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2010 Prius, ICE sometimes doesn't turn off

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by lamontcranston, Oct 6, 2016.

  1. lamontcranston

    lamontcranston Umbra Tenet

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2009
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    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Hey all, long time no talk. I used to be fairly active here when I bought my '10, but then things settled down. I do have a question for the crowd, though:

    I've noticed now on three occasions that the ICE isn't stopping at stoplights. Let me back up.

    I know that the ICE won't stop if the battery is low, I know it won't stop if the battery is too high. I know it won't stop if the temperature is too low. Jeez, I sound like a Dr. Seuss book. I've put 117,000 miles on this car in over 7 years, I know how it feels when it's working right.

    When things aren't working right, I'll observe the state of charge indicator dropping down to 1 bar and then shortly going up to full bars, then down to 5-6 bars where it usually sits. Prior to the last few months I think I could count on one hand the number of times it went down to 1 bar.

    So after that happens it just doesn't turn off at stoplights. I even left it running in the garage and it ran for 5 minutes and didn't stop. State of charge was 6 bars and the ambient temperature was 77 degrees.

    It doesn't do this all the time, just three times in the last month. Is this just a normal progression of how the battery ages? Toyota service ran a diagnostic and found nothing wrong, no codes and the battery seems to be in good shape. But naturally I don't believe them.

    Sorry for the long story, but I wanted you all to have the information you might need to help me decide if this is a serious problem.
     
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
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    38,247
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    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    A lot of that description does indeed sound like failing battery. FWIW, I've never seen a drop to 1 bar, 2 is the minimum.

    In California you're hyrid warranty is still in effect? And dealership says everything's fiiiine... Maybe just keep driving it, don't baby it, and you'll light up some warnings soon.
     
  3. lamontcranston

    lamontcranston Umbra Tenet

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2009
    212
    17
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Yeah, the warranty is still in effect, and yeah I've thought the same thing.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.