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Please Help!! Prius is being funky with tons of issues

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Punpun520, Jul 25, 2017.

  1. Punpun520

    Punpun520 New Member

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    2010 Prius
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    III
    howdy y'all I've looked in the forums for weeks now and can't seem to find anything on this nor do I really know how to actually word this.
    So my first issue is that after filling up my gas with basic unleaded on one bar left in tank my Prius was being really weird. Starting from the point I turned it on after fueling. when I started to accelerate by barely pressing the pedal, (lets note I'm on Eco mode 24/7) I was maybe going 4mph as I was in a parking lot, my Prius began to fully accelerate or like require a lot of acceleration to get to even 35. when I start driving it'll obviously be at 0 and to start going faster than 8mph it kicks right passed eco right passed the bar and straight into the orange power bar where I have to be until I reach desired speed. previously its been I can accelerate in eco until 35 then glide but even to the point of gliding when I can reach it (rarely) instead of being at the full 100mpg on the right side of the speedometer it stays at about the 20mpg portion of it. when I start the mpg drops to the lowest possible bar going at like 8mph, I wasted the tank and refilled with a high mileage fuel injection cleaner and performance helper from circle k before filling it up and its back to the same thing. this time seemingly worse as I only drove maybe 20 miles today to and from work and have already spent a quarter tank because of this issue. I have no idea where to start, the dealership said there was nothing wrong with it.
    Stats--- 152210 miles on the car
    last oil change was about 2000 miles ago
    my next issue which is probably less complicated, my Prius has been veering to the right a lot. when I stop at a light my steering wheel will lean to the right maybe about 35 degrees to the right, it like it just drops and defaults which makes driving anywhere a hassle as I'm constantly holding the steering wheel more to the left so I don't run into a barrier.
    third issue is the battery, as I'm driving I notice the battery meter on the right hand side of the hub will get charged and then drop to like 2 bars and it seems to be doing this constantly, it won't maintain a charge and it usually charges to two bars from the top and drops to 2 bars from the bottom
    I live in Tucson so since its the summer the heat is usually 101+ and with the heavy rains this summer theres been some slightly deep puddles I've been forced to go through nothing ever to the bumper but enough for the tires to be about 3 inches in
    please help on this as I really don't know what can even be the problem
     
    #1 Punpun520, Jul 25, 2017
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2017
  2. NutzAboutBolts

    NutzAboutBolts Senior Member

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    What have you done as in maintenance wise? It doesn't look like there is any electrical issues.

    As for your steering wheel, get an alignment and see if it's off of alignment.

    As for your recharging bar, could be HV issues. Can't know for sure until what's been done to the car as in maintenance wise, besides oil changes and such... also what's the year of the car...
     
  3. Punpun520

    Punpun520 New Member

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    2010 Prius
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    III
    maintenance wise I get oil changes, I had an alignment checked with my last change they said it was cool but who knows on that one now, other than that not really any maintenance. I did buy this car used at about 120000 miles on it from the dealership and has been good up until last week at the point of fueling up. I fueled up yesterday off empty with some cleaner and back at it again but this time now I seem to be losing fuel faster now and its going straight to the PWR portion of the bar for any take off, quarter way through the first eco half has me at about 20mpg going at about 28mph.
    I drive a 2010, the battery as I've noticed now is charging and losing charge rather quickly it'll be charged for about 2 minutes then drop immediately back down like I mentioned before
     
  4. NutzAboutBolts

    NutzAboutBolts Senior Member

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    best to do all of the maintenance first, and see if it made any differences. Also, I would be concern with your aux battery since you don't if its an original or has it been changed? there's a sticker on the battery to see what year it was made. All of the videos of the maintenance can be found on our youtube. The dealership or first owner probably didn't do any of it, and if they did, I doubt you would be experiencing any of the symptoms.
     
  5. Punpun520

    Punpun520 New Member

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    and what am I looking for exactly to see if its 2009-2010 or something newer? this is my first car so I don't actually know what I should be looking for
     
  6. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Punpun, I suspect you have several problems happening at the same time.

    Since you have to hold "left rudder" to drive in a straight line you may be dragging a brake. (Guess which side!) Does one brake feel significantly hotter? Have you tried setting and fully releasing the parking brake?

    Look at the tread on the tires. The wear can't be uniform across all four.

    Get the car up on a lift and check the steering.

    Rapid fluctuation of the traction battery state of charge is an indication of a failing battery.

    I just can't imagine what could possibly cause your horrific fuel economy. I'm sure the more mechanically inclined members will offer a few suggestions.

    I understand this is your first car. If you don't have any tools it is time to start your collection. Start with an inexpensive digital multimeter so you can read the voltage of the 12v battery that is under the deck in the right corner. The label on the battery will contain the date and manufacturer.

    Register the VIN on http://www.toyota.com/owners and look at the dealer service history.

    Keep us posted & we'll do our best to get you pointed in the right direction.
     
  7. Punpun520

    Punpun520 New Member

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    thank you much and I appologixe about the late response. been hectic. so I've since seen 3 mechanics. all codes read okay, went to dealer and 2 hybrid specialists, had great expirirneces at the specialist not so much the dealer (go figure) all codes read good, I went through another tank of gas since filling it up Monday and used the seafood brand multipurpose cleaner before fueling, ran okay for a bit still getting the same issues. I'm guessing its the battery, it fluctuates on the hybrid system indicator. it gets charged and drops and charging is slowly, I attempted to take a look at the battery year and was reluctant to find anything so thats still up in the air. as far as maintenance the shops checked the oil, transmission, and everything else. one even fixed the noise I was getting. turns out the dealership last time I went for my recall on the airbags had plugged something to deal with the condensation. when the shop owner informed me he let me see what he was doing and out came about 4 liters of just water basically pissing out the bottom. so all in all I'm guessing the battery is on its way out, at this point it may be in my best interest to just start looking to getting a newer model
     
  8. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    From the way you describe the hybrid battery level indicator's behavior, it does sound like the HV battery is on its last leg. But you also may have a dying 12V battery. The age isn't the determining factor. I would get that load tested at an auto parts store. The Arizona heat is the bane of batteries. And I agree with the others that you have a serious alignment or brake problem.
     
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  9. Punpun520

    Punpun520 New Member

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    III
    I've got an appointment in about an hour with the stealership to run diognostics on the battery. 130 for something like that is crazy!
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  10. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    What does "all codes read okay" mean? There is a reason they are named "Diagnostic Trouble Codes". If codes were retrieved please post them. Without the codes we can't tell if the recommendations you are getting are in your best interest or the mechanic's best interest.

    Not all problems will throw a code. For example, if the parking brake is not fully released you may not see an idiot light on the dash. If your alignment is whacked you won't see a light.

    What were the theories from the "dealer and the two hybrid specialists" for the car steering to the right? Were you able to put your hand on the four brakes without getting burned? What did any of them say after the test drive?

    Since you are paying for diagnostic time tell the service writer that you have a wicked pull to the right and that you want a print out of the cell voltages (at the very least) from the traction battery, and a load test of the 12v battery. You want to see numbers in writing. Results like "Good", "OK", or "Normal" are not acceptable.

    Jerry, might our patient have a problem within the steering column?
     
  11. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Good point. I don't think I'd rule out anything on the steering/alignment front without some experienced eyes under the car.

    Most dealers charge insane prices for reading codes. I suspect it's to keep people coming in asking for them without a good reason. Every one I've known of will then deduct that cost from the cost of repairs, but ymmv.