My Prius dead again, with techstream this time.

HMMM...

Well I think we can rule out clogged fuel injectors, since the "Fuel Bypass" is supposed to take care of that.

 

Can we rule out an intermittently weak fuel pump?

 

Below is a Brain Dump / Summary (indented) of the whole problem so far, that I plan to hand to the dealer when it gets there the second time:

History of “Not Ready” on my ‘13 Prius v and “LOUD BANG”

Saturday September 25th: I was driving for Uber, and was really low on gas. Stopped at a “Gas n Go” on Essington Avenue in Southwest Philly. Put 10.6 gallons into what I believe is an 11.2 gallon tank. Was cheaper than average, might have been E85.

Wednesday October 6th: next time driving for Uber/Lyft. MPG was noticeably lower than normal for not using the AC. I would have expected 39-40MPG, got low 30’s instead. I filled up at the end of night with brand name gas at a Speedway, 8.6 gallons.

Thursday October 7th:

- Mileage returned to normal while driving for Uber with no AC and windows down on city streets.

- On the way to my third dropoff at 25MPH, I heard a loud bang that sounded like a firecracker coming from under the car near the back seat. Since windows were down, I could hear the echos off of the parked cars on either side, and I am pretty confident of the location of the noise. I then smelled a gunpowder-like smell wafting in from outside the car.

- 200 feet later, I needed to make a left turn. Power steering was non-existent. I noted that the Hybrid Battery Indicator had zero bars.

- I managed to make the turn, and coast into a parking space near the passenger’s home.

- I noted that the Hybrid Battery Indicator had zero bars, but the ICE would start for only 15 seconds. I could hear a louder than normal “whirring sound” under the hood, near the ICE water pump.

- Eventually, the ICE would not start, and there was no “ready” Light.

- I pulled codes using my Bluetooth ODBII adapter, and Torque Pro. Code were B1000 and a code having to do with the downstream O2 sensor signal low.

- I tried pulling the 12 volt battery. I think I was able to get the ICE to start for only 15 seconds again, not sure.

- Called AAA to have towed to Conicecelli.


Monday October 11th:

Got a call at 8:30 AM telling me that the car was being worked on, and that the Hybrid Diagnosis would cost $280. I was too tired to fill in that service manager on the above details about the bang.

- Later that morning, I kept calling the service department, trying to fill the tech in on the history of the car. Got no answer, or I got a promise to be called back.

- Finally got a call at 3:30PM, and the SM asked about where I bought my gas, and that they wanted to do a “Fuel Bypass”. Also told that they recommended replacing the PCV valve, since that hose was off, and missing a clamp. I told the manager that I had done an EGR System cleanout 3 months ago, and that I had replaced the PCV valve at that time. This was of course news to the SM.

Tuesday October 12th:
- I stopped by at about 10 AM, since I was dropping off my wife at work. I was told the car was ready. I was not told what finally fixed the car, but I paid the $320, and drove it home.




Thursday October 14th : I Drove for Uber and Lyft. About 200 miles. No issues.



Friday October 15th: I Drove for Uber and Lyft. First ride took me to Allentown up the Turnpike. Got Gas at a Wawa in Allentown. Drove about a total of 200 miles. No Issues, but mileage seemed higher than usual. Finished driving at 1:40AM. I parked on the street so my wife could get to work the next morning. I paid attention to the Hybrid Battery Gauge.



Saturday October 16th:

- Went to start the car sometime around noon. ICE was very rough. I would have called it the “Death Knell” of the Head gasket, but I am not losing coolant. I also change my Oil every 5k, so I have near zero oil consumption. I instinctively turned the car off.

- Since I was parked on the street, I started again, to get the car in my driveway. I noticed the Hybrid Battery gauge was at zero. I got the car to the driveway.

- I tried starting the car again, and the ICE would only run for 15 seconds. I heard the strange whirring sound again coming from someplace near the ICE Water Pump only while the ICE was running.

- Since 15 seconds is too short of a time to isolate the sound, I removed the Snorkel, and asked a neighbor to start the car, while had my head near the area of the Whirring. It picked that time to throw the P0A0F code, and no ready light.

- I pulled out my laptop, and got freeze frame data for the P0F0A-204 error. I started posting on PriusChat to get ideas.

- Someone noted that the “Short Wave” value was very low, which indicates High Voltage leakage. This would be consistent with the loud bang I heard from under the car near the back seat. I know from draining the engine coolant last June, that there is a large Orange HV cable near the Exhaust Heat Recovery radiator (where I drained the coolant from).


