Thunderstorms+prius...help me

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I wouldn't think that a nearby lighting strike would harm the Prius since it, like all cars, would essentially act as a large Faraday cage that is additionally insulated from the ground by the tires. True, a large electromagnetic pulse can mess up computer equipment, but if the car is off at the time there shouldn't be an issue with that either. The only other thing to be concerned of would be heat damage from a lighting strike that's too near by. All of these would be issues with any car in/near a lighting strike regardless of make and model. However, the actual components vary from vehicle to vehicle.

If you can share with us the specific warning lights and any messages you're getting, that may help some of the technical gurus on here to solve your problems. Of course the best advice anyone can give you is call a tow truck to take it to a reputable mechanic to take a look.

Good luck.

 

Maybe you shuold have installed a surge protector or I hear TECO sells zap caps for your house meter and now offers something similar for the Prius.....

 

One time during a thunderstorm, this loud booming thunder made my car's alarm go off. Poor thing was frightened, but I consoled it .

 

If not covered by warranty contact your insurance company.

Rod

 

You know I've also heard that if a plane flies directly over your Prius the vehicle will stall out. Also if the Earth's magnet field is having a bad day the Prius can't drive due north without throwing warning lights.

 

priusnve,

statistically speaking, a direct lightening strike is highly improbable.
Nonetheless, it does happen. I've seen some weird stuff on near strikes.
(But that's another story.)

It looks like early opinion here is evenly divided on the veracity of your
claim. So, like it or not, if you're really looking for help, its up to you to
provide some more hard data on the incident.

You could start with:
* Was the car garaged, or out in the open?
* Was the car running or shut down?
* If outside, was it near/under a tree or other tall/metallic object?
* Was there any evidence of a nearby strike? Is so, what?
* Did you inspect the outside of the car? If so, anything found?
* Other than the warning lights, did any electronics work; radio, GPS, int lights, etc?
* Did you check under the hood?
* Were there any unusual smells; under the hood, inside the car?

[Edit: Oops! Almost forgot, Welcome to PriusChat.]

 

Having posted in an off road forum for over 4 years before coming here, you learn to spot what I call "drunk troll postings" a mile away. There is a difference between bad English and buzzed/drunk English. It's subtle but recognizable with practice. Usually it's someone simply looking for entertainment rather than someone posting from malice. Many times it's one of your own forum members just trying to stir up the pot.

 

priusnve,

Woof! Now that's quite a story! It is a good thing that you've taken the time
to come-back on the questions so quickly.

So here's the deal. When it comes to things electrical/electronic, I'm nearly
clueless. My purpose has been to give you the opportunity to get pointed in
the right direction.

There are many folks here who are true experts, not just on the Prius, but
many other technical subjects. Now, in the six months that I've been on this
forum, I haven't seen any other lightening issues, so I can't say we have any
lightening experts. Things could get a litttle testy -- experts don't always
agree -- but don't loose your cool.

It would be best to remember that there are some folks who are still
wondering if you are up to no good. Almost without exception, folks here will
help you if they believe you're being straight with them.

For your part, the best info you can provide is the code numbers that the
Toyota techs will extract from the car. Sometimes they can be rather
difficult in providing all the codes that were "thrown." Don't be put off. Ask
to see the print outs, ask for a copy of the print outs. Demand to see the
Service Manager if necessary,

When you get the codes, post 'em here, and with luck the really smart folks
will offer their opinions.

 

If this really is a true story, lightning can damage any car.

Vehicles and Lightning - National Lightning Safety Institute

You'll have to get your car insurance company to pay for the repairs.

 

Yikes!

If I had to guess, I bet one of two things happened:

Most Likely - The computers got temporarily scrambled because of the very high electromagnetic field that would result from such a nearby lightning strike. The fix for this would be to disconnect the 12 Volt battery for a while, let things reset and go back to the "powered off - need to reboot" state.

Somewhat less likely - Something got fried because of the strong electromagnetic field.

If you take the car in and don't say anything about nearby lightning, then they'll probably fix it by replacing (lots of electronic) parts and scratch their heads wondering what the hell happened.

If you take the car in and tell them about the nearby lightning, your insurance company will have to pay out on the comprehensive part of your policy.

If the problem is only needing to reset the computers, you'll be back on the road in a day. If it's catastrophic electronic system damage, it will take a bit longer. (It is not inconceivable for them to total the car).

(oh, I'm a PhD in electrical engineering, and I work in the digital electronics business in case you're wondering why what I say might matter. Not that it will...)

 

To check if there's gas in the tank, can't they just put a hose in there and see if they can siphon some out?

 

I think that it is not easy to siphon fuel out. An easy alternative is to fill the tank and see how many gallons are required...

 

priusnve,

Well done. Well done, indeed! All too often, posters with problems fail to
come-back with the codes. But you did it. Who can say you're out to cause
trouble now?

Now the hard part comes... the waiting. Be patient, folks will swing by, go
off to do some research on your codes, and then get back.

The out of gas thing seems more than a little strange. Maybe they made this
up just to put you on the defensive, or to gain a little time to try to figure
out what's really the problem.