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I just bought a used '06...and it has so many problems!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Bart47, Sep 20, 2019.

  1. Bart47

    Bart47 Junior Member

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    It was hit in the front, but not badly. The guy I bought it from had only had it a short time - not a bad guy, but he was just flipping it. Apparently, he replaced a couple of cells, and that was about it. When I went to pick it up, the dash lights went out, but I got it anyway. I drove it home and it was running strong, even though I had left the e-brake on for a time. I stopped about 3 miles away, and when I started again, it went into limp mode. I got it home, and later took the dash apart and replaced the capacitor, and it brought the dash lights back, but the display screen started giving me the error that a program could not be read, and the only thing that worked on it was the backup camera...so the display itself didn't seem bad. Anyway, I already had a project Prius, an '07, with double the miles, and I believe, a bad MG1, that I grabbed the display screen out of. It was the basic screen, without all the button, and it worked fine, though I lost all the abilities those other buttons gave me...not the big problem. I had cleared the codes with Techstream, drove it around the block, and was going to test it further, but one day, my daughter needed my car, so I decided to try taking it to work. Made it about 5 miles onto a turnpike, with no way to turn around, and everything went bad. Limp mode, Triangle, VSC, just about all the available lights on the dash...couldn't get it into gear after stopping...waited a bit, and was able to eventually get it home. Now I'm going to list what I believe to be the most pressing of the dozen or so codes it threw when I was able to test it again, and would like to get some input on a course of action, which codes are repetitive of the same problem, the hierarchy of importance, etc, if anyone has the time to help. I really like the car, and I want to fix it - it really drove well...for a while. Here are the codes, and a brief description, (I did not get all the "cloud" info from the few that had that, but I can):

    P0A78, inverter converter assembly failure, hi voltage control module

    P3000, HV battery ECU

    P1121, Coolant control valve

    P2195, TOYOTA Oxygen Air/Fuel Sensor Signal Stuck Lean Bank 1 Sensor 1

    P3024, Battery Block 14 Becomes Weak

    C1241, LOW BATTERY POSITIVE VOLTAGE OR ABNORMALLY HIGH BATTERY POSITIVE VOLTAGE

    C1310, Malfunction In HV System

    Any help would be greatly appreciated!
     
  2. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    What's the question?

    You bought a car that someone was flipping. That had been in at least 1 accident in the front. That had a bad hybrid battery, why else would the flipper be in there. Had a band-aid fix of whack-a-mole applied to the battery. And obviously not well based on the codes. All of these things seem like they would be evident in a pre-purchase mechanic inspection. I'd wager they'd be evident just on the drive to the mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection without even needing to spend any money on an inspection itself.

    You've already bought the car, so it's your problem now. But it may just be a writeoff at this point.

    You definitely got at least 2 problems going on. 1 in the HV battery and 1 in/on/around the engine itself.

    Since this backyard mechanic was recently in the HV battery, I'd start there first. Take it completely out, redo the entire thing. Take all the modules out. Balance and charge them all. Put them all back in with the proper torque specs. Do not just eyeball it and say "it looks fine". Clean the bus-bars. Clean corrosion. Replace the most likely other bad modules at a minimum if you want to keep playing this whack-a-mole game. Hope that by fixing the battery correctly P3000,P3024,C1241,C1310 all go away. Then you still have some issues in the engine potentially. But that's a whole different problem and I'd start with the easier one to solve or decide if it's junk. If the HV ECU and Inverter are really toast, then you bought a paperweight. Good to know that upfront with only some more sweat equity invested.
     
  3. Bart47

    Bart47 Junior Member

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    Yeah, I swung for the fences on the purchase, but I intend to make the most of it, now that I have it. Thanks for the response, and I will start there.
     
  4. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    What’s your resting 12 volt battery voltage?
    Hope you didn’t pay very much for the car.
     
  5. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Spend a couple thousand dollars to fix it and you should have a pretty nice vehicle.

    What you describe is not I surmountable.
    Hopefully the guy only charged you a couple hundred for it.
     
  6. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Lucky for him he has a parts car.
     
  7. Bart47

    Bart47 Junior Member

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    Thanks for the replies. I typically have about 12.4 bolts resting, but then after about a week of non use it will be completely drained, as if I’d left a dome light on...and it is a pretty new battery.
     
  8. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Put an ammeter on the battery, read the baseline draw.

    Then pull fuses out one at a time until the drain vanishes. That tells you which branch circuit is pulling you down, and you can narrow it down from there.

    Shortcut: Some smart key systems will cause extra drain to the vehicle battery if the key is stored in or near the car- the onboard computer gets bad radio reads of the key codes and goes into a retry loop (which consumes power) instead of just going to sleep. To verify this, put all of the keys in a metal box for a while to prevent communication with the car. Ammeter helps for this test too.
     
    donbright and SFO like this.
  9. Bart47

    Bart47 Junior Member

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    I will try that, thanks very much.
     
  10. RickyV12

    RickyV12 Junior Member

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    I got one junkie high mileage, no caring, 2007 Prius as well 2 weeks ago in limp mode, I was lucky that I got a used hybrid battery, I replaced it using youtube video plus problem of 12 volts battery low voltage, Hybrid battery's orange safety lock not locked Else, it is working fine now. Of course, It has many minor problems waiting for me to fix them.
    If 12 volts battery is weak, It showed many strange error messages. I charged my battery with charger.
    If order to save 12V energy, I turn off SKS because SKS fob is dead.
     
  11. Bart47

    Bart47 Junior Member

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    That is great, I am glad you had success. As well as my motor runs, and the car drives, I’m sure I will have a similar success. I don’t think mine is a paperweight, even if any of the hybrid drive components are bad. I don’t have a problem with doing the work, as it seems you don’t either. And, I have no problems using used parts, especially if they come from a low-mileage wrecked vehicle. I think some people get hung up on the retail, or dealer prices for things. Fortunately, since my car is a project that I will work on myself, I already know I need to have some patience on waiting for the parts I need to come available at “my” prices. Unfortunately, my work is on hold, as my son just came home from his time in the Marines, and I am planning on spending a lot of time with him. Thanks and good luck getting the rest of your issues worked out.
     
    bisco likes this.
  12. RickyV12

    RickyV12 Junior Member

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    My car is very high mileage, I am just lucky to find a used Hybrid battery and it is main problem, However, It has many other problem, Like FOB is not working, rear car multiple leaking badly. it is more work than I think.
    I do not know mechanic but I was electronic tech doing thousand of repairs in my young year.
    Once you check with that 12V battery, If it is fine. you might move on Hybrid battery.
    Since car seller played with Hybrid battery, and there are 4 errors count on it, It seems that he did more damage to it, I suggest you replace it with a used Hybrid battery. It has some computer stuffs in it and easy to get damaged.
     
  13. Bart47

    Bart47 Junior Member

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    Thanks. I plan on doing just that.