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Prius engine start-up and after 2 minutes shuts down.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Wynona Janer, Jun 25, 2021.

  1. Wynona Janer

    Wynona Janer Junior Member

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    When it rains or I visit the carwash, it appears on the screen, “CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM STOP THE VEHICLE IN A SAFE PLACE”.


    I found the 12v battery area wet. The water filters through the lateral

    backdoor.


    When I disconnected the 12V battery and cleaned the area, the sign disappeared.


    They had tested the voltage of the 12v batteries, they said it is low, but the

    hybrid pack is fine.


    Coming from the highway, the sign appears again and I stop the car. Later the car did not start.


    Advanced Autoparts checked the battery 12v and the voltage was very low. The battery had already 6 years of use. I changed It.


    The fuse link 125 Amp was blown and 4 more fuse (2 of 10 amp, 20 amp, 15 amp). This was also changed.


    When the car started, the hybrid battery was charging without problems according to the display.


    I had removed all the fuses (no relay) to check them and by mistake the IGCT No.3 (10 Amp) and EFI No.2 (10 Amp) fuses I had not put on.


    At almost 6 miles the car got really slow and I realized that the "Inverter Coolant Pump" was not working.


    The "Inverter Coolant Pump" was changed, drained and put in a new fuse and coolant.


    The Prius started but after 2 or 3 minutes shutted down. Sometime in Mode IG-0n I don't see action Inverter Coolant Pump. In Ready mode I do see the coolant movement.

    What could be wrong here?
     
  2. Samuel Williams Jr

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    Well first I think the Inverter Flow, would only happen in "Ready Mode," because that means the engine is "alive," for lack of a better description on my part.

    But if your talking water related electrical issues? Then WD 40 is your friend! WD 40, stands for Water Displacement (formula 40) I think?

    I'd get a couple of can's of it and disconnect and spray it in every place that you think water can get to? If the issue is just mostiture the WD will displace it.
     
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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    are there any trouble lights on? how many miles on her?
     
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  4. Wynona Janer

    Wynona Janer Junior Member

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    Bisco:
    131,127 milles. It doesn't has lights on problem.
     
  5. Wynona Janer

    Wynona Janer Junior Member

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    Thanks Samuel, the water goes through only in the space where 12v battery is.

    I saw that it is common in this generation of the Prius and I found some solutions on youtube using silicone to block the area where it penetrates.
    Thanks.
     
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  6. Wynona Janer

    Wynona Janer Junior Member

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    Today I used a Car scan and several permanent codes appear:

    P0102 Mass Air Flow Circuit Low.

    P0031 Oxygen (A/F) Sensor Heater (Front) Circuit Low.

    P0141 Oxygen (A/F) Sensor Heater Circuit (Bank 1 Sensor 2).

    P0403 Exhaust Gas Recirculation Circuit.

    P0A93 Inverter Cooling System Performance.

    P314A Inverter Coolant Pump Speed Signal.


    I don't know if when the engine turns off is related to the Mass Air Flow Sensor and Oxygen Sensor (2).
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the egr is a major gen3 weak point, and ought to be looked into immediately, before the head gasket blows
     
  8. Wynona Janer

    Wynona Janer Junior Member

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    Thanks Bisco, I am buying this piece together with the 2 oxygen sensors and mass air flow sensor, hoping to solve the code error. The only thing left to do is solve the inverter coolant pump.
     
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  9. tony_2018

    tony_2018 Member

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    You seem to be having an electrical issue. This might be out of your league
     
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  10. Samuel Williams Jr

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    Well sure she might be having an electrical issue also? But it's a Gen 3 with "131,127 miles on it" and we all pretty much the EGR system is an "issue," on these cars. A clogged up EGR, intake manifold and cooler, could easily show the first 3 codes listed? But most, owners never check the codes before the thing up. :) Clean that up and the first 4 codes, my very well disappear?

    The O2 sensors may or maynot have been damaged beyond recovery? But as long as the EGR system is plugged up ... one would not know? AFAIK, the OP is the first one to catch, what is going on before the motor "Blows a hole in the block, from a Blown Head Gasket. You don't need to be a "Master Mechanic," to figure out something is wrong at that point, just saying.

    My course of action would be to stop driving it. Pull and examine, the spark plugs. If the O2's are both bad? I'd expect the sparks to coated black? If one or more is really clean? Then it's a Head Gasket leak. At that point I would do a compression test to confirm or a leak down test.

    If you get on top of a "Potential HG," leak early, that is all it is. No bent rod's or replacing the motor. It's a big job granted but easier than a motor swap ... maybe?
     
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  11. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    It would be fun to see you present the actual detection conditions for those codes and then complete the picture of how you think that would explain them.
     
