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

Like a child lost in the woods...

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Pappyhouse, Apr 19, 2022.

  1. Pappyhouse

    Pappyhouse New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2022
    3
    0
    0
    Location:
    Gainesville, GA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hello all!

    I am new to the forum and very new to the Prius. I've been trying to get to know it and have found it to be a bit challenging...like a child lost in the woods! Nevertheless, we have issues with it and need to fix them. It is a 2004 Prius with about 150k miles on it. The 12v battery was changed recently to an Optima yellow top.

    Recently, the car began to run very rough at times with power issues. On a gas-powered car, I would have guessed issues with the fuel-air mix or the fuel pump. The young man who ran the codes at Autozone suggested it was the fuel pump BUT, he then asked if I was interested in selling it. This made me become very cautious of his "advice".

    I would appreciate any advice. The codes are:

    P0171
    P0016
    P0017
    P0018
    P0019
    P2070
    C0242-00
    P0137
    C0561-71

    In addition to running rough, the dash display is gone as well as the radio doesn't work. I'm guessing we have separate issues but, as an old V8, this car has baffled me with its issues.

    Thanks in advance!
     
  2. JahT

    JahT Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2007
    145
    75
    0
    I just recently repaired "layers" of CEL codes on my 2008, but mine were related to misfires and a bad coolant valve. So your problem might be 2-3 different things, what I did was try to start with something easy. Have you tried cleaning the MAF sensor yet, using the proper cleaner and a Q-tip to gently clean?
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,762
    48,974
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    welcome!

    if you are going to diy, start by setting up tech stream with mini vci. you can find info searching google and clicking on threads here.

    auto parts stores don't always read the multiple prius ecu's correctly.

    then post the codes again if different, and consider a service manual purchase. 150k is nothing on a 2004, so you want to get it in tip top shape and maintain it well.
    do you know anything about the service history? you can get dealer info at toyota.com/owners, along with a maintenance schedule.
    there's a major service at 120k, so you want to make sure those things were done.

    if your missing the speedo, that's a capicitor on the board that needs resoldering, or you can do a rebuilt from texas hybrid batteries.
    the radio may be a fuse or wiring issue, but if it's dead, check salvage and ebay.

    all the best!
     
    #3 bisco, Apr 19, 2022
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2022
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,309
    15,098
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    I think there are only three codes on that list that can even be found in a Gen 2 Prius repair manual, which leads me to second bisco's suggestion about getting the codes read another way.

    I really don't have an explanation for how the parts store scan tool came up with those other codes. Generic tools are sometimes missing descriptions of Prius-specific codes, and we've seen at least one phone app that sometimes decoded the first nybble of a code wrong, and displayed codes with the first two characters off. Just coming up with extra codes out of the aether ought to be harder. Maybe the reader was used recently on some other car? Hard to say.
     
  5. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    10,918
    4,426
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Those Yellow Top Optima batteries are junk. I bet if you load tested that 12v you'd find that's the source of all your problems.
     
  6. Pappyhouse

    Pappyhouse New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2022
    3
    0
    0
    Location:
    Gainesville, GA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks all. The scan was sketchy when I got it. I am going to get a new scan as you all have recommended and I'll be back with my findings.
     
  7. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    7,504
    3,772
    0
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    +1 to cleaning the MAF and also cleaning the throttle plate and throttle body won't go amiss.

    I would strongly advise against using a Q-tip or any other physical implement to clean the MAF sensor. A lot of people confuse the airflow temperature sensor (AFTS) which is incorporated into the same physical unit with the mass airflow sensor (MAFS). It is not helped by most simply calling the combined unit the mass airflow sensor. The AFTS can easily be seen (looks bulbous and brown in color) as it stands perpendicular to the airflow and can be cleaned with the sensor unit installed. However, the MAFS (two thin wires, to look at) is tucked up inside the unit's body and the aperture for the sensor opens parallel to the airflow. This means that the sensor unit has to be removed from the throttle body to actually see it and clean it. For cleaning both the MAF and the AFTS use only proper MAFS cleaning spray. As a bonus, removing the MAFS/AFTS from the throttle body allows for easier cleaning of the throttle plate and the throttle body.

    After cleaning the MAFS and particularly the throttle body, disconnect the 12 V battery for 5-15 seconds then reconnect. This will cause the ECM to reinitialize and relearn the idle position for the throttle plate. If you don't do this you may get rough running at idle or even a failure for the engine to start, depending on how bad the throttle plate/body and MAFS were.

    This thread: P0171 contains good information about cleaning the MAF sensor. A good photo of the MAF part in post #8
     
    #7 dolj, Apr 19, 2022
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2022
    JahT and Pappyhouse like this.
  8. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2016
    616
    317
    2
    Location:
    UK
    Vehicle:
    2022 Prius
    Model:
    Excel
    I found on both my gen2 a good dosing of Redex improved performance.

     
  9. Pappyhouse

    Pappyhouse New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2022
    3
    0
    0
    Location:
    Gainesville, GA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I hope everyone had a good long weekend. As you all suggested, clearly the Autozone scanner was trash. I needed to start fresh.

    Well, I purchased a Bluetooth OBDII scanner as well as both the Dr.Prius and Torque (admittedly because I was curious what I could do with Torque and my Camaro SS) apps. I consistently received a P0301 code and P0300 on occasion. It would run smoothly for a while and then rough with no obvious reason. The P0301 popped up with the rough running, as expected, It has 162, 000 miles and my wife couldn't remember the plugs being changed, so no matter the P0301 reason, that needed to be done.

    I unexpectantly found rust around the top of two of the plugs and the ignition coils. After replacing the plugs and coils, I took it out for a spin and it ran gr.....poorly. Maybe worse than before. P0301 and P0300 codes and running rough almost consistently.

    Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
     
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,703
    38,242
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Just the plugs were replaced, and p0301 persists? Try swapping cyl 1 and 4 ignition coils; see if the code changes, to p0304. If no change, I’d suspect failing head gasket: boroscope inspection and/or leak down test would be the way to check for that.
     
    PriusCamper likes this.