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Bumper tap/codes

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by rfp2, Jul 7, 2017.

  1. rfp2

    rfp2 Junior Member

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    Hello, My 2007 had a front bumper tap (at license plate) yesterday with absolutely no damage. Air Bag/VSC/ABS? Master warning lights are on. The dealer says that they are communication errors and clearing codes didn't resolve it. They suggest a bad ground. Looking between the bumper and radiator there is a thin gauge 2 wire cable from the harness to a something mounted on a vertical strut near the horn (which works). What is this device and can this be involved here? As I mentioned this was probably < a 2 or 3 mph tap. I see nothing else in the "impact area" other than the horizontal cable which is an inch or two below the top of the radiator looking like the day it was new. Any thoughts? Thanks much, Ron
     
    #1 rfp2, Jul 7, 2017
  2. hchu1

    hchu1 Active Member

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    Picture would help, I'll take a guess that might be your ambient temperature sensor.

    What codes did the dealer get? How did he clear them?

    You could disconnect the 12v battery to see if that does anything.

    Having the codes will help point you in a direction to start diagnosing the problem.
     
    #2 hchu1, Jul 7, 2017
  3. rfp2

    rfp2 Junior Member

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    Well, thank you for the quick response and I agree that it is probably a temp sensor. The wire gauge is very light. The codes found and cleared were C1310, P3107, and B1000. Stupid question.....should I be checking fuses and relays? Also, I will disconnect and re-connect the 12V battery. Will I lose my 5 years of mileage calculation if I disconnect; that would hurt! Thanks again, Ron
     
    #3 rfp2, Jul 7, 2017
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Yes, you will lose the mileage record. :)

    If it were my car, and I already had three codes that I could look up, I would go find a comfy chair next to a computer and sign in to techinfo and look up the codes. I would leave the blind fussing with fuses and relays for when I'm working on a car that can't give me trouble codes.

    By the way, what did you read the codes with? Some generic tools will give you only a subset of the codes the car is trying to tell you.

    -Chap
     
    #4 ChapmanF, Jul 7, 2017
  5. rfp2

    rfp2 Junior Member

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    Thanks Chap. The Toyota dealer read the codes. Ron
     
    #5 rfp2, Jul 7, 2017
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Well, I don't have a Gen 2 or the repair manual for one, but if the codes are similar to Gen 3, the C1310 would be a hearsay code in the VSC ECU, just saying the HV ECU told it there was some problem over there. So it wouldn't be a top priority to look at. The P3107 would be a code in the hybrid-control ECU saying it was having trouble communicating with the airbag ECU, but there might be some 3-digit INF codes to go with it, narrowing down the problem. For a Gen 3 there'd be three of those, according to a crib sheet, but for a Gen 2 I don't know. The B1000 isn't in my Gen 3 notes at all, but seems likely to be an airbag code.

    Just knowing one-liners for what the codes are about isn't what helps solve the problem. It's when you look them up in the repair manual that the codes send you to pages of systematic tests you can use to close in on the problem. That can be left to the dealer at their hourly rate, or you could tackle it yourself at your own hourly rate plus $15 for two days signed in at techinfo.toyota.com. An issue like this one could turn out a bit subtle, so you'll probably be glad to have spent the $15 unless you consider your own hourly rate to be very, very low.

    -Chap
     
    #6 ChapmanF, Jul 7, 2017
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