'07 Prius conputer comes on but engine wont start

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Neil Stutzman, Aug 10, 2020.

  1. Neil Stutzman

    Neil Stutzman New Member

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    I started having issues with my car while accelerating. I would accelerate very jerky, like it was struggling to change gears. When i wiuld get up to speed at time it would feel like it dropped back into first gear, with the engine revving high. The power monitor would show that it wasn't pulling from or charging battery. At one point I was driving home from work and i heard a loud pop under the hood. It was louder than a tire blowout. It didnt change the way the car operated, but once i shut off car, the gas engine will not restart or even attempt to start. Best i can describe the sound is as if a very large capacitor blew.
     
    #1 Neil Stutzman, Aug 10, 2020
  2. Neil Stutzman

    Neil Stutzman New Member

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    I forgot to mention I was getting error code pa078. Drive motor A inverter performance
     
    #2 Neil Stutzman, Aug 10, 2020
  3. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Did you open the hood? What blew up? Oil pool under the engine? How many miles on the car?
     
    #3 edthefox5, Aug 10, 2020
  4. Neil Stutzman

    Neil Stutzman New Member

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    I did open hood. No noticable damage or smell and no oil pool.

    148000 miles
     
    #4 Neil Stutzman, Aug 10, 2020
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 11, 2020
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    How does the inverter look?

    The Prius that Shook the World documents how, up to unnervingly close to the original launch date, they were still blowing up inverters on the test track over and over.
     
    #5 ChapmanF, Aug 10, 2020
  6. Neil Stutzman

    Neil Stutzman New Member

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    Inverter looks fine, but i havent opened it yet to check inside
     
    #6 Neil Stutzman, Aug 11, 2020
  7. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat!!

    Generally speaking if there are warning lights displayed on the dash, then there was OBD2 trouble codes (DTCs) stored in the ECUs. Consider finding a toyota hybrid compatible OBD2 scanner to retrieve the store codes (DTCs), and post them here for additional advice.

    At a minimum it sounds like you have a failed HV battery, though that loud pop likely means there is something else going on as well.
     
    #7 SFO, Aug 11, 2020
  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I wouldn't, either, if I could avoid it, but just concentrate on getting the trouble codes.

    Some of the more impressive failures are apparently visible from outside.
     
    #8 ChapmanF, Aug 11, 2020
  9. Neil Stutzman

    Neil Stutzman New Member

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    The only scanner i have had access to is the one the use at auto zone. The code i mentioned before is the only one that comes up, even after the loud bang and the engine not being able to start
     
    #9 Neil Stutzman, Aug 19, 2020
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you need someone with a better scanner. if you are gonna diy, get tech stream. if not, go to a dealer, or a shop that has it.
     
    #10 bisco, Aug 19, 2020
  11. Neil Stutzman

    Neil Stutzman New Member

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    Any recommendations for a good tech stream scanner?
     
    #11 Neil Stutzman, Aug 19, 2020
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    amazon, but which one is difficult. there are a million threads here on it
     
    #12 bisco, Aug 19, 2020
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