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2002 Prius 149,000 miles problems

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by johnk1, Feb 25, 2010.

  1. johnk1

    johnk1 New Member

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    So about 3 months ago I had my main 12V battery replaced with a factory battery.
    The car had a new transmission at 86,000 miles.
    So these days when I am in Southern California traffic I drive the freeway. When there is stop and go traffic the hybrid battery drains almost completely. When I press on the gas pedal the car revs for a couple of seconds then lurches forward and drives.
    This happens consistently now, there are no warning or error lights on the dash it just goes crazy.
    So I pull over and stop the car for a few minutes and drive on.
    If there is traffic the same thing happens, when I go from stopped to try to move up a few feet the car revs pretty high for a couple of seconds then lurches forward.
    All fluids are good there is no physical damage to the engine or motor that is visible.

    Here is another strange symptom.
    When I drive surface streets to make my way home the hybrid battery over charges.

    When I stop the engine stays on and continues to over charge the battery. It feels like then I am slowing down there is a gear change (best I can describe the feeling the car kind of lurches again and revs very high until I come to a complete stop. The fan on the battery comes on and things get scary.

    So I pull over and let it cool for 15 to 20 minutes and drive on. After this time unless I get stuck in more stop and go traffic I have a normal ride and everything is back to normal.

    If you can see the attachments I took pictures of this happening.
    One picture you can see how the battery is over charged as if I was going down a long hill.

    The other is even when I am stopped the motor is on and it's still over charging and heating the battery.

    I phone the dealership in Hunington Beach and they indicated unless there is an error light there is nothing they can do.

    Does anybody have a similar experience and ideas of what I can do?
     

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  2. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Sorry to hear these problems. You must find a different Toyota shop to examine the vehicle and scan for codes. Please post again after. Good luck.
     
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Location:
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    Two
    You'll probably have to wait until a warning light comes on since without such light there's probably no DTC. It sounds like the hybrid vehicle ECU is not communicating very well with the traction battery ECU, and the former is continuing to direct MG1 to charge the battery although the latter seems to be reporting the battery is charged (per the MFD gauge.)

    I've had good experience in the past with Toyota of Santa Margarita when I lived in south OC for nine years. If you decide to try another dealer you might considering driving south 20 miles and visiting them.

    Besides your observation that the SOC gauge reads 100%, do you find that the SOC gauge moves up and down fast? That seems to be a good indication of a dying traction battery.
     
  4. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Symptoms are consistent with a weak battery. It is important to get all module voltages read out, there are 19.

    Bob Wilson
     
  5. jk450

    jk450 New Member

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    While the battery may indeed be weak, the symptoms can be caused by many issues other than a weak battery.

    There are 38 modules. The modules are monitored in pairs, called "blocks". There are 19 blocks.