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My 2014 v is dead! Help!

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by cmargo10, Feb 2, 2021.

  1. cmargo10

    cmargo10 Junior Member

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  2. lrisius

    lrisius Member

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    FYI- that link doesn't work for me.
     
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  3. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    Link is as dead as the v...
     
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  4. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Based on recent history:
    1. Inverter failed, still under warranty
    2. Head gasket failed, no help from Toyota
    3. ABS system failed, still under warranty
    4. Reversed jump, fusible link and a few other fuses failed
    5. 12v Battery failed, buy Toyota replacement
    6. HV Battery failed, refurb cheap for awhile, new cells or oem best
     
    #4 rjparker, Feb 3, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2021
  5. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    This should be #1, not #5.
    At 6 years old, it's about due.
     
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  6. cmargo10

    cmargo10 Junior Member

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    Update: this morning service manager called and said there was a problem w my after market remote starter. He said when they disconnected it, the car recognized the key and it started and seemed fine. He said they then reconnected remote start and car still starts but remote start no longer works. So he wanted to leave it outside most of the day and see if it still starts. They called this afternoon and told me to come get it. When we got to dealer, my car was in lot so i went in it w my key and started it and left it running while i went into service area to pay. Then my dh followed me to car and followed me home in his car. We got about half a mile out when i braked for a stop sign and suddenly the dash lit up like an xmas tree. Oil, battery, engine, exclamation point park, and i dont no what lights were on. I put car in park then put in drive and car wouldnt move! Called dealer was gonna send a tow truck. I shut off car, got out. Dh got in and turned car on w his keys. Everything looked completely normal. We turned around and brought car back to dealer. They wanted my set of keys to try to replicate issue w. It was 5pm so they said they'd call 1st thing in morning. I am baffled!
    If you didnt click the link above to read the first part hers is some of it i was able to cut n paste:

    My prius v is completely broken! It wont start, but 12v battery is fine. Dealer cant get power to computer system to get any codes. What in the actual f is wrong? They are bringing in a specislist at $150 hour. It's a 2014 w 71k miles well maintained. Just had it at dealer 4 days ago for oil change/rotation/ check up and all was fine. Been at dealer for 2 days already and they cant tell me anything!

    SM-G960U ?
     
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  7. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    It would help to have more background such as has the remote start failed before? Its an aftermarket unit and not a Toyota plugin remote start module? I would guess the remote starter is flaky because they were in there disconnecting it. Could be a loose wire or they ran the 12v battery down and had to jump it.


    We could speculate all day long. Bad inverter, 12v battery, wiring. Often the dealer will have one master technician that is experienced and trained enough to find the answer. Of course if it runs when he sees it then all bets are off. I would wait until they report back. Be sure to let us know what they find.
     
    #7 rjparker, Feb 3, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2021
  8. cmargo10

    cmargo10 Junior Member

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    Thanks @rjparker . It is a mid priced aftermarket remote start put in the car when the car was a few months old by Bestbuy. So it has been in the car for over 5 years, with no problems before. The car is a 2014 v3 with an in service date of august 2015. For some reason the car never sold and the dealership marked it down alot so I bought it brand new August 2015, with 15 miles on it. It's never been in an accident. Have oil changed every 10k. Tires rotated every 5k. F&b Brakes and new tires once each. Had issue last year with a chipmunk nest in cabin filter. We inspect cabin filter every week since no w more signs of rodents. Back hatch latch failed last april and dealer replaced it ($20 part, they charged me $285) failed again last november and dealer fixed fir free.
    That's the story of my car. I'm gonna get sappy now. This is my first premium brand car. All my past cars were fords or chevys because that was all i could afford. I always wanted a Toyota or a Honda. I've been so happy to have the privlege of driving a Toyota for the last 5 1/2 years. It felt so great. Everyone told me this car was awesome and would last forever. To me that means at least 150k miles? 10 years? This is soul crushing to me that it might be dead at 71k. I dont even have a warranty. Guess that's on me. My ford escort drove 110k before anything failed on! Wth

    SM-G960U ?
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    don't panic, it might be something inexpensive. the remote start seems a clue
     
  10. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Its not dead. You drove it back to the dealer. Most likely you have an electrical, 12v battery, or intermittent wiring problem. If they suggest removing the remote start, go for it.

    My experience with Toyota dealer techs is good so don't worry about it.

    In fact with a purchase date of Aug 2015 and 71k miles you still have warranty on the high voltage battery (8 yrs 100k or even longer in some states). You also have a special customer support program (warranty) on the inverter and the abs/brake booster systems (10 years). Which might be an issue since the warnings came up during braking.

    When you get it back and all is good again, consider changing your oil change intervals to 5k miles instead of the recommended 10k. Plus find a good independent hybrid mechanic and have the egr cooler, intake manifold and connected piping cleaned. Those two things can prevent an early 200k mile demise of your Prius. Which is a long way from 71k.
     
