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Car hesitates when going from EV to ICE

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by our1vue, Jan 29, 2019.

  1. our1vue

    our1vue Member

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    Hi all,
    I have a 2012 Prius 2 with 116K miles. I drive down a long hill that turns into a level road for 10
    miles. When I drive down the hill, the batteries get fully charged. Then the car switches to EV
    mode when I'm on the level part. When the battery gets down to 3 bars, it feels like some one
    is lightly stepping on the brakes. Then after 3-4 seconds, the engine will start and the battery
    will immediately drop to 1 bar. Once the ICE is running the battery will charge up and everything is fine.
    There is no dash lights when all this happens. And of course it is intermittent. I thought that
    this problem was what TIFF was having, but I have no lights. Thanks for any help.
     
    #1 our1vue, Jan 29, 2019
    Tiff likes this.
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    try not driving ev so much after coming down the hill. force the engine on by stepping on the gas harder when you're at 5 or 6 bars. put it in power mode.
     
    #2 bisco, Jan 29, 2019
  3. our1vue

    our1vue Member

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    Bisco,
    Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not going in EV mode on purpose, the car is doing that itself. Also when I step on the gas, the
    ICE starts right up. It is like the car gets confused when the batteries are low and forgets to start the ICE to charge them.
     
    #3 our1vue, Jan 29, 2019
  4. 4est

    4est Active Member

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    Looks like you have some weak cells, not providing enough amps

    Get a volt reading when the battery is low
     
    #4 4est, Jan 29, 2019
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  5. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Your hv battery, when healthy should drop only to 2 bars and no less.

    Tiff had a P080a and my guestamation is That that code will trouble you also later :(
     
    #5 Grit, Jan 29, 2019
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  6. our1vue

    our1vue Member

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    4est,
    How do you measure the voltage ? Thanks
     
    #6 our1vue, Feb 2, 2019
  7. 4est

    4est Active Member

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    Dr prius or other apps + bluetooth obd
    Or techstream
     
    #7 4est, Feb 3, 2019
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    112k is early for a bad battery, but not unheard of.
    Maybe it’s the hills
     
    #8 bisco, Feb 3, 2019
  9. Tiff

    Tiff Junior Member

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    Well im still suffering with this issue. But problem is that its intermittent. Sometimes you would think its a brand new car and others not quite.
    Now our1vue is being forced into ev where as ive noticed when it goes into this funny mode then ev is not available although battery shows as charged.

    Try torque pro and add predefined pids for prius that has the voltages in there Although for me its not working. I have the pids but they wont display the data. Give it a try see how you get on
     
    #9 Tiff, Feb 5, 2019
  10. Tiff

    Tiff Junior Member

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    Any luck? Still same or did you sort it
     
    #10 Tiff, Feb 21, 2019
  11. our1vue

    our1vue Member

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    I wimped out and made an appointment with the dealer. Us software engineers are told to leave the hardware to the EE :)
    I'll update this thread with what they find.
     
    #11 our1vue, Feb 22, 2019
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  12. our1vue

    our1vue Member

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    just to follow up, 2 days ago the check engine/ hybrid system light came on. It had a code P0A80 which says there is
    a problem with the hybrid battery. Car has 118K miles on it. Never did take it to the dealer before the light came on.
     
    #12 our1vue, Mar 26, 2019
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Have you checked are you in/out of warranty?

    Even if out, pretty close: Toyota's been known to come up with some goodwill compensation, say 1/2.
     
    #13 Mendel Leisk, Mar 26, 2019
  14. our1vue

    our1vue Member

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    Hybrid batteries are only warranty for 100K (I'm 18K over). I traded in the car for a chevy.
     
    #14 our1vue, Mar 26, 2019
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  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats, well done!(y)
     
    #15 bisco, Mar 26, 2019
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i thought ny was a carb state?
     
    #16 bisco, Mar 26, 2019
  17. our1vue

    our1vue Member

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    bisco,
    Yes it is, but the batteries are only covered up to 100k. Now if the batteries caused the car to fail the emissions test, then they
    would be covered. But I doubt the car would fail if the batteries can't start up the ICE anymore :)
     
    #17 our1vue, Mar 26, 2019
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  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    interesting, it's like 'carb lite' :cool:
     
    #18 bisco, Mar 26, 2019
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