Possible harness-damage problem for 04-06 Prius

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 25 2006, 08:24 AM) [snapback]324595[/snapback]</div>

I'm probably going to fix this myself when I have some time. Having been in "wiring harness hell" with a few cars, I'd much rather do something to address this for just my peace of mind if nothing else.

 

let's say DH has seen a couple of harnesses that have had the outside wrapping gouged from this now, and he hasn't been looking all that long or in every car he gets.

he's changing ours at our next oil change in about 500 mi. it's not urgent but in the long term the potential is there.

 

well next time he's talking to tech assist he's planning on bringing it up. thing is he ends up juggling so much in a day that he forgets.

anyway i recall hobbit mentioning something about how this has already caused problems in a prius up near him, i'd assume the dealership up there reported it.

i mentioned above that DH only has access to the southeast toyota version of tech assist, not the national folks. so ya really can't tell what'll happen.

 

good call, i agree. one bad thing about this type of group is that people do tend to freak out excessively over things.

 

I was going to reply to this "problem" that I went and checked the 2k4 and yes the plate was on backwards but if you look at the harness there is a plastic sleeve under the tape where it "hits" the plate and it's a toss up which is worse the edge of the plate or the really sharpe edge of the casting where it's been machined flat. Fastest fix for this is to just grab the harness and bend it to a V in front of the plate edge and you'll be surprised at the inch of clearance that you get. I really think that this is over blown.

 

I'm not trying to take a "sky is falling" attitude to this, I'm trying to motivate people to get to Toyota so that this becomes a TSB - so they stop installing the part wrong in the first place, and so what small percentage of us are affected by it don't end up with a broken car out of warranty. If you know how to prevent a problem... prevent it. Especially if it could be expensive.

Every one of us that puts it off or fixes it ourselves is one less person doing what needs to be done: Getting Toyota to stop installing this part wrong. It basically defers the problem to everyone else.

Personally I'm not very good with cars so fixing this myself isn't very likely - and I think I'm in the majority that way. I appreciate the work of those who have noticed it and documented it - you've done your part - the rest of us need to do our part by bringing this into Toyota.

 

I'm a new Prious owner who's been following this thread for about a month. I had checked my car and found that the plate was installed incorrectly on my '06. When I took my car in for the 1000 mile oil change last Monday, I asked them to install the plate correctly and gave them the photos that Hobbit had posted. There was no problem or questions from them. The dealer was DCH Toyota of Oxnard (CA). They seemed to be more concerned that I was asking them to put higher pressure in the tires (42/40)!

 

Toyota San Diego fixed mine with no questions asked (I had brought a copy of hobbit's pictures with me). My sister in Virginia took her car to the dealership in Manassas, and they wanted someone higher up to take a look at the situation and approve the work being done. I e-mailed my sister a link to hobbit's site, and they fixed hers after reviewing his pics. Both of our cars were built in 2/04. I hope Toyota has started telling their guys in the factory to put this thing on correctly!!!

 

Thanks both for doing your part!

RapidRobert, Oxnard is actually reasonable for me to get to - how much did they charge you total after fixing the plate issue and filling up your tires, if you don't mind me asking?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ Sep 25 2006, 05:15 AM) [snapback]324590[/snapback]</div>

I'm not in any hurry at all, I fixed mine the day after I made that post. However, I was thinking that most Prius owners won't be able to do that. The potential problem needs to be fixed before it causes a short circuit not when or if the Toyota management people finally decide they want to. Management, both in private industry and government have caused, or failed to prevent, a lot of serious problems because they would rather save a few pennies than fix things before they fail catastrophically.

I am happy to hear that some dealers are responding to this issue. As others have pointed out it may never cause a problem but if it is easy to fix, why not fix it? It can be done in a few extra minutes during an oil change.

 

No the sky isn't falling, and kudos to the good Doctor for applying
perspective. One thing that people sometimes tend to sieze upon is
the idea that Toyota blew it somehow. The plate actually *is* an
asymmetric part that if viewed with respect to the hole it's supposed
to cover, has one obvious way to go on where the dimple matches the
hole and the bolts line up and the metal tab in question more or less
conforms to a piece of the block up top.
.
The other bit of perspective is that there *is* a fairly hefty piece
of plastic split-loom harness cover over the wiring under the tape,
and even if the harness was *pressing* on the tab it would take a
while for a cut to progress in far enough to hit bare resolver-harness
wiring. Where the harness sits varies a bit car to car, depending
on how those standoff supports are bent -- sometimes it's in contact
and has a slight gouge into the tape on ones I've checked, and
sometimes it's just barely clear of the tab. What I'm only trying
to bring to light is that there's a *possibility* that long-term
vibration in cases where the harness happens to be closer to the
tab might have the problem. The Prius I was told had succumbed to
this probably had one of the standoff tabs bent in a way that made
even more pressure. And the main point is that it *is* easy to fix
yourself -- just like killing the reverse beep, turning the rearview
mirror upside down, airing up the tires right, installing a BT plate,
pulling the trim rings, or any of those other relatively little
things we all do to eliminate annoyances and increase safety/
reliability in our own cars. You'd be doing this sort of stuff to
any other car too, I imagine.
.
I'll also point out that if you know where to put your hand, you
can *feel* for the existence of the tab without having to see it.
That's how I've been checking other peoples' cars. At that point
I can also pull on the harness a little to help bend it away, in
case the owner isn't interested in flipping the plate.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Oct 1 2006, 09:14 AM) [snapback]326471[/snapback]</div>

I just told my wife that I was heading out to feel under the Prius. She now forbids me to visit the garage alone.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SoopahMan @ Oct 1 2006, 04:57 AM) [snapback]326415[/snapback]</div>

I took the car in for the 1K oil change, which was free along with the other items such as installing plate correctly and inflating tires.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Claudia @ Sep 24 2006, 11:58 PM) [snapback]324523[/snapback]</div>

claudia-

DH can do the repair job in his bay in about 15 min. including all the check in processes and return processes, shouldn't take even an whole hour if you've got an appointment. send me a PM if you're planning on doing this and i'll send you the phone number and who to ask for when you make the appointment.

 

After reading this thread I had to go out and check my '06 that I got in June. Yep, plate is incorrectly positioned. You can look down from the top of the engine compartment and see the plate. My wire bundle was situated about 1/4" away from the tab. The tab is somewhat sharp with burrs and probably would do some harm if contacted.

The wire bundle is pretty stiff, if it's not in direct contact there shouldn't be any worry. If others want to correct the problem by putting the plate correctly, you will have to take the air dam off. You may have to jack up the front end to get better clearance and leverage. I, on the other hand, took the easy way out. I had a piece of 3/4"x3" vacuum hose and just slit one side and slipped it over the wire bundle, used a tie-wrap to secure. I'll check from time to time for any problems, but leaving it this way I could at least add my Prius to those with this problem and notify Toyota. So, when they want to send out a TSB I'll be ready.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Avid @ Oct 1 2006, 10:51 PM) [snapback]326744[/snapback]</div>

Good thinking! You did all this from under the hood? Or crawl under the car. I'm serious that my wife still won't let me out there alone...