Prius 2006,first time owner!

Having received the code from Autel, can you reliably determine the cause of the problem or immediately localize the search to a specific block?
Especially without other parameters?
Unlikely. This requires experience, knowledge and a little luck.

 

I'm not going to challenge you on that, because I've never personally dealt with that issue.

I have successfully used an Autel AP2500E, a cousin to the AP200, to diagnose a problem in our car. It very directly led me to the problem, a wheel bearing hub. My other OBD scanner showed no problems at all- because it had no way of interrogating the many other ECUs in this car.

The Autel did it. It took me right to the issue, and then immediately let me clear the code after I replaced the bearing hub.

All I'm saying is that if you're going to have a single tool to cover the car, it probably should be this Autel setup, because it is not terribly expensive, covers the whole car to the limit that onboard diagnostics can, and works with the smartphone that nearly everyone already owns.

I have no argument against using other apps and tools and combining results from such to learn more and develop further insight- in fact I welcome it.

And here's the thing: you can always put off the purchase until something happens. Most dealers now (fall 2024, USD) charge $180 to do the diagnostic scan you can get out of these $70 Autel setups- just to put it in perspective.

 

Okay!
Let's agree that everyone uses what suits them and what achieves the best results.

 

Have you checked the air pressure in the spare?

I suggest getting a scanner (like the Autel) sooner rather than later. You do not want to be in the middle of a "vehicle breakdown" event and then have to order, set up, and navigate a new tool.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

So why not do the first few cleanings on somebody else's equipment, like the big vacs at a car wash?

Then follow up with smaller home gear to maintain it later.

 

The first thing you need for self maintenance is a reasonably good understanding of how a Toyota hybrid works. Not every mechanic knows this and many don’t work on them as a result.

After developing a basic knowledge base of a very complicated design, then you should understand the routine maintenance requirements like checking & changing fluids, replacing air and cabin filters, when to change spark plugs, rotating tires and inspecting brakes.

There are many computers in a Prius and a good code and live data reader is needed to even ask questions here most of the time. You will hear about the hacked Toyota scanner Techstream and various others including kind of free apps (Dr Prius battery data) and better paid apps like Autel’s described above.

Along the way, understand the common problems like hybrid battery failures, brake by wire issues and oil burning concerns.

One thing for sure ; an 18 year old hybrid will need repairs and some repairs can cost $2000 US or more. The best strategy is to learn what you can and do oil and filter changes yourself as an easy way to save money. Having a good independent hybrid shop lined up will save you thousands when the big repairs are needed.

 

What does the Autel website state is the replacement for the AP200?

 

On a slightly different direction, rotating the tyres was mentioned in a previous post. There are two different types of tyre construction, the early type were known as "rag" tyres and the cases tended to get out of shape, so there was a system of swapping the tyres diagonally, left front to right rear etc ...... but this only applies to the old type of tyres.
The more modern construction design used wire rather than polyester belting when constructing the tyre. Steel belted tyre develop a rotational direction that shifts the steel belts to perform best when turning in that direction ....... if you swap them over from one side of the vehicle to the other, the steel belts will try to shift the other way to suit that direction of rotation ..... often resulting in a tyre case failure.

With steel belted radial, mark on the out side of the tyre, which direction it was rotating before you remove it from the vehicle. The tyre can move from front to back on the same side and it will continue to rotate in the same direction and not cause any potential case failures, but the tread on the tyres will last a lot longer.
Front tyres do the majority of the braking grip and cornering, this causes the tread to wear in different places to the wear patterns on the rear types. Swapping them from front to back will allow the tread to flatten out any ripples that may be developing, failure to do this will result in those ripples developing into serious uneven tyre wear.

Brake fluid changing: not something for the beginner, but not something that should be ignored. Brake fluid absorbs water every time it heats and cools, build up enough water and not only will it eat away any metal surfaces in the braking system, if the water builds up to a sufficient %, it will boil off as steam ...... that old story you hear about an uncles mates sisters brother was driving down the hill and the brake pedal suddenly went to the floor, no brakes, then later is came back was sort of soft and spongy ...... that was the water boiling in the brake fluid because it was well past its use by date. Never leave the cap off a bottle of brake fluid, it will absorb water and be useless, even if it looks like new.

When you are ready to change the engine oil and filter, add a bottle of oil system cleaner/flush and run the motor till it is warm to hot, then drop the oil and filter while it is still hot. This will remove some of the rubbish that has built up in the engine internals. If you do it each oil change, and change the oil filter each service, you will notice the oil stays the new colour for longer rather than going black straight away. The going black is the oil trying to clean up the inside of the engine, so once it is clean, the oil can do its proper job of lubricating all those moving parts

End of todays tutorial :lol:

T1 Terry

 

I use an Autel AP2500E which appears to use the same app with slightly different hardware. There has been a lingering question of whether it can handle bi-directional diagnostics- apparently the AP200 can do them, but we don't know about the 2500E. I haven't had any opportunity to test mine.

At least as far as getting detailed readouts from every system, the 2500E appears to be the same as the 200, and the price was very close last time I checked.

 

It looks like the AP200 is still available from some US retailers but not Amazon. Instead an AP200C version is available but it’s clear the advanced features are $29.95 after the first year. Not sure if the original AP200 was subscription based for things like ABS bleed.

To add confusion the AP2500 is listed as replacing the AP200 but it is not specifically shown to have advanced features and is less than the available AP200C.


AP200C