2005 Prius Woes

OK, we are anxiously waiting to see what your Melbourne dealer sends you.

 

just scan and post!

 

Go advanced in your reply, at the top their is a paper clip symbol, which brings up attachment pop up. Browse to the folder you have them scannned, and attach.

 

Sorry but you mustn't have successfully uploaded them Randy, otherwise we'd be able to see them already.

After you click the "paper clip" symbol and it brings up the file attachment window do the following :

1. Click the "browse" button and select the file to be uploaded.

2. Click the "upload" button and wait until it tells you it completed the upload.

3. Click "close window" on the attachment window and finishing typing and post your reply. The attachment will automatically be shown at the bottom of your reply as it is in this example.

Good Luck.

 

Sounds like they misdiagnosed the problem that was caused by the pump somehow, or just happened to have an extra Brake ECU lying around they needed to sell. I have never *ever* seen a brake ECU go bad unless it got wet!

 

You have to wonder whether or not the dealers' taking customers for a ride-- which I would gather is about 99.5% likely what happened here judging from professional intuition and how the OPs posts read (out of state traveling customer, etc.)-- is something that has been going on for a long time, or is the result of the deflating of a credit-driven economy. I am seeing more of this type of behavior from more types of places than I ever recall seeing before- even previously "legitimate" ones.

And the point about not paying techs sufficiently goes across the board in many industries.

Caveat emptor.

 

Although a low-probability event, this can happen occasionally. The skid control ECU and brake stroke sensor on my 2007 were replaced under warranty (was owned by my dad at the time of these events.) See my posts #48 and #54 here:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/11798-brake-failures-04-prius-5.html

However since the OP did not report any brake system problems, that reduces the likelihood that the skid control ECU actually had a problem.

 

Well the problem is that "being uploaded" doesn't mean that it was necessarily completed. When it's completed you will know because the "Uploading File(s) - Please Wait" message will go away and a "Current Attachments" dialog will appear showing the uploaded file.

My guess is that you're upload is not completing for some reason. What is the file size and type of the attempted upload?

 

Good points, as it has to be a file type that is listed in the attachment key. bmp, jpe, and psd files are limited to 19.5 kb. jpeg and gifs are limited by size, and other are not listed so if it is large, you can compress it, and attach.

 

Yes the OP should be able to post individual pages as separate jpg's. 1024x768 is usually perfectly legible for an A4 size scan. The problem is that a lot of people don't really understand how to "drive" their scanners properly and do silly things like trying to scan a full page at 9600 dpi and save it as a bitmap.

To 72randy. If you know how to then please set your scanner for a low resolution like 75dpi (or at most 150 dpi) and save the resulting files as a jpeg images ok.

 

well done! shows you that perserverance can pay off.

 

In the freeze frame data, the accumulator pressure sensor voltage was 2.82V. That's no good, the range is 3.2V - 4.0V. When checked by Techstream at Melbourne, it was 3.39V. Perhaps they had charged/replaced the 12V battery already by that point. Blindly following the troubleshooting table leads you to step 3, replace computer. The real question is, how could you see a low value at one point, and a good value later? Plus, most values in the freeze frame look wacky. Perhaps it is because the IC pump failed, which caused the inverter coolant temperature to get too high and set code P0a93, which then shut down the DC converter, then the voltage on the 12V dropped too low to properly operate the car's computer network including erasing the P0a93 code!!! Take a look at page 1026 from the repair manual. Note the fine print at the bottom.

05−1026
DIAGNOSTICS − ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLED BRAKE SYSTEM
Author: Date: 1229
2005 PRIUS REPAIR MANUAL (RM1130U)
DTC C1241/41 LOW BATTERY POSITIVE VOLTAGE OR
ABNORMALLY HIGH BATTERY POSITIVE
VOLTAGE
DTC C1242/42 IG1/IG2 POWER SOURCE CIRCUIT
CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
These codes are memorized when the power source voltage for the skid control ECU drops or the voltage
for the ABS No.1, ABS No.2 relay operation drops.
Codes may be memorized when the voltage of the auxiliary battery temporarily drops.
When the power source voltage is too high, the skid control ECU stops functioning and outputs no DTCs,
and the ABS and BRAKE warning light remain on.
HINT:
DTC C1256/56 (accumulator low voltage malfunction) may be memorized if the power source voltage drops.

 

Yes, it appears that the diagnosis to replace the skid control ECU was incorrect. However the paper trail shows that the mechanic had reason for that diagnosis - so his actions were taken in good faith.

In retrospect, if you did not experience any braking problems then it would have been better to decline replacement of that ECU.

I agree that your scenario makes sense. Unfortunately the section of the repair manual having to do with DTC C1256 does not point out that this code may be induced due to low voltage on the 12V bus. Also, the first page of the OP's pdf does not show C1241 as a retrieved DTC so there would be no reason for the tech to look up that code.

In conclusion, it looks like the skid control ECU was replaced needlessly but the tech had reason to take that action based upon the repair manual documentation. Unfortunately there's no guarantee that the Toyota dealer techs will always be perfect.