hoping to get some help from yall before I go to toyota today :/

Hey everyone, I wished I started this thread last night to give some time to get some answers.. Hopefully I can go in to Toyota prepared today.

I bought a used 2004 prius from the Toyota dealership that has run into some electrical problems and during the process of lending Toyota my car to work on problems, it came back with the check engine light on. The mechanic there seemed real shady and said its probably just the gas cap and took it into the shop (where I cant see what goes on) to look at the issue. He returned and when I asked what was wrong, is it bad, he just said that he had to go talk to his manager to see if its covered (im assuming at this point he found an issue). He then comes back with a sly smile and said here is your keys you are good to go. I said well what was wrong with it and he said just the gas cap. I asked if he ran a diagnostic on the check engine light and he said yup, just shows the gas cap was loose. On the way home, the check engine light came on again. frustrated, I pulled over to autozone and checked it myself. It shows problem code p1121 and defines it as accelerator pedal position sensor, range/performance problem. After researching online, code p1121 also means coolant flow control valve.



So I am wondering, did the mechanic lie about seeing a diagnostic that the check engine light was on for a loose gas cap? Is there actually a problem code for a gas cap? Researching problem code 1121 seemed to show that people could make the engine light go away for awhile by unscrewing the gas cap then putting it back in, which is just a quick fix and doesn’t solve the problem. This makes me feel like Toyota is trying to hide the real problem of engine light being on until the “lemon law” period is over and I am stuck with the car. The guys at autozone said the problem code p1121 had to have shown up if the mechanic ran a diagnostic.



I am going in this afternoon to address this situation and im hoping to become more informed through the answers yall might have. I will most likely get one chance to get this problem fixed properly, what needs to be done? Thanks in advance for any help I receive..

 

Hey everyone, I wished I started this thread last night to give some time to get some answers.. Hopefully I can go in to Toyota prepared today.

I bought a used 2004 prius from the Toyota dealership that has run into some electrical problems and during the process of lending Toyota my car to work on problems, it came back with the check engine light on. The mechanic there seemed real shady and said its probably just the gas cap and took it into the shop (where I cant see what goes on) to look at the issue. He returned and when I asked what was wrong, is it bad, he just said that he had to go talk to his manager to see if its covered (im assuming at this point he found an issue). He then comes back with a sly smile and said here is your keys you are good to go. I said well what was wrong with it and he said just the gas cap. I asked if he ran a diagnostic on the check engine light and he said yup, just shows the gas cap was loose. On the way home, the check engine light came on again. frustrated, I pulled over to autozone and checked it myself. It shows problem code p1121 and defines it as accelerator pedal position sensor, range/performance problem. After researching online, code p1121 also means coolant flow control valve.



So I am wondering, did the mechanic lie about seeing a diagnostic that the check engine light was on for a loose gas cap? Is there actually a problem code for a gas cap? Researching problem code 1121 seemed to show that people could make the engine light go away for awhile by unscrewing the gas cap then putting it back in, which is just a quick fix and doesn’t solve the problem. This makes me feel like Toyota is trying to hide the real problem of engine light being on until the “lemon law” period is over and I am stuck with the car. The guys at autozone said the problem code p1121 had to have shown up if the mechanic ran a diagnostic.



I am going in this afternoon to address this situation and im hoping to become more informed through the answers yall might have. I will most likely get one chance to get this problem fixed properly, what needs to be done? Thanks in advance for any help I receive..

 

the electrical issues were the 6 cd changer doesn't work and the actuators in the front doors are out. Looks like fairly common problems from what I have seen from research. I wont deal with this place ever again after my lemon period ends. I have a week from the day I bought the car to return it for a full refund if I choose to do so. That's the only reason why I am dealing with them. If they don't want me to return it, they will have to convince me to keep it. That's why im uncomfortable about how they claim its the gas cap. I feel like they are trying to do a quick fix, hiding the underlying problem, which is trouble code p1121. If they are in fact, screwing around with me, I want that knowledge to use against them to get this problem fixed. I like the car and the price I paid... I just need to make sure I get all problems resolved that I can find.

 

this is exactly some of the knowledge I am hoping to go in there with. I want to ask that mechanic what code he pulled up when he claimed to check with a diagnostic tool. I think he was lying. The smug look on his face was obvious to me. (im deaf and can read body language quite well) Thanks for this info and I hope to get more

 

My apologies, I am trying to get as much information as I can. As you can see, some people like stevelee might read one area but not the others.. I am trying to expand my reach of prius chat members as much as I can before I go into Toyota today.

 

I don't see a way to delete the thread from prius v... report away, that was a mistake. I just joined this website a couple days ago. Gimme a week to adjust to how it works huh?

 

Thanks so much for the info guys I went into the dealership with this info and they will be looking at the car in the morning to hopefully fix it free of charge. I took what I learned here as well some other information I found online regarding a Toyota issued notice relating to the valve and caught them off guard with how much I knew and I think it backed them up into a corner, with no other option but to fix this. *fingers crossed
I asked him how come the mechanic did not pull this code, and he couldn't answer me. I also asked what code was pulled that pointed to the gas cap being an issue, and again he couldn't answer it. Shady used Toyota dealership for sure.