about 8 hours of it for the R&R.

    No reason to dump the car if it is good shape.
    Actros
     
    #12 actros, Aug 23, 2010
  13. heymanl

    heymanl New Member

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    UPDATE: Thanks to all for the kind words and assistance...

    So - It turned out that the whole transaxle system failed ... so Toyota stepped in and paid for a FULL rebuild of the transaxle system. They paid for the parts AND the labor - so I was only out the cost of the tows to the dealership. Not sure why they chose to cover costs - the car was outside warranty no matter how you sliced it - I'm guessing that because the first mechanic that I spoke with told me that the car was safe to drive might be part of the reason (either driving the car damaged things to the point that the full replacement was necessary, or they were concerned that I would take legal action because they said the car was ok to drive)... who knows. All I know is that she seems to be running beautifully now, all is well and I couldn't be happier. guess Toyota knows how to maintain customer loyalty! Thanks again everyone.
     
    #13 heymanl, Aug 24, 2010
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