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Curse of the Red Triangle

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by rough ashlar, Jun 10, 2007.

  1. rough ashlar

    rough ashlar New Member

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    I have a 2002 Prius that is showing me the master problem icon. Back in December, the car started like normal after work, then the engine lost power and eventually shut down. I made it home on battery power, but the thing hasn't run right since. I haven't had time to troubleshoot it until now, thinking it's a major problem. I've replaced the 12v battery with a new one, got the same message on the screen and the car still doesn't wanna run. Do I need to try to drive it to charge the Big Battery? The nearest dealer is 20 miles away - can Advance help? Any help and advice is greatly appreciated!!
     
    #1 rough ashlar, Jun 10, 2007
  2. Godiva

    Godiva AmeriKan Citizen

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    I'd say it's time to take it to the service department.
     
    #2 Godiva, Jun 10, 2007
  3. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

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    Hi Rough, welcome to PriusChat. Some of the 2002's had a problem with the big battery that was covered by a technical service bulletin. If you didn't have this service performed, that may be the source of the problem. It had to do with corrosion in the battery, IIRC. Search the TSB thread and you may find.

    I agree with Godiva, I think it's dealership time.
     
    #3 Bill Merchant, Jun 11, 2007
  4. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Replacement of the engine control module, fuel pump relay, cleaning the throttle butterfly, and defective accelerator pedal are all possibilities. No doubt there are a few others.

    There would be no harm in scanning for codes with a 'plain old' OBDII reader, and see what it says. More likely Toyota needs to take a peek.

    By any chance, you did not pull the orange service plug off the HV battery? It needs to be completely pushed in, after.
     
    #4 tochatihu, Jun 11, 2007
  5. rough ashlar

    rough ashlar New Member

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    Here's a bit more info, since I had to drive to Advance the other day in this car:
    When the car starts, if the battery system is driving it she'll run like gangbusters for about a minute, then the battery seems to give out. However, if the IC engine starts on startup, then I can drive as normal. Tomorrow I plan to drive it to the dealer. Any advice on what may be going on will be appreciated, so that I am not a total idiot with the service tech.... :blink: Thanks to those who have already helped. Have a great day!
     
    #5 rough ashlar, Jun 30, 2007
  6. rough ashlar

    rough ashlar New Member

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    Could anoil overfill be the culprit. I have been reading some posts in here and I'm seeing some similarities. Also, Advance read the codes and said it was an emissions thing. I'm thinking I may have overfilled it the last oil change...
     
    #6 rough ashlar, Jun 30, 2007
  7. donee

    donee New Member

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    Hi Rough...

    Yes, an oil overfill could be the problem. Its been reported on here that an oil overfill can result in the mass air flow sensor (MAF) becoming contaminated with oil, and fail to work properly. Which would be consistent with an "emissions thing". Others have had to have the intake manifold parts all disassembled and cleaned of excess oil, and the MAF cleaned as well.
     
    #7 donee, Jun 30, 2007
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