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

Vulnerable under-hood wiring?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by danielarichman, Jan 25, 2011.

  1. danielarichman

    danielarichman Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2011
    26
    7
    2
    Location:
    Seattle, WA (Ballard)
    Vehicle:
    2023 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XLE
    I test-drove a 2011 Prius IV last weekend and spent a while staring at the fascinating technology under the hood. One thing I saw worried me: numerous very thin wires, with some length of copper exposed, going into plastic connectors. I'm not sure what they do, but they seem extremely vulnerable to damage and crud build-up.

    I haven't seen this topic addressed and wonder whether any educated Prius driver has an opinion on it.

    Many thanks.
     
  2. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2009
    5,683
    952
    124
    Location:
    Redondo Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    I've never opened the hood and I'm doing just fine :)
     
  3. revhigh

    revhigh MPG Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Jan 2, 2011
    986
    141
    0
    Location:
    PA - Pocono Mountain Area
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Pics ??

    HEY !!! I see I just graduated to MEMBER, from Junior Member !! :D

    REV
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    sounds odd to me. nothing like that on my 08 that i can see?
     
  5. GSW

    GSW PRIUS POWER

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2009
    537
    74
    0
    Location:
    Jacksonville
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Nothing like that on my 2010 Prius. Must be another 1 post GM quality contol exec. :eek:
     
  6. Ryanpl

    Ryanpl Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2010
    780
    158
    0
    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Mazel Tov my friend. Now you can learn the secret handshake :welcome:
     
  7. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2009
    5,683
    952
    124
    Location:
    Redondo Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Unless it's a 1 post GM quality control troll, any possibility it's a temporary dealer-installed vehicle tracking device?
     
  8. snead_c

    snead_c Jam Ma's Car

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2008
    667
    58
    0
    Location:
    Hendersonville
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I just checked my 2009 Prius and could not find any exposed wire.:confused: Pics are attached. I assume Toyota is conserving tape in the 2011 models:rolleyes:
    Perhaps he's referring to that round yellow thingy :p

    Troll.....:eek:

    :(
     

    Attached Files:

  9. twittel

    twittel Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2010
    1,605
    148
    0
    Location:
    Mt. Pleasant, SC
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I don't have any exposed copper wires in my Prius engine compartment. Maybe that's the critical difference between 2010 v. 2011 models? LOL...

    Happy Motoring,

    Tom
     
  10. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2009
    7,543
    1,558
    0
    Location:
    Alaska
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    snead_c you take terrible care of your car! joke.

    I think the OP might be referring to the wire net around the inverter wires. ? Also I noticed the wires going into the engine ECU are rather exposed (no copper but the individual wires are visible).
     
  11. danielarichman

    danielarichman Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2011
    26
    7
    2
    Location:
    Seattle, WA (Ballard)
    Vehicle:
    2023 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XLE
    No, I'm not a troll, and no, I'm not referring to the silvery mesh around two large cords going into what I believe is the inverter. And unfortunately, I do not have any images, because (as I mentioned) this was a rental.

    Curious that no one seems to be familiar with this matter. I'll amplify if and when I can.
     
  12. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2009
    7,543
    1,558
    0
    Location:
    Alaska
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Perhaps someone was trying to hot-wire the rental. :)
     
  13. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2009
    5,683
    952
    124
    Location:
    Redondo Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Well, if no other Gen III owners can find what you've described in your OP, it's most likely something like a dealer-installed vehicle tracking device that they remove prior to purchase.
     
  14. Judgeless

    Judgeless Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2009
    1,821
    255
    0
    Location:
    Cleveland, OH
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Yet another first time poster that has issues with the Prius. People forget this car has been around for over 10 years. How many people have been shocked?
     
  15. 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'm not making any judgements, evpv might yell at me again.:(
     
  16. danielarichman

    danielarichman Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2011
    26
    7
    2
    Location:
    Seattle, WA (Ballard)
    Vehicle:
    2023 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XLE
    Your superior attitude is regrettable. Why don't I have the right to ask a question about a potential concern, which others might share, in a vehicle that I'm interested and that you all know a lot about?
     
  17. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2010
    7,668
    6,483
    0
    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Greetings and Welcome! :welcome:

    I'll look at my'10 in the morning....but since I'm a twidget, I usually notice exposed wires, especially exposed wires in a location that makes them susceptible to corrosion.
    Since you're in the 'looking' phase of Priusdom, I'd point this concern out to the crooks who are trying to fleece you out of your hard earned money---a.k.a. the sales 'associates'.
    They won't have a clean answer, but sometimes the stories they come up with are great...and they might be persuaded to peel back some more hoods to see if this is common to '11 G3's or just the one you were looking at.
    I'll get back with you in the morning when I look at mine.
    I'll let you know if I run into an 'educated' Prius driver....

    <*sniff-sniff!*>
    Never mind that noise.....just some gear I'm working with.

    :D

    Good Luck!
     
  18. evpv

    evpv Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2010
    689
    337
    8
    Location:
    West Coast
    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Sorry danielarichman, there is a group of paranoid Prius owners on this forum who like to call anyone that asks a remotely negative question a troll. Hopefully they not a true indication of the type of person who owns a Prius. My apologies, welcome to the forum.

    Here are some photos of the engine compartment of my car. I'm guessing these are the semi-exposed wires you are talking about. I don't see anything with copper showing. But I understand your concerns and I wonder why Toyota used huge shields on some connectors but very little on others.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     

    Attached Files:

    1 person likes this.
  19. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2010
    7,668
    6,483
    0
    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Good Morning!
    As promised, I peeked under the hood of my G3 this morning. I was going to attach some Gucci pix, but I couldn't improve on evpv's photo work. The lighting in my parking lot was sub-optimal for under-the-hood work (see attached.)
    If you look at his first photo, it's representative of Toyota's rather excellent job of under-hood wiring. Better than GM, I'm afraid....:mad:
    The individual conductors are sealed into the plug, with no copper exposed.

    When I did oceanography for a living, we used to take off-the-shelf (COTS---usually Belkin) wire spools and certify them for use in full ocean depth instrumentation. We'd solder and seal the ends of the wire spools, and expose them to a zillion PSI of seawater in a special tank, and then look for failures in the sheathing (the colored plastiky outer layer).
    Results: Nearly 100-percent of the time, the regular old wires like those used in your car's wiring harness will withstand any corrosion that's likely to occur underneath your hood---provided there's no chaff points (rubbing) or some lazy automotive tech doesn't poke holes in the insulation probing for signals and voltages.
    In other words.......don't worry about it. :cool:
    [​IMG]
     

    Attached Files:

  20. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,073
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    ETC meant the write "chafe points", not "chaff points". Chaff has been known to cause electrical problems when dropped onto power transmission lines, but that shouldn't be an issue with the Prius.

    :D

    Tom