  11. cmargo10

    cmargo10 Junior Member

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    Update: after 2 days they said it was the aftermarket remote start. They disabled it and told me to pu. I drove 1/2 a mile out of dealership and all dash lights lit (engine, battery, triangle! Etc) and car lost acceleration and stalled. Shut car off, then restarted. Car appeared fine, drove it back to dealer. They said they would read the codes. They couldnt get any codes so they said remote start needed to be removed. They removed it and we brought car home. Total 5 days at dealer. Drove car lightly for a week just a couple miles at a time, for a week, and it seemed fine. Then we went on a trip and car sat in driveway for 5 days during sub zero temps. Returned from trip. Car started fine. Drove it lightly for 3 days normally. On 4th day had a long trip. Got 18 miles into ride and at 50mph it happened again. All warning lights came on, interior ceiling light came on, lost power steering, power brakes and no acceleration. Coasted to stop. Shut off car. Restarted and appeared fine. Drove 3 miles and it happened again at 30mph. Car stalled again. Turned off car, restarted and again appeared fine. We turned around and drove 18 miles back to dealer w no stalling incidents or dash warning lights.
    Car has been at dealer for 4 days. They are not getting any codes. They replicated dash warning lights by starting/ stopping car but still couldnt get any codes. They dont know what to do and want to give me my car back. They contacted toyota corporate and noone knows what is wrong with it and how to fix it. They want me to pick it up?
    I called toyota corporate. Lady said there was a customer support progrsm for the intelligent power module. The symptoms of that are the dash light i described but the car goes into fail safe driving mode and then has certsin codes. Mine didnt go into safe drive mode, it stalled and isnt giving any codes. Service manager said my car wouldnt qualify to get the intelligent power module fixed and the car is just my problem now.
    I dont even know what to do. It isnt safe to drive as this can happen again at any time. I can't sell it like this. I am just out a car that before this was perfectly fine. Can anyone help me? Anyone have any suggestions? I'm kinda devastated here.


    SM-A716U ?
     
  12. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    Press harder on Toyota corporate.
     
  13. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    My experience with inverter failure was that it failed totally without warning. No limp home mode. So the failure modes vary. The IPM was changed and it has worked for years.

    I would ask the dealer if they have a corporate expert diagnostician that could come in and work on it. At this point everything is guesswork, but my guess remains "Most likely you have an electrical, 12v battery, or intermittent wiring problem." I said that because of previous rodents that love to chew wires and the aftermarket security system, always a bad idea on modern cars.

    Often it takes a new set of eyes on the problem. Sometimes the previous guy eliminates areas based on initial tests and fails to return to that component. Finding it takes a special skill, tools, patience and sometimes, substitution of parts.

    If you shared your location you might get suggestions for a more specialized diagnostician. I know some people wish to remain anonymous on the internet. There are more qualified techs out there than your typical dealership employs. The best run their own shops.
     
    #13 rjparker, Feb 25, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2021
  14. cmargo10

    cmargo10 Junior Member

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    I'm in the northwest suburbs of chicago. I also read that that inverter failure doesnt always result in safe mode but can result in actual stall. However the hybrid software update i got in August is supposed to make sure it goes into safe mode if inverter fails. Also i read if car doesnt go into safe mode and actually stalls, power steering and power brakes should remain. My husband was driving and he thought he has lost power brakes. So that doesnt make sense

    SM-A716U ?
     
  15. cmargo10

    cmargo10 Junior Member

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    Also, i'm wondering, if the car stalls, as it did, does that reset the ecu? Would that explain why they arent getting any comouter codes?

    SM-A716U ?
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i wonder if rodents have chewed on some wiring...
     
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  17. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    The inverter/converter largely supplies all power. If the failure mode causes an ecu failure it is possible that everything fails instantly and no codes are set. The electric power steering and the brake by wire system on this car are both computer controlled. There are wiring problems that could occur that momentarily drop power or drop networking to critical ecus.

    It is uncommon to see these kinds of problems on a Toyota so its is likely the mechanic working on it has never seen another car intermittently fail in this manner. If there has been rodent damage or Best Buy aftermarket wiring negligence (like T Taps that cut into factory wiring), problems could occur that the Toyota engineers did not anticipate when they setup self tests to set codes.

    It is also possible to have intermittent failures inside the inverter electronics or any of many ecus. Sometimes substitution of those suspects becomes part of the troubleshooting process. Not a good choice at a dealer where they will only use new parts.


    T-Taps
    The Problem with Wire-Tap Connectors | Bareass Choppers Motorcycle Tech Pages
     
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  18. cmargo10

    cmargo10 Junior Member

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    If the stall caused an ecu failure, which in turn caused no codes, would the ecu bounce back and capture codes related to some other prompt after car was shut off and re started? When they kept telling me they couldnt pull codes, I asked dealer to purposely pull a minor fuse or wire that would cause a known code as a test to see if ANY codes were registering. He reported codes registered at that point.


    SM-A716U ?
     
  19. cmargo10

    cmargo10 Junior Member

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    How would i find that? because that would actually be a good thing at this point because i think my auto insurance would cover it

    SM-A716U ?
     
  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    a visual inspection, and electrical testing. it is a big job for an expert.