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Prius malfuction in Yosemite

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by seasidetraveler, Oct 22, 2007.

  1. seasidetraveler

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    Has anyone had anything like this happen? I am not quite sure what happened this weekend, but it is making me nervous about taking my Prius on more trips until I get it figured out; I am supposed to drive to Vegas this weekend :unsure:

    I will tell you details of the trip just so you can read what led up to the incident. I drove up and stayed at a family members house in the central valley of CA on Friday night. Saturday morning my boyfriend and I met some friends for breakfast and then headed up to Yosemite for the day. My friend and her boyfriend drove in their own car because they had to leave early in the day to head to a party. We parked their car at the base of the road that leads to Glacier Point and the four of us headed up to Glacier Point (long windy road at a high elevation). We made it to Glacier point without a hitch- the road was steep and the temperature was about 46 degrees. I could tell the difference in performance by adding 2 passengers, but the Prius did fine.
    We walked around for a while and then climbed back in the Prius to head into the valley. We started to leave the parking area and I noticed the Prius was a bit sluggish; slower than it has ever been. ALSO I noticed that the vent or fan for the batteries in the back seat kicked on, I thought that was very odd being that it wasn't hot out. I just disregarded the feeling, thought I was imagining it. Shortly after a few corners the Prius just slowed almost to a stop, then started "surging" or "pulsing"; it felt like it was just giving up! I looked at the monitor and everything looked fine, the battery was about half way; no warning lights came on... The car came to a stop and I was in the middle of a road with no shoulder. I turned the car off and then back on and it turned on just fine... Started to go again and the car was still slow, but wasn't "pulsing". After a few miles the car was fine- no sluggish feel. Also the vent/fan turned off.

    What do you think happened? The only thing I can think is the passenger weight, the cold weather, and the elevation all combined and created a problem for the computer? I called my local dealer, he said they'll try to diagnos it- so I have a 1:00 appt today.

    Here's some photos for you to enjoy:
     

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  2. ACORNBLUES

    ACORNBLUES New Member

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    woh. what was the temp outside? inside? ac/heater on? what type of terrain were you driving in (steep inclines and slopes?)

    i've only had the battery fan on high situation once or twice. both when the temp outside was >100F and the car was parked for a while. Since I had read about other pple's experience w/ this, I immediately turned on the AC to try and cool the battery down. I did not experience any sluggishness nor pulsing.

    When the battery fan is on high, it means either the battery is hot. the BCU (bcm?) will limit battery use (charge or discharge) to protect the battery.

    Please keep us posted.
     
  3. seasidetraveler

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    Ok update:

    I just got back from the dealer. They scanned the computer and found nothing; I figured they wouldn't since no warning lights came on. The rep told me if it happens again to let him know; it was probably a glitch. That's nice to know, "probably a glitch". Very reassuring. Since the Prius made it all the way back to socal with no further issues, I will continue to trust it and hope for the best.

    ACORNBLUES-
    The temp outside was 46 degree's F and the heat was on low at 68 degrees. The car had been sitting for approximately 30 minutes (off). I thought it was very odd hearing it come on when it was so cold; but didn't know what it meant. We were driving uphill, not sure on the angle, but not as steep as a lot of the other ones we had driven that day. It was a windy, paved road and I was going about 15 mph.


    On another note; there were SO MANY Prius' up there! When you enter the park they hand you a local map and some tourist books and on the main book there was a Prius ad on the back saying "The car mother nature would want you to drive". My boyfriend either threw it away or ran off with it LOL I will try to track it down and scan it for y'all- it was a cool ad!
     
  4. seasidetraveler

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    Ok update:

    I just got back from the dealer. They scanned the computer and found nothing; I figured they wouldn't since no warning lights came on. The rep told me if it happens again to let him know; it was probably a glitch. That's nice to know, "probably a glitch". Very reassuring. Since the Prius made it all the way back to socal with no further issues, I will continue to trust it and hope for the best.

    ACORNBLUES-
    The temp outside was 46 degree's F and the heat was on low at 68 degrees. The car had been sitting for approximately 30 minutes (off). I thought it was very odd hearing it come on when it was so cold; but didn't know what it meant. We were driving uphill, not sure on the angle, but not as steep as a lot of the other ones we had driven that day. It was a windy, paved road and I was going about 15 mph.


    On another note; there were SO MANY Prius' up there! When you enter the park they hand you a local map and some tourist books and on the main book there was a Prius ad on the back saying "The car mother nature would want you to drive". My boyfriend either threw it away or ran off with it LOL I will try to track it down and scan it for y'all- it was a cool ad!
     
  5. Springtime

    Springtime Member

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    Just a guess - but, is there not a vent in the back seat that you should never block? I seem to recall some warning about not blocking vents in the back seat of the car. Is it possible your backseat companions accidently blocked the vents with their coats?

    Springtime
     
  6. seasidetraveler

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Springtime @ Oct 22 2007, 08:09 PM) [snapback]529022[/snapback]</div>
    Thanks for the input. As soon as I heard the vent I asked them if they were covering it, they looked and said no their arm/shoulder was nowhere near the vent.
     
  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    wow beautiful pics!! I'll be going up to Yosemite, up Glacier Point (as recommended by a PCer in my CA/NV thread) this Sunday! I'm soo looking forward to it now after your pics!


    Hmm... The heater temp seems ok, the vent wasn't blocked.... I went up and down the local mountain (see my "grill blocking + burning smell" thread) and it was fine with 3 ppl on board.

    No blocked grille as seen in the pics. Was the battery drained on the way up?
     
  8. snakeman

    snakeman New Member

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    I might be completely out in left field here, but I remember back in the initial days of the '04 Prius something similar happened to me. Essentially the car "lost power" while driving and began to pulse and rev a bit. I don't mean that the car shut down or stopped running on its own, but that it just lost some "oomph!" After getting home, shutting down, and restarting it ran as normal. What happened to me back then definitely sounds like the sluggishness and surging you describe.

    I asked about it at the time on the Prius Yahoo group and was told that this might be because of the Prius' onboard computers managing the state of charge of the battery. The explanation, as I remember it, was that if the car experiences prolonged periods of the same driving conditions (steady up hill, all flat, all down hill, etc.) that the system will essentially do a forced partial discharge/charge cycle on the battery.

    I've probably made a mess of trying to explain what I remember of a very technical explanation I heard three years ago, but the symptoms you describe sound like what happened to me to prompt that explanation. The good news is though, that if what is happening to your Prius is what happened to mine, then there's nothing to be worried about. Maybe someone who knows more can jump in here with some details...
     
  9. seasidetraveler

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    Thanks for the replies!

    The battery was about half way, so not full, not low.

    Enoy the scenery up there- it really is magnificant! I am impressed every time I go up there.
     
  10. Tech_Guy

    Tech_Guy Class Clown

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    Your Prius obviously has a mind of its' own. Clearly, it wanted to stay a bit longer and didn't want to leave Yosemite. Look at it this way, the car did the driving and you were just along for ride....

    Keith :unsure:
     
  11. seasidetraveler

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    I did have "her" IQ tested and she ranked just above genius! :lol: