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Prius Tech says no more ground loop kits from toyota

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by sas0611, Nov 4, 2008.

  1. sas0611

    sas0611 Member

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    I was talking about various prius nuisances with a prius tech. I was inquiring about getting my 08's Aux ports to accept Iphone and XM satellite receivers without making awful hum. He pulled up the tsb on his PC and said that Toyota seemingly is not providing these kits anymore. He's not sure if they are working on something better but only knows that he tried to get one last week for a prius owner and they said Toyota said that they are no longer shipping those parts. If that is true I'm pissed because my JBL systems in my 2 prii won't play the two sources cleanly that I most listen to when they are being powered by the 12 volt jacks in the console and dash.

    I also asked him about my brakes studdering and told him that I tried to clean them by putting the car in neutral and engaging the brakes fully on a couple of stops. He laughed and said don't believe everything you read on internet. The prius even in neutral is using regenerative braking and there's no getting around it. He's is the dealer's best hybrid tech and has been working on them since their inception. He sounded credible.
     
  2. WindInPants

    WindInPants New Member

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    I am in the Toyota South East area and they just got my aux port ground loop isolator in this past Friday. I have to schedule the appt. for the install, but they got me one for my 09 even though I showed them the tsb for the 08 and demonstrated the hiss for them. (works best w/ipod/iphone on pause and unplugging/replugging power). If your cars are still under warranty, you should demonstrate the hiss for the tech and insist that they fix it under warranty. I haven't heard anything about an alternative fix... anone else?
     
  3. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    I think he is wrong about this. Someone with a CanView or a ScanGauge reading Battery Current should be able to disprove this easily. According to virtually everything I have read about this, selecting N will disconnect the two MGs from the electrical system. This is done electronically by the HV ECU and inverter. If this is true, it would be impossible for regenerative braking to work in N.
     
  4. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    I also asked him about my brakes studdering and told him that I tried to clean them by putting the car in neutral and engaging the brakes fully on a couple of stops. He laughed and said don't believe everything you read on internet. The prius even in neutral is using regenerative braking and there's no getting around it. He's is the dealer's best hybrid tech and has been working on them since their inception. He sounded credible.[/quote]


    No I think the regen is off in Neutral.Sure feels that way if you slap it in neutral and then pull it down from speed. Wooo boy. Muscle memory is a strange thing. Your foot gets used to the excellent regen braking this car has and when that's instantly no longer there you get a little freaked out.Try it. Just make sure no ones in front of you. I never looked at the power flow on the MFD to see if the regen arrows go away in neutral but I bet they do.
    I let a co-worker drive my 07 around a little and she could not get used to the brakes. Kept snapping our heads forward. She said there real touchy.
    Nope...real assisted.
     
  5. sorka

    sorka Active Member

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    Well, then he's just plain wrong is not the best hybrid tech or whatever.

    I made that mistake the first week I had the car. Put it in neutral on the backside of a grade that lasts about 3 miles. Used light braking the whole time. My battery went from 3 bars....to 3 bars. It did not charge the battery at all. Doing the same thing in drive results in a full 10 bars every time by the time I get the bottom the same hill.
     
  6. Silver 2008

    Silver 2008 Junior Member

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    LOL. How many "bars" came off your brake pads?

    Mike
     
  7. brick

    brick Active Member

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    Just get the thing from crutchfield and be done with it. I think the $20 is cheaper than continuing to be frustrated about it.
     
  8. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Ditto. There was no TSB at the time I bought my Prius. I bought my own ground loop isolator over 2.5 years ago and have been using it ever since.

    I did bring it into Toyota Sunnyvale ages ago to show them the problem, which they confirmed. They said they'd call me when the part came in. Well, they never called and I haven't had the time to bring it in anyhow.
     
  9. AF1PRIUS

    AF1PRIUS New Member

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    I ordered the ground loop isolator from Crutchfield and tried it out. It took out the hum in the speakers; however, it also dropped the left side channel. I took it back out. Unfortunately, It is past the 30 days to return it. Another dust collector.

    AF1PRIUS
     
  10. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    I have been waiting months or ever since the TSB came out to get my ground loop isolator. I'm currently using a radio shack GLI and it woks really well. I just want the one from Toyota so I can have a little less mess in my center console.
     
  11. brick

    brick Active Member

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    That happened to me one day. The connector had worked its way loose so I re-seated everything and it's better. If you tried that to no avail, have you called Crutchfield? The main reason I use them is because they have always taken care of me. They once took back a head unit waaaaaaay after 30 days because it turned out not to do something it was advertised to do (work with XM Direct) and they gave me the credit toward a different, functional unit. Long story short it can't hurt to try, as they have a good track record!
     
  12. jpadc

    jpadc Type before I think too often

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    I recommend finding another dealer tech... Even the basic display on the MFD clearly shows the lack of regenerative breaking while in Neutral. Yes, its clear when using a ScanGauge as well, but you don't need anything that sophisticated to demonstrate that N makes any form of recharging the battery (regenerative or ICE operation) impossible. How can a dealer tech not know something that basic about the car?