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2014 Prius V loses hybrid charge overnight

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by george61, Jun 9, 2019.

  1. george61

    george61 New Member

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    I just bought a used 2014 prius v with 19,000 miles and have two main problems the dealership and mechanics there can't seem to figure out. Nothing shows up in diagnostic codes, I've had the connections to the 12v checked, and no one at the dealership seems to know anything.

    1) About once a week it will start, and then when I put it in drive or reverse, it shuts down. After several tries it starts and stays on and seems to drive fine, but only 2 bars on the hybrid battery which eventually recharge. This has happened after I've driven it for a couple of errands, let it sit for an hour or two, and then try to start it again. The dealer says that the hybrid charge has nothing to do with the engine starting and then shutting down.

    2) The hybrid battery loses its charge overnight. It can be at 7 bars when I park for the night, and only 2 when I start it the next day.

    3) Not sure if this is a problem, or has anything to do with the other problems, but when the gas engine starts after I'm moving, it sounds like a revved up mustang firing up. It didn't do that on the test drive so I'm wondering if that's normal or has something to do with the other issues. And when driving at a constant speed, it seems to buck somewhat.

    The 12v was replaced in March. Looking at service history since 2014, the 12v has been replaced twice (so it had a new 12v when bought in 2014, and 2 new 12v since then, so that's 3 new 12v batteries with only 19,000 miles). The dealership says the former owners didn't drive it enough and now it needs time to catch up. The manager told me I need to take it on a long trip to fix it...WHAT??? In the 18 days I've had it, I've driven it 979 miles.

    Any help is appreciated.
     
  2. george61

    george61 New Member

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    So there's no confusion, this IS a prius v wagon...thanks
     
  3. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    Was the hybrid battery checked? What were the results?

    I'm suspicious of a car with that few miles. Any record of it just sitting for several years with no mileage accumulated?
     
  4. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Seems incredible that anything would be wrong after 19k miles and two new 12v batteries but we are here to speculate so:

    1.Sounds like the hv battery “could” be failing. Normally it won’t discharge that much overnight and could theoretically be an issue with starting. It is the hv battery that mechanically starts the engine while the 12v runs all the controls.

    2. These cars also have a recall on the inverter which is in the middle of everything.

    3. It is possible but unlikely you have engine problems like spark or fuel injection. Doubtful.

    Good news is the hv battery and inverter should still be under factory warranty. Take the car to another Toyota dealer. You are easily driving it enough to keep everything charged.
     

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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    instead of recommending a long drive, the dealer should have load tested it, and put it on a charger if it confirmed in good health.

    it does sound like your hv battery is going south. you need a load test on that as well to read cell voltage delta's.
     
  6. george61

    george61 New Member

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    Thank you all for your replies. How do I do a load test? Will any of the issues you stated with the inverter or hv battery show up on a typical diagnostics test? The dealership keeps telling me that everything looks good and when I bought and ran the Bluedriver OBD2 scanner nothing showed up either (but I'm very new to this so I may not have had everything set right?)
     
  7. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    It's not easy to do a load test but the Dr Prius app has one that you can try. The app is free and should work with your bluetooth adapter but you have to pay $13 for the load test. It measures how fast the battery goes down under defined conditions while you drive. It is unlikely that app would convince your dealer until codes come up, which may be soon. However your symptoms sound like hv battery and you should be under warranty. It should not be your problem to diagnose. Therefore you may need to go to another dealer and try again.
     
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  8. qettyz

    qettyz Active Member

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    I wonder if its still MG1 trying to start the engine on those cases when you say that it has started but shuts when i put it reverse and that happens multible times?
    Is there ready light before reverse shutdown?

    Edit: free hybrid assistant android app has also good HV battery test.
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    leave your car at the dealer, confirming close to full battery with the service manager, then have them check it in the morning.
    if not dr prius, get tech stream from amazon. it's not simple though, and you need a compatible laptop. it is for serious diy, and what the dealers have.
     
  10. jeff652

    jeff652 Senior Member

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    Overnight discharges (negative recalibrations) are a sign of a weakening battery. With the low miles the car has sat unused a lot, which makes the likelihood of hybrid battery self discharge very high. I'd recommend minimizing driving the vehicle until you get a chance to charge and balancing the hybrid battery cells. This will make sure they are all balanced with each other and fully changed, which will help reduce the number of overnight recalibrations. A couple preventative maintenance discharge cycles would be very good for the battery as well.
     
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  11. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    This car is still in factory warranty. Seems expensive to buy a special charger and tear it apart when the dealer should fix it.
     
    #11 rjparker, Jun 13, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2019
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  12. jeff652

    jeff652 Senior Member

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    Can't argue with free. If it's still under warranty dealer makes the most sense
     
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  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no trouble codes = no warranty
     
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  14. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    That's a good one. Perhaps a different dealer is in your future.
     
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  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the bigger issue is when it starts, then shuts down, if that's what's actually happening
     
  16. george61

    george61 New Member

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    Thank you all again. I took it to another dealer, and they tested each cell of the hv battery and the 12v as well as some other things I don't understand and apparently everything came out clear. However, it was 6:00am after I drove for an hour to get there, so hv was fully charged on arrival. The original dealership did keep it overnight and started it in the morning and drove it "with no issues" but they also didn't think that 2 bars on a start-up was an issue! Other than the bars continuing to drop suddenly when driving--especially when I reduce speed to 25-35 after being on the highway--it has been starting up ok. The other day when it dropped like that, the engine starting running really loud; sounded like a helicopter after I parked. No accessories were running either, no air, no lights, no radio. I did call Toyota Corp and logged a complaint so they have a case number with the incidents reported. Other than that, I guess I just have to wait and see what happens next.
     
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  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    how many bars did it have when you dropped it off?
     
  18. george61

    george61 New Member

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    I think it had 6 or 7
     
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    and they said that was normal?
     
  20. george61

    george61 New Member

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