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From o2 sensor to engine replacement in 10 days?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by FantasticalMagicOne, Dec 29, 2018.

  1. FantasticalMagicOne

    FantasticalMagicOne Active Member

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    That's what I figured.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  2. FantasticalMagicOne

    FantasticalMagicOne Active Member

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    Well, Scott replaced the sensor. He tested the old one and said it was defective (shocking) and that I should return it.

    Once the new one was installed, he started the car and the engine immediately began to charge the battery. Then he took it for the kind of test drive I asked for, city driving, up hill, down hill, flat street, expressway, etc. No acceleration issues, no power problems, no rough idle, and so on and so forth. In other words, it's running exactly as it should.

    He advised that I return to both dealerships and demand my money back, but I know that effort would be fruitless. Although, my inspection is due this month and it might be amusing to have them do it, just so I can ask how the heck a car with a dead engine passes inspection (HA!). I do intend on following up with corporate though.

    I can't count how many people told me just to get a new car in the last month, but I knew, my step-dad knew, Scott (non-hybrid mechanic), and many of you knew different. Thank you all for your help and guidance.
     
  3. PAUL SCHULTZ

    PAUL SCHULTZ Member

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    Great news. You definitely stuck with it when many of us were telling you to 'cut bait'. I hope you get many worry free miles out of the car, you deserve it!

    Paul
     
  4. FantasticalMagicOne

    FantasticalMagicOne Active Member

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    Thanks! We all knew that it was a strong possibility that it was the sensor, and that engines don't just die like that. We also knew that replacing the sensor may not have been the cure all, and the reality is that it wasn't. Thanks to the members here, I learned that the 12V battery needed to be replaced as well as how to replace it. I also owe thanks to the folks here for teaching me to clean the MAF and Throttle Body, which I'm sure helped with the rough idle and is a skill that I'm confident I will use for years to come. I also learned about the water issue with this model and how to fix it. Sticking to my guns was a small part of it, I didn't get my car back without help, and I have a lot of gratitude to express for the help and support of many people here. I'm incredibly grateful to those who helped me avoid a very costly repair (or a car payment) as well as the hassle of taking out my stereo system and returning the factory one. And there aren't enough words to express how happy I am to have my tiny car power back!
     
  5. VFerdman

    VFerdman Senior Member

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    Sounds like a happy ending to a pretty harrowing ordeal. I hope the car keeps working for you for a long time to come and the lessons from this are useful in your future.
     
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  6. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Forget trying to get any vindication with the dealers, there obviously clueless and don’t want Toyota Corporate to find out how incompetent they are. I would say the same for the regional service manager, don’t even bother. You need to complain to Toyota national and make up some type of YouTube or other media outlet to tell your story. It’s great that you have everything in writing, they can’t dispute that.

    I’m also very happy it worked out. There are like 2 other people here now having similar problems. Hopefully your experience will help them.
     
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  7. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    These Toyota mechanics saying your engine is shot because you have oil in the intake manifold, I can see this with an OTTO cycle engine, but an Atkinson cycle engine? The Atkinson cycle engine pushes back some of fuel/air mixture back into the intake manifold before the intake valve closes. If a car has a bad oil ring (a common Prius occurrence), would not some oil be pushed into the intake manifold? Could that oil not build up over time into the intake manifold? The Prius might be the first to have this problem but Toyota uses Atkinson cycle engines on Lexus and Tacoma engines now also. Although they are not Atkinson cycle full time.

    Even the Scion cars with the 1.5L engine are OTTO cycle and would not be prone to the same problem.
     
    #447 Skibob, Feb 12, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2019
  8. FantasticalMagicOne

    FantasticalMagicOne Active Member

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    I was going to wait until tomorrow to post the next update, but since you brought it up, know that I didn't bother with the dealerships, I went directly to corporate. The representative I spoke with this afternoon was far more kind than the one I spoke with when I contacted them the first time. I gave her the case number and she read over what I had called in about the first time, and I provided the information regarding everything that happened since my last conversation with corporate. I informed her of the documentation that I had, all of the invoices from the parts they didn't need to replace, all the way through to the 3rd mechanic who fixed the issue the dealerships would not fix. I told her that I wanted a refund for the unnecessary "work" done at both of their dealerships, the tows, and the fee for the 3rd mechanic I shouldn't have had to visit. I noted that they were more than welcome to check the engine to ensure that I haven't had it replaced in the interim. I highly doubt that I'll see one red cent, but the complaint to corporate is valid and well documented. The representative escalated my call to another department and I'm to receive a call from a "Team Leader" before close of business tomorrow. All I can do now is wait and see what comes of it. I am composing a letter regarding my experience, but it currently has no destination.

    As per the other people experiencing similar issues, I haven't seen their posts, but if you think this thread may be able to help then send them here. But let them know they can contact me directly if they don't want to sift through 448 posts.

    Engines don't just die like that, we know this. According to dealership 1, the entire engine is loaded with sludge and later the valves are touching the pistons. Dealership 2 noted that there was sludge in the intake manifold, which can be checked and confirmed by removing the valve cover and checking for build up in the crank case - for a fee higher than the cost of installing the sensor I brought in for them to install. It doesn't matter now, we know that this ended where it started. The car is running as it should have been when I left that lot on the 17th of December.
     
    #448 FantasticalMagicOne, Feb 13, 2019
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2019
  9. VFerdman

    VFerdman Senior Member

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    So, 448 is the magic number for this thread! 4 + 4 = 8, go figure.
     
  10. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    450 baby!!! :)

    I’m glad she got the car fixed but now comes trying to get some money back from the incompetent Toyota dealers. This thread good for at least 100 more posts. :whistle:
     
  11. FantasticalMagicOne

    FantasticalMagicOne Active Member

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    They close up shop in 20 minutes, and I haven't heard from them. I'm not surprised, and as I've noted, probably not going get a return on anything. But if you could only see the numbers that I see, next to the documents that I have, you'd try too (or at least I hope you would).
     
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  12. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    How how about if you walked in front of the dealer with a sandwich board that says “I had a bad sensor, this dealer said a needed a new engine “ a couple of weekends? Especially this one (Presidents Day weekend).
     
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  13. FantasticalMagicOne

    FantasticalMagicOne Active Member

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    But how do I choose which dealer? :LOL:
     
  14. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Both???
     
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  15. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Just make sure you have copies of all the paperwork from all the mechanics. Basically as long as you remain on a public sidewalk they can’t mess with you. They might call the cops but as long as it’s a public sidewalk the cops won’t do anything. If the dealer is in an Automall that’s another story. The Automall owns those sidewalks and can kick you out to the public entrance. That’s how it is in Roseville with there Automall. The Toyota dealer actually kept my keys during a trade in because I didn’t like the deal. Didn’t get them back until I called the police.
     
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  16. FantasticalMagicOne

    FantasticalMagicOne Active Member

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    Wouldn't that be fun?
     
  17. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Bring kids, nobody can resist kids.
     
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  18. FantasticalMagicOne

    FantasticalMagicOne Active Member

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    Dealership #1 definitely doesn't own the sidewalks, but Dealership #2 probably does. Doesn't matter, I'll be at work.
     
  19. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Well...poop. You have to make money to pay for everything. I wish you the best of luck. May the wind be at your sails and have a red sky sailing into your future.
     
  20. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    I have been following this link too, I was thinking small claims court, they don't like bad press.
    Have you posted on Facebook?
     
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