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

Total power loss when driving up a steep hill

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by elephanyeyes, Nov 24, 2017.

  1. elephanyeyes

    elephanyeyes Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2017
    8
    0
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    When driving up a steep hill the car will lose power even if I'm flooring it. This has happened twice, once on a rocky unpaved road (that I probably shouldn't have been driving on in the first place) and last night on a steep paved hill with wet leaves in town. If I stop the car on the hill it will completely lose forward power and I have to reverse it to the bottom. Anyone have this experience or know what it's indicative of? Thanks!
     
  2. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2009
    5,596
    3,770
    0
    Location:
    So. Texas
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Traction control. In many cars, it can be momentarily turned off with a button on the dash but not on the Gen2.
     
  3. elephanyeyes

    elephanyeyes Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2017
    8
    0
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    So the traction control stops the car from moving forward be not sending power to the front wheels on steep terrain?
     
  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
    i think there is a way to turn it off in maintenance mode, but i don't know how. there maybe threads here, or video's on line.
     
  5. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2009
    17,035
    10,010
    90
    Location:
    Western Washington
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Did the wheels slip on the rocks and wet leaves? If so, that is what tripped the Traction Control.

    Older Prius vintages have more problems with this slippage-induced TC shutdown, newer designs handle it better.
     
  6. LEVE

    LEVE Member

    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2010
    191
    97
    0
    Location:
    On the Willapa
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    What about a clogged catalytic converter?
     
  7. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,795
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Well like just about every other poster your hybrid battery is probably getting worn out. You never mentioned miles. If your at 175000+ start thinking about the hybrid battery.

    The traction control just limits the instantaneous propulsion it should not basically shut the forwArd motion of the car off. It stops the wheel slip and then you can continue. At least that has been my experience. What your seeing is a power failure and I would imagine it has thrown a Christmas tree of lights on the dash the red master caution alarm at the least and if you see an icon of a car in the upper left corner of the mfd that’s hybrid battery death. That’s called the turtle.

    Although you can shut traction off by putting the car in inspection mode but it should not be driven like that as you can over rev mg2.
     
    #7 edthefox5, Nov 24, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2017
  8. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
    6,035
    3,854
    0
    Location:
    Rocky Mountains
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    When the traction control turns on, lights come on the dash blinking to let you know the traction control has enabled.

    You can make wheel spin and therefore become "stuck" in almost any car. But you can also feather the throttle and make it move even on most of the extreme slopes in the mountains.
     
  9. elephanyeyes

    elephanyeyes Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2017
    8
    0
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    It has 140k and has already had the battery replaced by the previous owner and it tested well when I had the car at the Toyota dealership for prepurchase inspection. So I don't think the battery is the issue. The wheels don't spin and become stuck like a car losing traction, it loses power as it climbs and then will lose power completely. I can't floor it up a steep & wet hill because it just loses power and won't go forward. Is this really how the TC is designed?
     
  10. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
    6,035
    3,854
    0
    Location:
    Rocky Mountains
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    If you're flooring it up a steep hill, you're doing it wrong. Yes that will make wheel spin. When the wheels spin, the Prius disables all power to the wheels for a short time. Meaning if you floor it, you will come to a stop.

    If you drive within the traction of the vehicle, no problem. Mine with more aggressive traction control (2006) makes it up extremely steep icy windy roads all the time. But I know how to drive. If the wheels spin, you've done something wrong.
     
  11. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2009
    17,035
    10,010
    90
    Location:
    Western Washington
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    But do they slip?

    TC won't let them spin in the way cars did in the old days. But TC does flash a dashboard light.
     
    #11 fuzzy1, Nov 24, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2017
  12. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,795
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Ok your not flooring it and invoking traction control its just running out of steam trying to get up a hill. The car should be very unhappy with that poor of performance and throw lights on the dash and log a code unless its strictly mechanical and out of the monitoring loop.
    The person who suggested a clogged cat may be on to something there. Thats been posted a few times on this site. It kills engine power.

    So it has no dash lights? No check engine lights?
     
  13. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    7,447
    3,751
    0
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    It could also possibly be a (fairly uncommon) problem with the VVTi Control Valve or clogged VVTi filter. But I would be leaning more toward a HV battery at the lower end of the capacity spectrum.

    When the OP says the HV battery was replaced, with what was it replaced? A Toyota new or a 3rd party rebuild/remanufactured HV battery?
     
  14. elephanyeyes

    elephanyeyes Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2017
    8
    0
    0
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    The replacement battery was a 3rd party replacement, but it seems to work fine and Toyota tested it when I bought the car. Shouldn't the gas engine be doing the work when driving up a hill?
    I only floored it up the hill because I was losing power (didn't stomp the gas pedal), but eventually ended up with it depressed all the way since the car was losing forward momentum. No dash lights came on.
    Are there other symptoms of a bad catalytic converter?
     
  15. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2009
    5,596
    3,770
    0
    Location:
    So. Texas
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    The gas engine (ICE) is actually fairly low power compared to a traditional car since it relies on the electrical side to help out.

    This is simple to troubleshoot: go back to the same location when it's dry and try again.

    Finally, this may also be sign of poor tires.
     
  16. Tech Tips

    Tech Tips Member

    Joined:
    Aug 26, 2017
    67
    36
    0
    Location:
    No.
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    A way to tell if you have a really bad traction battery is to floor it from a stop on a back road and watch the MFD. If the SOC goes down really quickly or you feel like the instant electric loses power you have an issue with the traction battery. If after the gas engine kicks in it seriously bogs down you probably have an issue with the catalog converter. But if the engine sounds like it is about to blow up it should be working fine. So you’re sure the car is not losing traction because of bad tires or leaves? Do you see the slip indicator flashing? It is a square light below the ready light.
     
  17. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2006
    2,369
    978
    70
    Location:
    Sunnyvale, California
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Shortly after we got our 2006 we visited some friends at the end of a hilly dirt/gravel road. It was dicey most of the way, and almost impossible on the last climb up to their garage. It took several backups and a running start to keep power to the wheels. The wheels broke loose, traction light came on, and the power dropped to nil. When we finally arrived, they had 2 AWD Subaru in the garage. 2006 Prius had real problems on that road.

    The 2006 drops power when one wheel spins, let alone two. Seems to me like applying the brake to the spinning wheel would help, but that's not how Toyota designed it. There's a reason Subaru sells well in ice/gravel territory. Plus a few extra inches of clearance. Keep a Prius on paved roads where it's designed to work...
     
    Tech Tips likes this.