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Recent purchase=recent auto issues

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Davidauto, Mar 22, 2016.

  1. Davidauto

    Davidauto New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 22, 2016
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    Location:
    Connecticut
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I purchased (2/17/16) a 2009 Toyota Prius with roughly 73,000 miles. I have recently (the past 4-5 days, except the brake issue that occurred a couple of weeks ago) encountered a number of issues. The issues occur intermittently.

    First, while braking, usually when it's raining or damp outside, I might hear a grinding sound like grains between the pad & rotor. Or, the car will be gliding to a stop then at about the 4-6 mph range the brakes will grab and the car comes to a complete and abrupt stop.

    Second, while idling in 'P' the engine will engage and the car will shift forward about an 1-2" then roll back (as if bucking). My foot is off the brake pedal. I have the sensation that the car is going to drive itself.

    Third, bluetooth disruption. While driving, the call is switched back to the phone with a message that the "phone not connected" or it suddenly doesn't recognize the phone.

    Fourth, the hands-free fob will not work. I have to press the fob to unlock the door or pull the handle 3-5 times before the door unlocks. Also, upon exiting & attempting to lock the door I'll press the button on the door handle but it won't lock. I have to do it a number of times.

    Fifth, over the weekend, when I started the car the gas monitor column (on the far right: showing present/current status) completely lit up. As I drove away it stayed completely lit up and continued until I reached home (approximately .5 miles) and it didn't matter if I was stopped at a light, coasting downhill or driving uphill. It only turned off when I depressed the brake pedal and pressed the 'P' button and then the power button.
     
    #1 Davidauto, Mar 22, 2016
  2. prius_power

    prius_power Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2016
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    Location:
    Ohio
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Congratulations on the Purchase. I, for various reasons, am on my third Gen 2 Prius. The wet brakes issue you are having has happened to me on all my Priuses. (Prii?) Other people have noticed that when the regular brakes come on, they can come on strong when you near a stop.

    The issue of the car rolling forward in P is also normal. I would attribute that to the type of transmission in the car, as there is no torque converter and as such, the transmission is always engaged. Neutral is more of an "unmanaged" mode where it doesn't regenerate from coasting and the engine will not perform the start/stop function either.

    The bluetooth issue however is a quandary. I have a first gen Moto G, and it stays paired just fine, so I'm not sure if you are having an issue with the phone or the car. Might be worth playing around in the settings on the phone. Remember, the Prius can only do calls, so you can turn off audio streaming for bluetooth on your phone.

    The fob issue you are having sounds like a low battery in the fob itself. If you know that battery in the fob is good, then it may be the 12V battery, but I doubt that it is. If you look around on this website, there are easy and obvious signs to know if the 12V battery is getting weak.

    And the last issue is also normal depending on the conditions. The Prius will run the engine more after startup to warm up all the emissions components. This will become especially pronounced on short trips where the car will seem to run the engine almost all the time. I too have noticed that my engine will run at a stop, even if I have been driving it for a while. This usually happens to me if the state of charge is low, the HVAC system is demanding the engine to run to provide heat, or the car needs to heat up the emissions components again due to a lot of EV driving. (I live in Ohio, so it gets cold enough for that to happen)
     
    #2 prius_power, Mar 22, 2016
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Nov 10, 2013
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    1. You can try cleaning the brake rotors by putting the car in neutral while rolling to a stop. Do that a few times and it should clean off the rotors/pads of any buildup/imperfection.
    2. Normal, just noticing the engine kicking on.
    3. not sure
    4. low battery in fob
    5. not sure what you're describing
     
    #3 JC91006, Mar 22, 2016
    prius_power likes this.
  4. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Location:
    So. Texas
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    I just bought an 06 with 44k miles (not a typo!) and the ICE operation is not as smooth as the later gen prius or my cmax. The brake issue sounds to me like cold, wet brakes under light application. Apply hard at higher speeds and see if the condition goes away. There is an KEY button very low on the dash underneath the steering wheel. It disables the SKS feature. This keeps the SKS from discharging the 12v battery when the car sits for long periods of time. Maybe it's off or the FOB battery is nearly dead.
     
    #4 fotomoto, Mar 22, 2016
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Oct 17, 2010
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    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    How are the brake pads, what the remaining thickness? Also, how do the rotors look? Have they been inspected regularly, recently?
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Mar 22, 2016
  6. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 7, 2006
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    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    And check the 12v battery
     
    #6 kenoarto, Mar 22, 2016
  7. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    Two
    The brake issue is because in your case the car is stored outside (exposed to morning dew) and since most braking energy is done through regen the hydraulic portion of the brakes rarely work that hard like a normal car with no regen. Regen contributes an amazing amount of braking force.
    So basicly the brakes are never applied real hard like in a normal car so any surface rust on the rotor does not get wiped off.
    Get a flashlight and look through the front wheel spokes at the rotor surface. See how rusted they are. There probably all rusted to hell since at your miles the car wasn't driven alot and probably sat on the lot a while before you bought it. Sitting there rusting. Sometimes its so bad the rotors may need to be replaced.
    Worse after they get wet.
    Get the car up to 60-70 miles an hour and with no one behind you put the car in neutral and apply the brakes firmly. When done just put the car back in D and drive away. I do it once in a while.
    This will make the brakes work hard as in neutral no regen is applied/ No braking assist. And you can then discover how bad the brakes are in this car without regen assist.
    The car "jumping" when it starts is very normal as you have both the trans and the engine starting at the same time. The trans MG1 spins up hard to turn the engine over and then the engine fires all in one second so lots of machinery jumping into action up front there. Disconcerting at first but the car is not moving its just shaking.

    All normal.
     
    #7 edthefox5, Mar 22, 2016
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