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2005- Cat theft. Gas motor dead.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by FM1775, Oct 30, 2021.

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  1. FM1775

    FM1775 Junior Member

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    2005 Prius
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    II
    Why does my car sound like a lawn mower? Because the cat was sawn off and stolen.

    So I drove the vehicle 3 miles to a Toyota dealership. For the low, low price of $3500, the cat was replaced.

    Picking the car up when 'done' at the dealer, the gas motor refused to run for very long, plus red death triangle, indicating woe, lamentation and the apocalypse, was lit.

    So I managed to get 100 feet outside of the dealership before the poor beast was done moving for good. Code reader indicated a gas motor fault which wasn't resettable. It was also very difficult to shut the vehicle off- like an undead (did Halloween cause this?) brain that wouldn't die, pressing the power button had no effect on shutting the car off.

    'Here, I'll do it,' said my wife, reaching over to hit the power button... and the damn thing shut right off. Everybody is good at something.

    OK- I'd really like to get the gas motor back running. Can't imagine that the jackass who stole the cat also somehow damaged the gas motor. It turned over loud and clear pre-dealer, for example.

    Any suggestions are welcome:
    -to trouble shoot the gas motor. I am willing to work on my car, have code reader, decent tools, stubbornness, multimeter.
    -countermeasures to discourage cat theft. I.e., armor plates, cameras, lights, alligators, barbed wire obstacles, etc.

    Thanks all,

    -FM
     
    #1 FM1775, Oct 30, 2021
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Maybe the 12v battery is in need of a good charge. Take it back to the dealer and have them look at it, surely they shouldn't charge a fee after a $3500 CAT
     
    #2 JC91006, Oct 31, 2021
    SFO likes this.
  3. Another

    Another Senior Member

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    Maybe the O2 sensor was also damaged? Codes?
     
    #3 Another, Oct 31, 2021
  4. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat!!
    We might be able to recommend someone more competent, which part of the planet do you reside? (your profile didn't mention)
    Did you run down the HV battery to a low state of charge (SOC), is so you won't be able to start the vehicle without the needed voltage.
    Which 'code reader' was used to retrieve the codes (DTCs), not all readers are toyota hybrid compatible. Best to record the DTCs, and share them here in this thread, knowing the codes (DTCs) may help in diagnosing the issue, saving both time and money. Which code (DTC) did the 'code reader' indicate, my guess is that it might have been DTC P319(x).

    Assuming my WAG is close, here are the step-by-step workups for the above DTCs : https://attachments.priuschat.com/attachment-files/2019/10/176519_DTC_P3190_P3191_P3193.pdf
    As kindly mentioned above by @JC91006 - charge the 12v for good measure, or check the 12v health at the jump point under the hood.

    Again, assuming the 12v was disconnected for service or low enough to reset the fuel trims, you might try cleaning the MAF sensor.

    If you've made it this far, and the 12v is decent, and you've cleaned the MAF sensor, then you might try starting the vehicle just once. Remember that you have a limited number of start attempts, each one will deplete the HV battery just a little bit more, until...

    FYI : you're moderated until you've posted 5 times.

    tl;dr - post the code(s) for additional guidance.
     
    #4 SFO, Oct 31, 2021
  5. FM1775

    FM1775 Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    South CA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Update- post cat(alytic)astrophe- big THANK YOU to forum advice given:

    Problem: Vehicle wouldn't run after having catalytic converter replaced.
    Fix:     Disconnect 12V battery, trickle charge overnight, reconnect 12V battery to vehicle.
    Result: Vehicle started right up, ran normally.

    Yes, it was that simple. Thanks for your suggestions all.
     
    #5 FM1775, Jan 2, 2022
    SFO likes this.
  6. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Didn’t understand much of your posts but you don’t have to disconnect anything to charge the 12 volt battery. Just connect the trickle charger to the front jump point under the hood. That’s what it’s there for.
     
    #6 edthefox5, Jan 5, 2022
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