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Car Does Not Accelerate and Battery Drains Fast!

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Marshmallow, Aug 9, 2017.

  1. Marshmallow

    Marshmallow Junior Member

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    Hello Everyone

    I'm going to do my best to keep this post as short as possible while being as detailed as possible.

    Car purchased: 07.11.16.
    Model: Prius Two
    Mileage: 45,000

    A few weeks ago, as I'm driving home from the gym, my car just stopped accelerating. I was at a red light, and when the light turned green, i took my foot off the brake, tried to accelerate, and it wouldn't move. i was able to hear the engine revving, but it wouldn't budge. i put the car on park, back on drive, didn't work. i turned the car off, turned it back on, and it didn't work. i had to literally slowly press the gas pedal to have it accelerate. but this happened more than once that day. the car had plenty of gas, the battery was over half full, i just didn't understand why this would randomly happen.

    I did some research, and read that something was slipping, forgot what. but the problem kind of went away later that day. i was thinking, maybe from the heat (this was in july) the battery was overheating, and to prevent it from being damaged, this was happening? i opened the vent beneath the right rear passenger seat, and the filter was completely dirty. i did my best to wash it and clean it, thinking that maybe the dirt was causing bad airflow to the battery? i went to auto zone, and they didn't have a replacement filter, so i just placed the original one back.

    Anyway, the problem was gone for the most part, for a few weeks, but a few days ago, it happened again. It didn't happen as frequent, it only stalled maybe once or twice, and it was fine afterwards but now I'm noticing something with the battery: it drains really quick.

    For example, I turned on the car today, battery was completely full (8 bars) and i didn't even drive 2 miles (1.6 to be exact) and the battery went from 8 bars down to 2 bars! I'm noticing the battery drains a lot quicker lately. Also, the EV ratio is sometimes at 0%, nearly half the time it's under 5 or 10%! My average mpg would be low also for the longest time before it starts to climb. I understand that with short trips, it doesn't really matter, but the car wasn't like this before, and in the past few weeks (6-8 weeks) this stuff started happening.

    Also, I did an oil change at 40k miles. I personally change the oil every 10k miles, cause the car uses synthetic oil (right?) so it should last a lot longer than the typical 5k oil change, right?

    It's been 13 months that I've owned the car, and I have less than 50k miles (45k at the moment). If my battery is defective, will the warranty cover it? Will they replace the battery free of charge?

    I hope I gave as much info as possible, but if you need more info, let me know.
     
    #1 Marshmallow, Aug 9, 2017
  2. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    The traction battery is covered for 10 years/150000 miles. If it fails under warranty it will be replaced for free.

    Are you using 0w20 oil and is the oil level over full?

    Is the inverter coolant pump working? You should see turbulence in the coolant tank.
     
    #2 JimN, Aug 9, 2017
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what do you carry that would contaminate the filter like that? perhaps the whole battery cooling system should be examined.
     
    #3 bisco, Aug 9, 2017
    Mendel Leisk and pilotgrrl like this.
  4. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    Since Toyota does not list that filter as a maintenance item, (They only say to vacuum the vent.) the dealer should replace the filter under ToyotaCare warranty,
     
    #4 Prodigyplace, Aug 9, 2017
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  5. bbunge

    bbunge Member

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    Well, that is two of us that have a similar main battery issue! My battery cooling system is clean and the level crashes from full to two bars in one mile. ICE running or not! 12k miles on 2016 Pri2

    P01M ?
     
    #5 bbunge, Sep 3, 2017
  6. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    #6 FuelMiser, Sep 3, 2017
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  7. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    Are you using the A/C much? Using the A/C in this brutal humidity (…here in North East) will deplete the TractionBattery very quickly! (…just a thought!) Good luck! ;)
     
    #7 WilDavis, Sep 3, 2017
  8. Fobbers

    Fobbers Member

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    I experienced the same problem just last night. I have a Prius Two with 70k miles. The vehicle would not move. I gave it a little more gas and it hesitated then it then started to move after a few seconds or so. I got to another red light and once ig turned green I hit the gas again and nothing. I turned on my hazard lights. I was able to put it in reverse and manage to curbside park it. Once I curbside parked it. I put it into Drive again to see if it would work and I did. Toyota wants $140 for just to diagnostic to see if there is any issue. It was raining last night as well. The battery was at 2 bars then to 1 bar. I am kind of worried to drive it because I use the car for work.

    SM-N960U ?
     
    #8 Fobbers, Feb 2, 2019
    Brian Hurst likes this.
  9. Fobbers

    Fobbers Member

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    Just curious if anyone knows if the inverter or the electric motor is covered just the same amount of time and mileage as the battery?

    SM-N960U ?
     
    #9 Fobbers, Feb 2, 2019
  10. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    I believe that warranty is on the Hybrid System which would include the transaxle. Not sure about the inverter.

    Were there any warning lights on?
     
    #10 Prodigyplace, Feb 2, 2019
  11. Fobbers

    Fobbers Member

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    No there were no warning lights no CEL either.

    SM-N960U ?
     
    #11 Fobbers, Feb 2, 2019
  12. JayGen4

    JayGen4 Member

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    Think I'm having a similar issue. Any help? Any updates? Sucks I'm on vacation now, way out of town.
     
    #12 JayGen4, Jun 22, 2020
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the issue the o/p had? if so, i would locate the nearest dealer.
     
    #13 bisco, Jun 22, 2020
    Prodigyplace likes this.
  14. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    If not I would start a new thread.
     
    #14 Prodigyplace, Jun 22, 2020
  15. JayGen4

    JayGen4 Member

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    Mine acted normal again. I think the battery drained a little more than the computer new and eventually recalibrated after driving more. A scary issue but maybe one that just goes away since I understand it to be a little hiccup with the computer and battery.

    Suddenly my car is in an area with long hills and I think that charged the battery past what it usually does and that had something to do with it.
     
    #15 JayGen4, Jun 23, 2020
  16. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    First thing that came to my mind was brakes, the car won't accelerate when the brakes are on.
    Could the brakes have been binding, was the brake pedal being accidentally pressed with your foot or a floor mat, is the brake light switch or brake pedal correctly adjusted ?
     
    #16 kithmo, Jun 28, 2020
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