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  12. Samuel Williams Jr

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    LOL, well I am most certainly not even gonna try and debate the "Technical Aspects of these car's," with you? As that would be "foolish on my part." Kinda like a Chihuahua in a Dog Fight with a Working Line GSD, who do you think would win? :)

    But sometimes kISS, can work. It's a Gen 3 with 130'000 some odds miles. And unless the EGR system as a whole has been serviced? It would be fairly clear why it threw a code for that in my opinion, but hey I could be wrong?

    Beyond that my plan involves time and effort and the cost of Spark Plugs. The plugs are either good or they are not? And if the plugs are out then check the compression. If it test good? I'd then clean the whole of the EGR system put it back together, clean the Mass Flow Sensor, clear the codes, take it for a drive and then see what codes are still there?

    It would be cheaper than taking it to a dealer and your not playing "Whack A Mole," with parts. That's how I see it anyway. :)
     
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  13. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The "first 3 codes" you referred to weren't EGR codes at all.

    Elsewhere in the list was a P0403. That's an EGR code, but that one is about the EGR electrical circuit. Anybody trying to solve that particular code who is looking somewhere else than a wiring diagram and a multimeter is looking in the wrong place.

    Maybe that's not quite the same as playing whack-a-mole with parts, but people's time is worth something too; the advantage of taking a moment to look up what the codes mean is that can help avoid expending a bunch of time in directions where the problem isn't.
     
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  14. Samuel Williams Jr

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    Yes, I understand that. But it's a Gen III, with more than100,000 miles on it.

    And unless the OP can state otherwise, it's fair to "assume," the EGR Valve the Cooler and the Intake manifold is full of crap? And if (another assumption here) the system is full of "crap," that stuff being sucked in could set all the first codes?

    But it makes no sense to start pulling and cleaning that system ... just yet, if the compression is low also.

    So "I" would pull and examine the plug's, which most likely should be changed now anyway. Check the compression to see if I was working with a good motor.

    If the motor test good?Then I would clean the MAF and the EGR system. Put it all back together and road test it with a known good motor and a clean EGR system.

    And it may or may not set all the same codes? But you would know the compression is good and the EGR system is clean, and that is more than the OP knows now?

    Point taken and noted. But without a known clean EGR system, I wouldn't trust it.

    Well peoples "time,"does of course have a value to it. But speaking for myself, as long as I can "Fix It," I don't care.

    But back on point, the OP is already doing better than I did when we first got our Prius a 2005, I looked under the hood and said Oh F, this and closed the hood! Several months later the car threw a fit, RTOD! The scanners I had at the time did not read Toyota. So my wife took over and off to the dealer it goes. Two week's and $420 bucks later it comes home with a new O2 sensor! Ticked me off because replacing that was in my wheelhouse! It was a few years ago but I'm still pissed!

    So that's a base for what's one's time is worth, times two here,for that code. And that does not count the MAF, which may or may not be bad? And God help them if the Dealer say's, it's the EGR system "also?" As you know dealers don't clean anything, they replace it ... $$$. And they would happily replace the whole EGR system on a motor with "low compression."

    So yes my "plan," is the cost of time (for testing the compression) and replacing Spark Plugs and if the compression test good? Cleaning the EGR System, and a road test to see what code comes back?

    And then at that point, if the same codes are there? Break out the DVOM and track codes down or then take it to the dealer with a clean EGR system and a known "Good Motor." :)
     
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  15. Wynona Janer

    Wynona Janer Junior Member

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    Today the pieces finally arrived. EGR Valve, Oxygen Sensor, MAF sensor. I will also try to change the Spark Plugs. After this I will also clean the "Hybrid Battery Fan". If it doesn't work then I'll see the option to take it to the dealer.

    How do I remove "Permanent Code"...?
     
    #15 Wynona Janer, Jul 2, 2021
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2021
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  16. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    For every code that can become a permanent code, there is a specified driving procedure in the Repair Manual section for that code that allows the ECM to confirm the problem has been fixed, and retract the permanent code. That's the only way a permanent code goes away.

    It works great, except when the procedure in the manual seems to be missing some ingredient. I'm stuck with a P0102 from more than a year ago because the 2010 manual driving procedure for that one doesn't seem to work, and no one has chimed in with what does work yet. :mad:
     
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  17. Wynona Janer

    Wynona Janer Junior Member

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    If the problem generated by the code is solved and the code persists (permanent), Would the car work normal?
     
  18. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Mine does. Just annoying to see that code listed every time I view the ECM codes in Techstream, even though it was just an unplugged MAF that I plugged back in a year ago....
     
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  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Curious, did you get just the valve, or the cooler too? Brand new or used? Also, what part no is the valve? There was a rev to the valve, not quite sure of the ramifications, and either version works. Pic of both:

    ACE32F64-15A0-4EF8-B8C2-CBE81D95B42A.jpeg

    definitely hang onto any old components; they’re cleanable.

    There’s a link in my signature to Exhaust Gas Recirculation cleaning info.
     
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  20. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    For the record, Elektroingenieur found it ... key steps are in the 2011 manual but didn't make it into 2010. I don't have that permanent code anymore! (y)
     
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