Prius C software bug, critical battery design issue akin to Boeing MAX MCAS flaws

Hit-and-run poster.

 

Almost like I called it back then.

 

i think it's official

 

I owned a Prius c for over 4 years. Never had that problem. The only time that I had weird battery issues was when I had a gauge with faulty wiring plugged into my OBD-II port. You'll never guess how I fixed that problem.

Anyway, "akin to Boeing" = garbage.

Apparently OP went back to picking his nose.

 

Huh? How did the OP know about the Boeing Max design flaw 'before' the Ethiopian disaster?

 

Ethiopian Air was #2.

Lion Air last year was #1.

 

Hi all!

Please excuse my late entry to this post. I bought a used 2013 Prius C Four three months ago, and one out of every twenty times I go to start the car, it doesn't happen. I get dash board lights and a clicking sound that make it seem like the poor little thing is trying its hardest to start, but doesn't. Every time this happens, I give my car a little break and get back to it. Sometimes it only takes twice to start up-- sometimes it can take up to twenty times. I usually end up leaving my car to rest for a bit, but this is hard when I'm trying to get to work on time. I have videos and pictures of the failed start-up attempts, and every mechanic that has looked at it has either told me I was making the issue up, or that they weren't able to recreate the issue.

Here's my brief history of headaches:

• I bought the car April 9th, noticed the start up issue the morning of the 10th.
• 
  
• Informed the (Hyundai) dealership, which stated that they would fix the issue, so I brought my car in, and then the service staff said they weren't qualified to work on Prius's. Okay.
• 
  
• Then I brought it to a Toyota dealership to fix, and they found a problem with the wiring of an after-market back up camera. They stated that the camera needed to be removed and tested without it before proceeding with any other diagnostic, and that it was the dealership's responsibility-- and no matter what they were or were not able to do, the installation of an after-market camera would take years off the life of my car, due to the tampered wiring.
• 
  
• I brought back to the Hyundai dealership which could (magically) work on my car this time, and they told me that the camera was in fact, factory, and that it is within Toyota's warranty protection that they should remove/fix the camera and diagnose the issue themselves.

I am now waiting on my appointment time to bring my car back into the Toyota to get it fixed, however, my main question is: should I just sell the car and count my losses? Is there any other route I can take to keep my car? I love it! Besides this issue, of course.

 

Firstly, this is thread hijacking. Your problem has nothing to do with the original post. It should be it's own thread.

The Toyota dealership is giving you boilerplate garbage of "go away". The Hyundai dealership did the same with the "not qualified" schpeel. You must have bad luck...

But the good news is your problem seems like a dead 12v battery that's it.

When the car is off (not READY), all the power comes from the 12v battery. The clicks are the relays. It isn't until the relays click in and the HV battery is connected to the inverter that the car charges up the 12v. Most likely, this is an old 12v battery and having sat on a dealer lot for some time, it died. Just replace it and go on with your day.

 

This.
But the key word is "seems".
And no most auto shops these days have no idea what a 12 V battery IS.......much less how to test one.

 

welcome!

sorry to say, i would cut my losses

 

While I've never had a 'c', I don't see a backup camera in the brochure. And even if it did have a factory camera, a 2013's warranty on this sort of stuff would have expired by now:
https://cdn.dealereprocess.net/cdn/brochures/toyota/2013-priusc.pdf

Does mealsonwheels have (or is able to borrow) a voltmeter to check the 12V battery condition? Even a cheapie like these, plugging in to the 12V power outlet, can provide a lot of information:


The one I put in my spouse's car pre-dates the now-common USB-outlet-combo style. She used it to help me diagnose an intermittent, sporadic charging system failure. But in ignition Accessory mode (not Ready), it will also betray many (not all) failing 12V batteries.

Replacing a failing 12V battery would be far cheaper than replacing a whole car. And at this age, if it has never been replaced, the factory battery is getting long in the tooth.

 

Prius C has a factory installed backup camera on the higher end trims. We have one.

 

Am I missing something in the linked brochure, or do you have a later model year?

 

I don't see it in there. It's a 2013 C. As I recall when we purchased it, it had to be the higher level trim to get the actual LCD vs just the character display. And that's part of what shows up on the display. I suppose it could be aftermarket dealer-added but it just works and looks factory.

 

Checking another website, with brochures from many years, the earliest mention of the backup camera I can find on the Prius 'c' is on the 2015 Four. I'm wondering about the likelihood of an unmentioned feature vs a port or regional or dealer add-on. All of those possibilities have precedent. (As do posters/readers missing some content. )

Toyota Car PDF Sales Brochures

 

That's what I thought, too! I know next to nothing about technicalities, but I do know that everyone is trying to push off the responsibility onto someone else. I'll go ahead and get the cheapie voltmeter as well as taking up the Toyota dealership's new offer to diagnose the issue for free.

And then, I'll make a new post! Didn't mean to hijack I am so lost.

 

The law changed in 2014 requiring all cars to have a backup camera. I believe every 2015 and later car has one.
It was not an option on the 2012... I can promise that... the dealer would do it for $400... I did it for $50.

 

That can't be correct Ztanos. Mine is a 2016 and it doesn't have the backup camera. My question is how did you do it for only $50.00. Heck, I'd do it for that if I only knew how.

 

They were originally laid out in the transportation safety act of 2007, but all the manufacturers went nuts with waivers and lobbyists and the final rule didn't stick until years later, with a regulation date of May 1 2018.

 

As a result, most 2017 models have them.