Sunday October 17thth:

More discussion on PriusChat. I was asked to get freeze frame data from the other two errors: P0101 and P3190

P0101 Historic fault, Given the air temperature was 91 degrees, it happened during Friday afternoon while was driving to Allentown, and probably before I refilled the gas at a Wawa in Allentown.

P3190 Current fault, Permanent fault. This explains the half dozen attempts to start the ICE for 15 seconds, and finally turning off the Ready Light. Someone on PriusChat noted that the code probably should have been P3191 “Engine Failed to Start”, rather than P3190 “Poor Engine Power”.

Comments:

I did the EGR + EGR Cooler + EGR tube cleanout in June at 94.5kmiles. I was not successful at getting the EGR apart for a proper cleaning, but did the best I could externally. I have been monitoring the EGR_FLOW_INSUFFCEINCY values before and after the cleaning. Before the cleaning, the value averaged about 15.2 KPa. After the cleaning I got one value of 20.5 KPa, which is an excellent value, but then it dropped to about 15.8 average. I cannot explain the drop.


Two weeks later, I cleaned the Intake Manifold Passages. Then I drove a whole lot between Mid July and Mid September, putting about 7k miles on the car. I checked the EGR_FLOW_INSUFFCEINCY in September a few times, and it was wavering between 12-14 KPa, which I find concerning. I Now have 102,800 miles.


All in all, it would not surprise me if I have a sticking EGR valve. That could explain the “Engine Failed To Start”, but not the loud bang, and the sudden drops in the Hybrid Battery gauge. It also does not explain the historic fault having to do with the MAF sensor.


I really want to have the underside of the car looked at, to look for burn marks.
​

 

OK, my wife is off today, but she left her phone at work. I wound up stopping at the dealership to tell them the same thing has happened, and I gave them the document I posted above in post #64. They called a tow truck to pick it up at my house, but answered my question of how much is the tow going to cost, they said let's get it in here.

Now waiting at home for their tow truck.

Anyway, I found and scanned in the original receipt:


So according to this receipt, the two hoses being off caused the problem. PCV valve now has clamp, and Purge hose should not need clamp. So perhaps they will find the Purge hose off again, in which case, the idea of replacing the Purge valve has some merit.

I mentioned that I was concerned about the EGR sticking, and how I have been monitoring the EGR_FLOW_INSUFFICIENCY, and seeing values that I don't like. The advisor assistant dismissed this Idea, as a whole lot of EGR codes would be present.

 

Would Pressurized Fuel injector cleaner as a part count?



There is also a mention of not liking the smell of the gas.

 

Which has me thinking that the bang I heard was an HV discharge, and now a damaged cell in the HV battery is intermittently preventing enough power transfer to turn over a cold engine. Possibly the whirring I heard is the MG trying to crank the engine. The Hybrid version of "urrer-urrer-urrer-urrer" on a regular ICE. The question of is this 1.7 kw enough is a valid question

Of course they once they charged the HV battery with an external charger, everything worked for the next 400 miles over the next 4 days.

The tow truck has taken the car to the dealer.

 

Looking at my 2017's Intake manifold, I can tell that it is not the new "Tournament" style IM of the Gen4 engines. It looks the same as my 2013's IM. To replace the IM with a new part takes about the same amount of work. Both requires removal of the old IM, and replacement of the "old cleaned" or the "new" IM. With the old IM out, and a laundry sink, I was able to get the IM pretty clean. IMHO, not worth the extra cost of $200.

As for Ida Floods, that is possible I suppose. The Gas N Go is located near Cobbs Creek. The tank was refilled with 8+ gallons after that suspect gas from reputable station not near a creek. The next day I had the Bang, and the failure to start with at least a 90% full tank.

Remember I drove 400+ miles between the first Tow to the dealer, and the second tow. I drove at 75MPH for at least 50 miles on a warm afternoon. I refilled the tank the night before the second time the car had its "failure to start" from another reputable station on high ground. The tank was at least 50% full when the second "engine failed to start".

Question: does the fuel inlet to the pump take gas from the very bottom, or does it float above the bottom? If from the bottom, I would have expected all the water to have been sucked through the system (Water is heavier than Gasoline). I would have driven at least 200 miles after the "Gas n Go" gas, and the first failure to start.

Image of 2017 IM from Conicelli parts site: