Check engine light gets me new gas tank

The first time my dealer reset the check engine light he said I must have filled the car with the engine running. I'm sure I didn't, but...

The second time the light came on was a week later and 200 miles after a fillup. I tried the breakin driving routine discussed in the Technical Service Bulletin and then drove to the dealer. After an hour of waiting the service manager asked if I ever stored anything on the dash board and if I was sure the engine was off when I filled last. The only thing stored on the dash was 4 days of dust and the engine WAS off when I filled and the gas tank lid WAS tightly closed.

Another hour passed and the service manager came back and told me they were providing me with a rental car while they discuss the situation with Toyota's technical support. The diagnostic testing apparently said something was wrong with the air conditioning sensor in the dash and something major wrong with my fuel tank.

One day later they said I would probably get my Prius back next Tuesday at the earliest. After talking to Toyota mechanical support my local dealer decided they had to replace the fuel tank. The service manager couldn't (wouldn't?) tell me what was wrong with the current tank just that a new one was ordered and should be in on Monday.

I've had the Prius about two weeks and have 890 miles on it. I'll be interested in your thoughts and I will post what actually happens once I get the car. Fortunately their free rental car is a shiny red Mitsubishi convertable that I am enjoying the Florida sun with and ignoring the horrendous gas consumption.

:guns:

 

Update on Prius Check Engine light gets me a new gas tank.

On Dec 23 my local Toyota dealer told me they needed to replace the gas tank and temp sensor in my Prius' dash due to error messages that caused the Check Engine light to come on. The new gas tank was supposed to arrive today. They called me this morning to say the gas tank was now rescheduled to arrive Dec 29. I went to the dealer to get some belongings out of my Prius now that they are keeping the car another week. It looked very lonely sitting in the back lot.

I asked again what was really going on with the gas tank. They said a valve and sensor in the tank weren't functioning properly and would continue to setoff the Check Engine light. They also said the car would probably drive OK for a long time without the replacement tank if I could deal with the Check Engine light staying on. They would not disconnect the gas tank's connection to the warning light and let me drive away until the tank arrived.

Related to the temp sensor in the dash, I had noticed that the air conditioning was flunctuating wildly. On our typical 75 deg day in Florida I would get hot then cold. Even changing the temp didn't seem to make much of a difference. Apparently the sensor went bad and that was enough to throw the AC off and turnon the Check Engine light.

I guess the moral of the story is if the Check Engine light stays on for more than a couple of days, have the dealer check it out. The problem may be something other than the usual breakin woes.

Even though I am enjoying the Mitsubishi convertable they gave me as a loaner I certainly miss the Prius. I still walk up to the Mitsubishi and wonder why the door doesn't open. Then I pull the clicker out of my pocket, unlock the door, put the clicker back in my pocket, get in and wonder why the car won't start. Maybe Prius deprivation causes dementia?

I'll be curious to see how the new gas tank handles fillups when I get my car back. For your info, the car had about 850 miles when the Check Engine light came on and stayed on for three days till I made it to the dealer.

And to all a good night.

 

This is the update and conclusion to my earlier posts about getting the new gas tank.

I had dropped my Prius off at the dealer on Dec 18 for the new gas tank. It took a LONG time to get the tank in. I just picked the car up January 7. The local dealer was great in keeping me informed that they were calling the Southeast Toyota parts warehouse regularly asking where the heck the gas tank was.

Lessons learned:

1. It takes even Toyota a long time to get major parts into their distribution system.
2. Based on grilling the service manager he confirmed that when the check engine light comes on you can keep driving unless the car is making unusual noises or running rough.
3. There are a lot of different sensors that can setoff the check engine light. If it stays on for more than a couple of days or blinks you should probably have it checked.
4. Even though I really enjoyed driving the Mitsubishi convertable, its great to have the Prius back.

 

Toyota paid for a rental car from Enterprise. I only paid for gas.