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Help! Prius is dying!!!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Austen, Oct 1, 2015.

  1. Austen

    Austen New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
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    I have a 2005 gen 2 Prius, 106k miles. Recently in Florida, we had a heavy rainstorm, and I happened to drive it through a flash flooded road. Water was deep enough to reach my headlights. I was out within 10 seconds, then had my car towed. There was a clicking sound and white smoke (steam?) coming from under the hood. The car would start, and I could drive it if I wanted to. After talking to a mechanic, he said to let it sit for 30 minutes with the engine on. Like magic, it started to work like normal, check engine light went away. Drove fine for 2 days, then the check engine light came back on. Had the codes read at autozone: P0103, and P0031. One day later, my car stalled out while I was driving, and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Red triangle, yellow exclamation, brake, abs, "problem" on mfd, etc. This site has saved me before, so I came on and thought it could be the MAF sensor. I cleaned it with MAF cleaner, but no luck. I order a new sensor, still no luck. My car stalls out seconds after starting it up. I cleaned my throttle body, still nothing. Does anybody have any ideas?
     
    #1 Austen, Oct 1, 2015
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    DTC P0103: short in MAF sensor circuit
    DTC P0031: air/fuel ratio sensor heater open circuit

    So your engine has two separate issues, both related to a wiring harness problem. I suggest you carefully examine the wiring harness connectors leading to those two sensors, for corrosion or other damage.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Oct 1, 2015
  3. Beachbummm

    Beachbummm Senior Member

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    what ever was wet is now shorted out. you never should have driven it or tried to start it until it was fully dried out.
    everything needs to be taken apart,dried,cleaned, then put back together and tested, odds are you fried a computer or the inverter.
     
    #3 Beachbummm, Oct 1, 2015
  4. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    We really can't advise on anything but the codes listed. Were these the only codes after the car "lit up like a Christmas tree"? If not, the codes will have to be read again by a Prius aware scanner. Post the results here and we'll do what we can to help you. When you say the car stalls out seconds after starting, that means its not starting at all and you are in danger of running the HV battery down. You need to have the codes read and quit trying to start it until you get whatever the problem is fixed.
     
    #4 usnavystgc, Oct 1, 2015
    valde3 likes this.
  5. Austen

    Austen New Member

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    Is there a way to fix said wires? Or would I have to replace them entirely?
     
    #5 Austen, Oct 1, 2015
  6. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Its likely the contacts and not the wires. You can fix them by unplugging them and using a wire brush to restore the surface of the contact. The hard part is finding out which contacts and then finding where they are located.
     
    #6 usnavystgc, Oct 1, 2015
  7. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    The Prius is not a submersible. While reading the original post my first thought was "the electrical system is going to short". This is why cars in floods get totaled and carry salvage titles. Might want to consider filing an insurance claim & start looking for a new car.
     
    #7 JimN, Oct 1, 2015
    usnavystgc likes this.
  8. Austen

    Austen New Member

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    Now to add to this mystery. I handed my car off to a mechanic, but he wasn't knowledgable about the Prius. So he gave it off to a certified mechanic who is quite experienced. At that point, he called me and told me the strangest news... It ran fine. It wouldn't stall out, started normally and drove fine. Only 2 error codes, one "failure to start", which I account to a bad combination meter, an issue I've already had and unrelated to my puddle. The second being a faulty oxygen sensor, which he says will not cause the stalling issue. The error pertaining to the mass airflow sensor was gone. Perhaps a good cleaning was all it needed? I sadly don't have the actual codes he pulled, I only have his descriptions of it. The oxygen sensor has a "faulty heater element", says the mechanic. My car has been driving fine for the past few days now. I'm driving it until the issue occurs again, if ever, then I'll bring it back to the shop. Can anybody shed some light on this perplexing issue?

    Also on a seperate note, how much would you guys say is a reasonable quote for replacing the combination meter? It seems to be beyond my DIY skills, unlike other issues I've had with this headache vehicle
     
    #8 Austen, Oct 10, 2015
  9. Austen

    Austen New Member

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    The faulty oxygen sensor is the one located near under the accelerator pedal
     
    #9 Austen, Oct 10, 2015
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    maybe everything finally dried out?
     
    #10 bisco, Oct 10, 2015
  11. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    About two or three years ago Toyota offered an extended warranty on the CM. If you're lucky that's still in effect. I did a DIY on mine a couple years earlier and they reimbursed my expenses, a whole $130. But the faulty CM should not cause a "failure to start," at least mine never did.

    It sounds like you have a couple of things going on, and corroding (note present tense) wiring harness connectors could add a lot more. It may be possible that even the O2 sensor fault could be a connector (the sensor is probably submersible). Some time with a wiring diagram and multimeter would be needed.
     
    #11 andrewclaus, Oct 12, 2015
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