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engine died on highway

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by rbc07, Jul 28, 2008.

  1. rbc07

    rbc07 New Member

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    Traveling 75 mph down the highway in an 07 Prius with ~45k miles, when the engine died. I felt deceleration, then the vehicle would not respond. Luckily I was able to drift to side of road...
    VCS light and Red triangle lights were on...vehicle seemed to power on, but there was no MPG reading (where it normally says "0" when starting the engine). Then after a few tries to start, all display lights came on, and power (start) button only showed red...would not go to green

    On a trip, so had to get towed to dealership and will be there at 7:15 tomorrow AM. Any advice?
     
  2. mingoglia

    mingoglia Member

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    I know this may be a strange question, but 9 times out of 10 what you experienced was due to low fuel. How many pips were showing on your gauge?
     
  3. rbc07

    rbc07 New Member

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    Thanks...there were 4 showing. I had fueled 278 miles previously and the monitor showed 48.5 mpg. I would really be surprised if there was no fuel
     
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Hmm, a sudden failure. If you have sufficient fuel, maybe the inverter died. Please let us know what DTC were logged and the dealer's diagnosis.
     
  5. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Multiple attempts to start the engine with a failure throws another code and effectively leaves the car immobile. Sounds like an interesting problem and we'll need to understand the codes.

    Bob Wilson
     
  6. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Having an 07 I hate to hear this myself. Do yourself a favor and pick-up a Scan Gauge here at the Prius Shop. It will be the most important tool you'll own in troubles like this.You can read out the codes the car throws instantly. Then list those codes here or on the Internet or get a Chiltons manual for $15 for complete list of codes.Plus it reads out engine parameters too. And can use in other cars also.
    It does sound like you ran out of fuel. Or maybe another infant mortality inverter failure. Good luck and please let us know.
     
  7. AngelFish

    AngelFish New Member

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    sounds like my 04 when it died... a few times. It ended up being the air intake valve was clogged.
     
  8. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    well heck... its after 7:15....any news yet?