2008 Prius with Loss of power(Engine) on Highway

There should be some historical codes set they can pull with TechStream that will help diagnose the cause.

 

Another poster has indicated that P3190, along with other codes, can be indicative of throttle plate issues. Here is the list of possible causes for P3190:

Air induction system
Throttle body
Fuel pressure
Engine
Mass Air flow meter
Out of fuel
Engine coolant temperature sensor
Crankshaft position sensor
Camshaft position sensor
ECM ​

Note that this info is from the tech manual, which is the same publication that the dealer is using to diagnose the issue.

 

With only 20K miles on the odometer, I doubt that the throttle body is the issue.

If the problem recurs, I suggest that you ask for the engine and hybrid ECUs to be reflashed with current firmware. I had a similar "loss of power" problem on my 2004 a couple of years ago, and that was done to my car. No recurrence of the problem. Good luck.

 

This exact problem happened to me Wednesday. I have a 2008 Prius. On the highway, going about 60+ there was a sudden loss of power. The red ! with check engine light came on at the same time. As did the VSC light.

My car also would not increase speed when gas peddle was pressed. My speedometer also decreased in speed and eventually blanked out completely. It was very scary and I barely made it to a safe stopping place. I turned off the car, then restarted after a minute or two and only the ! triangle and check engine lights were on. I tried to drive it, but it failed again. This time I called for a tow.

At the dealership, they first said it was covered. Then today they said it wasn't and it would cost $1,500 to fix it. I asked what exactly was wrong. They said the throttle body needed to be replaced. "It looked dirty". My car only has 49,000 miles on it and is only 2.5 years old. All the regular maintenance has been done on it. After researching the throttle body issue, it seems that the problem can be caused by the dealership overfilling the oil, causing gunk to build up on the throttle body, then causing all sorts of other problems to happen. However, in all the research I've done tonight, I did not once see where an owner was told they needed to replace the throttle body at this incredibly HIGH price. Cleaning was all they did to fix the problem. That was never offered to me. I have not picked up the car. What should I do???? I'm really lost here.

 

1. Ask what DTC was logged by your car, and post them here.
2. Ask why the throttle body cannot be cleaned.
3. Ask why the repair is not covered under the 5 year, 60K mile powertrain warranty.

 

I'm guessing the DTC is the diagnostic test? Tech said "P2111".

They originally didn't tell me that they tried to clean it, but this morning under questioning the tech said they tried to clean it first.

Tech said the repair came under the 3 year 36K mile warranty and not the 5 year 60K mile powertrain warranty.

 

OK, your tech is correct regarding warranty coverage. If the throttle control motor has failed then DTC P2111 would be logged. It is reasonable to replace the throttle body (which includes the motor.) Unfortunately that will be at your expense.

An alternative would be for you to see whether you can buy a salvage part and have an independent install it for you. However towing charges may eat up part of your savings. Good luck.

 

I had a dirty/partial stuck throttle body on my old 96 Rav4 that I could feel through the gas peddle. I assume with a fly-by-wire system like the Prius and other cars now have you can't get that physical feedback indicating a problem may be developing?

 

this is one of those times where, when people ask, should i buy a used prius, are they reliable, i can't afford expensive repairs, we have to answer honestly that a small percentage of vehicles will require a more expensive repair than a non hybrid vehicle.

 

I've contacted Toyota directly. The rep said that he'd never seen or heard of a problem like mine on a Prius, especially in a car that's only 2.5 years old with 49K miles. He also looked up the service history and noticed that a lot of unnecessary maintenance had been performed on my car by the dealership. For instance, flushing the fuel injector, that was performed more than once. The Toyota rep said that the fuel injector should not be flushed on the Prius, ever. The throttle body had also been cleaned at 15K, which he thought was also "very strange". Around the 30K service, I learned that I should not go by what the dealership recommended for service but go strictly by the "Recommend Service" manual for the Prius. I'll plead "being a single girl" on that one. I've since schooled myself and learned how to replace my own filters. The Toyota rep also told me to only go by that service manual. BTW, the dealership I used to go to reprimanded me for not accepting all their recommended service and told me that I wouldn't know what I was doing if I replaced my own filters.

Toyota has filed a formal investigation into my issue. Send happy thoughts my way hoping that I don't have to pay the $1,300 cost for totally replacing the throttle body. Also, I asked the dealership to let me have the "bad" throttle body. They declined to give it to me, but instead give me a picture of the bad part. This makes me really suspicious, why not? Did they even replace the throttle body?

 

The dealership is John Eagle Sports City Toyota in Dallas, TX.

 

This is car ownership and luck of the draw. Most car systems like throttle body on all makes look somewhat similar and similarly failure prone, IMHO. Before I would plunk 1500 down I would access the factory repair manual, look at the throttle body/motor test procedure, and if, possible, test it exactly as described. I have learned the hard way is why I say this.

Sorry, looks like you already are taking care of things.

I don't know for sure what a trouble code means, but I thought it meant the part is malfunctioning as installed. I don't know if the code actually is testing the part as if it were isolated.

 

The new dealership, Toyota of Dallas, has already replaced the throttle body. So, doing any tests on the old throttle body is a moot point. Toyota of Dallas is not willing to give me the old throttle body, either.

Yesterday, I was told by TofD that they would not have the new part until today bc they had to order it from Houston. Miraculously, they fixed it by last night before I could call Toyota directly to lodge a complaint. So, the car is waiting at TofD for this issue to be resolved.

 

If you had to pay for the throttle body replacement then you should receive the replaced part upon request, that is standard practice. I am really surprised that your dealer is fighting you on this very simple issue.

It's reasonable for such behavior to arouse your concern. If they can't provide the old part, how do you know that the part was actually replaced (vs. cleaned up.)

Also, note that MSRP for the throttle body is $875 and the part can be purchased over the web at Champion Toyota, Houston for $665.
http://www.trademotion.com/partloca...rius&year=2004&catalogid=1&displayCatalogid=0

So your dealer's quoted repair price seems quite high.

 

I agree Patrick. Especially when you also consider what was said in post #14 about the dealer providing a lot of what was most likely unnecessary servicing in the past, they certainly seem a bit iffy.

Edit: Oops, I re-read the above and now see it was a different dealer that serviced it previously.

 

By law, the repair shop must return you old part if you request it at time of writing the repair order unless the part replacement is under warranty and free of charge to you, or if the part carries a core charge then you will have to pay the core charge in order to get the old parts back.
You can go o the local bureau of automobile repair website and print out the rules then show it to dealer's repair department.