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P0038

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Zv0829, Apr 16, 2023.

  1. Zv0829

    Zv0829 New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2023
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    Location:
    Vegas
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
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    N/A
    I have a P0038 that does not go away at all. I have replaced the oxygen sensor and even got the converters replaced and the check engine light goes away for maybe a second before it turns back on. I just bought the car maybe a month and a half ago and the old owner told me the cats got stolen and the check engine light came on after the new cats got installed. I have also replaced the battery since it was reading around 11.3v but it’s now at 12.4v. Any ideas on what I can try out? Thanks in advance.
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
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    Yes from what I see most of the time it's going to take a factory catalytic converter for the country state you're in this car runs a funny test on the catalytic converter It floods it with fuels blah blah blah I don't know exactly how it works The guy who does will be a long shortly and for that your catalytic converter I guess has extra precious metal in it that allows it to be flooded when it needs to be to run this test over time if the cat doesn't get stolen the cat may wear out due to this testing I don't know seems plausible most of the PO4O2O codes or whatever I see are because the cat was stolen and now there's nothing hanging there or the cat was stolen and the car was straight piped whether the oxygen sensors are there not that'll set another code and aftermarket catalytic converters that I guess can't meet the stringent standards that the ECU and oxygen sensors are saying they're looking for luckily I live in a state that no longer has emissions so I can run all the Prius I want with catalytic converters that don't meet the standard and the light stays on that's the only code I have on my car it's their permanently I'm not willing to spend $3,000 or $4,000 for a catalytic converter on a 2009 car that I don't have to now you people another states that have to well I'm sorry for that work on your government. If that's something you need to get sorted out that's probably what it's going to take for that money You could buy a very nice older Corolla that gets just a little bit less gas mileage and if you're not driving as much as you used to you won't even notice it now if you're driving for Uber and for a living and you're trying to get maximum dollar extraction out of your work then you'll want the highest gas mileage you can get or some alternative I've been out of that work life for a long time never made sense to me to use my car to do their work to get it cut but now it seems everybody wants to do that live in their car work out of their mobile office No I don't I don't do that.
     
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    The code is about the circuit controlling the heater that's built into the sensor, so it might save time and money to focus on that. There are troubleshooting steps in the repair manual.

    Toyota Service Information and Where To Find It | PriusChat
     
  4. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
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    Welcome to PriusChat!!
    Did you replace with an OEM sensor from the dealer parts counter, or a Denso equivalent from a known parts house?

    Here is the workup for DTC P0038 : https://share.qclt.com/%E4%B8%B0%E7%94%B0%E6%99%AE%E7%91%9E%E6%96%AF%E5%8E%9F%E5%8E%82%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E6%89%8B%E5%86%8Cpdf%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F/Prius%20Service%20Manuals%202004/%E4%BF%AE%E7%90%86%E6%89%8B%E5%86%8C/04pruisr/05/2054m/cip0037.pdf

    FYI : you're being moderated until you've posted 5 times.