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2007 Prius just turned off and won't start again.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Shazane, Jun 15, 2018.

  1. Shazane

    Shazane Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hey guys, please bare with me as I explain what happened and hopefully someone will know what my issue/s is/are. My car has 226,000 miles on it. About a month and a half ago, I changed the plugs. Once I got to the last plug, on the right, it was soaked in oil. I assumed that it could be a valve seal or a valve cover gasket, neither of which I would be able to change. A few weeks passed and my check engine light came on. I took it to Autozone and put the code checker on it. Here are the numbers that came up: P0303, P0300, P0301, P0303. So, an ignition coil. I was looking into buying one. A few days passed and as I waited outside the bank for my friend, car running, it just shut down. It turned off, but the dash lights were still on, with the red triangle and the circle with parenthesis around it. I had it towed to my local shop. My guy is good, but does not specialize in Toyotas. He ran the codes, different ones came up, he cleared them. The car ran, but then shut off again. Re-ran the codes, different ones showed up. Again, cleared them, it ran and stopped again. The only codes that he said were consistent where the ones showing cylinder 3 misfire. He changed the ignition coil and spark plugs (no oil on any of them), also changed the oil. It started, no lights, they test drove it twice with no problems. He called and said it was ready for pickup. I picked it up, drove straight home (about 8 miles), parked it. Two hrs. later I went out to go somewhere. I started it, immediately, the check engine light started flashing, about 15 seconds of flashing, then it stayed on. I drove right to Autozone and plugged in the tester and bam, P0303, ignition coil. The girl said to just give it a little time. I pulled out of Autozone and was about a 1/2 mile away and all the warning lights came back on, just like before. The car was in drive, as I was at a stop light, still running though. I turned around, went straight home and turned it off. I tried to start it and nothing, just the warning lights. Would anyone have any idea what in the world could be causing this??? I have no codes to pass on. Is this a sigh of battery problems?? Thanks for reading and any input.
     
  2. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    How many times in your life has the check engine or the red triangle of death came on because the engine was very low on oil?

    Also be aware a lot of auto parts store do not have a hybrid code capable reader so if the car is throwing hybrid codes your just not harvesting them.

    Do you see the little car icon in the upper left corner of the mfd along with the red triangle on the dash?

    How old is the 12 volt battery the little battery in the trunk?
     
    #2 edthefox5, Jun 15, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2018
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  3. Shazane

    Shazane Junior Member

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    Dec 26, 2015
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hi Ed, neither the red triangle nor the check engine light has come on due to low oil. I was check the oil regularly. The 12v battery is on about a year and a half old.
     
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  4. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Two
    Ok that’s good. Many people on this site never ever check there oil and never know they have an oil eating engine until the engine goes dry and they get a zero oil pressure alarm light on the dash.
    Usually that results in engine damage.starts out as vibration which sometimes results in misfire codes
    That change position. As it disturbs the cam and crank position sensors.
     
  5. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2004
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    Location:
    Madison, Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Misfires can sometimes be caused by bad injectors as well.

    Swap the coil pack you think is bad to a different cylinder. Does the problem follow to the other cylinder?

    With a car of this age you may want to spend ~$75 to own your own equipment for diagnostic
    Android phone/tablet
    Elm 327 Bluetooth OBDII adapter
    Torque Pro app

    Can read and clear codes as well as see Hybrid Data live.
     
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  6. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    You have random misfires and all that. In my view, you might need to service the fuel injectors, especially in #3. When injectors ha e carbon fouled orifices, they exhibit such symptoms.

    If that doesn't work, check the injector connector, and the wire harness in that #3 for chamfering, and for open circuits.