1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Determining cause of C1391 after fender bender

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by PriusWde12, Nov 9, 2020.

  1. PriusWde12

    PriusWde12 New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2020
    4
    0
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    A few months ago I was involved in a minor fender bender. Someone had run into the rear bumper straight on. At first glance, it didn't seem like a big issue, just some scratches. A week after the wreck, I took the car to a local body shop to get repaired. The damage did cause the impact bar to be broken and needed replacing, so it was more of an impact than everyone originally thought. When I picked the car up, the ABS/traction control/e-brake light were all lit up. It was late when I got the car, so the body shop couldn't read the codes until the next day; when they did, it came up with:

    C1391 - Accumulator Leak Malfunction - History

    To keep the story semi-short, I've done my best to read up here on previous threads regarding this same issue. I've talked to Toyota Corporate and they said I'm too far out of the enhanced warranty window (ZJB), so they will not cover it. Insurance says that it did not happen in the wreck, so they will not cover it. I've been in contact with my local Toyota service department and there is not much they can do to help (they did rerun TechStream and verified the code was indeed C1391). They quoted me $3400 to fix it. They tried to vouch for me to insurance claiming the accumulator could have been damaged during the wreck, but insurance said, "Prove it".


    My two main questions that I can't get seem to get answers to are:

    1. The code indicates there was a history to the C1391, but prior to dropping it off at the repair shop, there were not lights or indicators (brakes felt fine) that there was a problem. I've ask multiple people with no definitive answer, but would there be a timestamp or anything associated with WHEN this code occurred/came on if somebody reran TechStream? I feel like it would help get insurance to cover it I can point to that and say it happened the day of the wreck.

    2. From my understanding, there is a wire harness of some sort that runs the length of the car and may have been removed /disconnected when they replaced the impact bar and bumper. Could it be possible that the harness or a sensor got messed up and the code isn't actually due to a leak? If that's the case, I feel like I could take it back to the body shop and have them fix it.


    I'm still hopefully there are steps I can take to get this covered, as I'm also trying to keep an eye on the ongoing class-action lawsuit, as well as the NHTSA investigation. Until then, I'm hoping that I can get my own answers and resolve this nightmare, since it feels like my car is worthless and useless after the wreck. I just have a hard time accepting this is just a coincidence and the problem started right after a wreck and repair.


    2010 Prius III, ~140k miles.
     
  2. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2012
    1,555
    659
    0
    Location:
    Central MO
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    II
    Sounds like the bodyshop's doing
     
  3. PriusWde12

    PriusWde12 New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2020
    4
    0
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I believe it is possible, however I feel like I need more info before I go back to the body shop and blame them. Their initial reaction was "Bad coincidence, we didn't do anything with the brakes. Not our fault. "

    Is there anything I can point to to tell them to look at specifically that you are aware of?
     
  4. PriusWde12

    PriusWde12 New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2020
    4
    0
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Does anybody have any other ideas or is there something I may be missing or not thinking of?

    I appreciate anyone taking the time to read about my issue.
     
  5. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2020
    3,206
    1,337
    0
    Location:
    NJ-USA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Unfortunately it does sound like a bad coincidence. You have a failure it a system that is known to be problematic. It likely happened at the body shop but I can't think of any way that they could have CAUSED it to fail.

    Same thing with the accident. A hit in the back can't cause a fault inside the brake actuator assembly. AFAIK a wiring problem cannot result in this code either.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  6. PriusWde12

    PriusWde12 New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2020
    4
    0
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    That's what I was afraid of. I didn't really think the body shop could have done it, and I honestly didn't think it happened in the wreck.

    With that said though, do you know if it's possible to pull the timestamp from the code, just as a last ditch effort to nail down when it happened?

    Thanks for the input.