2015 Prius C starting to act strange

Discussion in 'Prius c Technical Discussion' started by bonanzoo, Jun 16, 2022.

  1. bonanzoo

    bonanzoo Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2018
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    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    One
    112k miles and I'm getting sudden loss of power up to 40mph (haven't tried going on the highway since it started happening). It's also over revving when I let my foot off the gas. Air conditioner is barley cold. Lastly, the engine is constantly running. The display doesn't show it charging the battery.

    Inverter going bad? Pumps? IPM? HV Battery?

    Side notes: It was also almost 100 degrees yesterday. Also, I just got an oil change at Valvoline and they put 5W-20 instead of OW-20. Not sure if a change in oil viscosity this minor would cause over heating (going to Toyota today to get 0W-20 put in asap). I also drove 3,000 miles in 5 days from east to west coast, through the Rocky Mountains.. every car I have driven through i70, had issues within a month time span… I honestly don’t know what it could be.

    Also, no lights on the dash.
     
    #1 bonanzoo, Jun 16, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2022
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Patron saint of newly poured sidewalks

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    Waste of money. Get them do do a diagnostic instead?
     
    #2 Mendel Leisk, Jun 16, 2022
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like the hv battery to me. primetime in the la heat. i would get doc prius for a look see
     
    #3 bisco, Jun 16, 2022
  4. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Sounds like the HV battery is getting tired. Have you cleaned the battery cooling fan and its ductwork? There are youtubes that show how to do it all with a vacuum cleaner. Now is when it counts the most.

    They always struggle more in hot weather. The colder you run your AC, the better it is for the battery. If your AC isn't working right, the rest of the car will struggle more.

    5W oil will cost you 1 or 2 MPG but that's about the only impact.

    Revving when you go off-throttle means the computer does not want to store electricity in the battery for some reason, so it is trying to shed the energy by spinning the engine- no fuel is being burnt, it's just an energy drain. No immediate consequence apart from the noise. If it happens very often, that may be a symptom of a battery problem.
     
    #4 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Jun 16, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2022
    bonanzoo likes this.
  5. bonanzoo

    bonanzoo Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    One
    Thank you. I will most definitely clean the hybrid fan. It does have a fair amount of dust after inspecting it. Also should had AC recharged and blowing ice cold air again.
     
    #5 bonanzoo, Jun 17, 2022
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