1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Some odd things occuring

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Daniel B., Jun 1, 2016.

  1. Daniel B.

    Daniel B. Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2016
    20
    5
    0
    Location:
    Port Richey, FL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Hello all, I'm Dan and i'm new to the Prius world. Barely two weeks ago I purchased a 2012 Prius C two with 48,xxx miles. But unfortunately i'm having some issues. I drive the car to and from work everyday and I like to travel a little bit on the weekends. So far so good. Until today, I picked up a friend for and hour long drive and the car started driving very oddly. When I accelerate the car is very lazy and seems to hesitate as well as it vibrates and lightly bucks somewhat.The engine also never seems to shutdown at stops or in a parking lot. The mpg rating seems to have gone down and when I let off of the gas pedal, the engine revs rather high.Then dies down back to normal and it does this consistently. There are no warning lights and no CEL either. This is the first time ive experienced this since ive bought the car and any other time before this, the car has seemed peppy and smooth for as little hp as it has. I do have an appointment with a Toyota service center on Friday but any opinions or advice you could give me in the mean time as to what it could be would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dan
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    welcome! who did you buy it from?
     
  3. Daniel B.

    Daniel B. Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2016
    20
    5
    0
    Location:
    Port Richey, FL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Thank you. I bought it from a major Toyota dealership in my county. Sun Toyota
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    good. hopefully, they will stand behind it. i must say, it's very odd with low mileage like yours. i almost feel like a wiring harness has come unplugged or something. i hope it's not bad gas.
     
  5. Daniel B.

    Daniel B. Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2016
    20
    5
    0
    Location:
    Port Richey, FL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I imagine they will. And I completely agree with you, it seems very strange. The car is so clean inside and out and was running perfect up until now. But as far as gas goes, I've put maybe a full tank of gas in it since I bought the car and that was at a Chevron station. 89 octane. I'm hoping for something simple. We shall see.
     
    bisco likes this.
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    me too. all the best!(y)
     
    Daniel B. likes this.
  7. Daniel B.

    Daniel B. Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2016
    20
    5
    0
    Location:
    Port Richey, FL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I very much appreciate that, thank you :)
     
    bisco likes this.
  8. DKTVAV

    DKTVAV Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2012
    510
    101
    0
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    Did you check the battery vent to make sure nothing cover it? It's on the back seat behind driver's seat near the door.
     
    bisco likes this.
  9. Daniel B.

    Daniel B. Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2016
    20
    5
    0
    Location:
    Port Richey, FL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I haven't but that is a good idea. Is it possible that it's causing the hybrid system to overheat or at least the batteries?
     
  10. ILuvMyPriusToo

    ILuvMyPriusToo Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2014
    778
    514
    0
    Location:
    Outside Philly, PA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Definitely take it in and have them look at it. Was is Certified PreOwned or is there a 30 day warranty? A visit will at least give you a record if there is a problem, and it might be something simple. What is the charge status of the hybrid battery?

    I would check the 12 volt aux. battery; they last 5+ years and you are entering the end of that window. When it goes bad, all sorts of gremlin-like issues pop up. The car might be trying to charge a bad battery, hence the lack of engine shut down at lights.

    I hope you get this worked out and enjoy your car!
     
    Robert Holt likes this.
  11. Daniel B.

    Daniel B. Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2016
    20
    5
    0
    Location:
    Port Richey, FL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    It's a certified pre-owned. It has warranties out the wazoo. That I didn't pay extra for lol. At the time of driving, the charge was around 3/4 of the charge meter. I'm still definitely taking it in. Weird thing is, is that yesterday, the drive I took was around 3 hrs round trip and it was at least 90 degrees outside and that's when it started acting up. This morning when I left for work it was about 75 degrees outside and it seemed to be operating normal. None of the previous issues. It's like something is getting hot and operating improperly. But like I said, I'm still going to my appointment. But anyway, thank you and I'm very much enjoying my car regardless of current issues :)
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    dktvav's fan vent might be a good catch, or the fan itself might need to be cleaned.
     
  13. Daniel B.

    Daniel B. Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2016
    20
    5
    0
    Location:
    Port Richey, FL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I think I may check that out myself. If I'm not mistaken, it has an access panel via plastic clips, correct? And would that actually cause the issues I mentioned if it's getting overheated?
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    good question. if the battery overheats, the engine has to work by itself. not sure if that's the issue though. you need the battery to start the engine, maybe that's why it doesn't shut down.
     
  15. MoarMPGplz

    MoarMPGplz Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2013
    29
    11
    0
    Location:
    'Lost Wages'
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I live in the Las Vegas area and had a 2012 Prius-c. During the summer months when it got really hot out (over 100+ deg F outside) and my car had been sitting outside all day at work, I found that when I started the car, sometimes it did not use EV mode for a while...I've seen where the battery drained all the way down to 2 bars and stayed there for a while. The ICE did not turn off when coming to a stop, and the engine ran at a higher RPM than normal since the traction battery was not available to assist w/ propulsion. Once I jumped onto the freeway, I had to floor it all the way so that I could barely make it to 65 and merge safely. After maybe 5 or 10 min, with the A/C blasting full force, the traction battery began charging back up and the engine RPM dropped down to more normal levels. The ICE would shut off when coming to a stop and EV mode would become usable again. I'm assuming that the traction battery temp was too high, which prevented EV mode from being usable. I also made sure there wasn't anything blocking the fan intake vent and I know the fan was working (I could hear it running full force).
     
    bisco likes this.
  16. Daniel B.

    Daniel B. Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2016
    20
    5
    0
    Location:
    Port Richey, FL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    See, this is just about every everything I had experienced yesterday. Just seemed so sluggish and the engine was just roaring at any given time up and down. But today, it seems to be almost back to normal. But as I'm driving it, its making me paranoid constantly wondering if something is going to break. But as for right now, the service department at toyota is looking at it and I'll find out if there were any issues or it was just being finicky. This may be normal operation for a hybrid which I haven't had the pleasure of owning before. Anyway, I just want to thank everyone who posted here offering advice and opinions. I'll keep you guys posted on my findings.
     
  17. MoarMPGplz

    MoarMPGplz Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2013
    29
    11
    0
    Location:
    'Lost Wages'
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I have heard of other Prius drivers experience this behavior. Usually the same scenario of hot ambient temps combined with the vehicle sitting outside in direct sunlight for a while is the common theme I see. I'm pretty sure the behavior is normal for a hybrid car when the traction battery gets too warm. I usually try to put up the sunshade and park in the shade whenever possible, so that the temp inside the car doesn't get too high. The traction battery resides underneath the rear seat, hence why the fan intake air vent is located below the rear seat, on the left side. On really hot days, over 100+ deg F though, there just may be no way to avoid the 'issue', so in case it does happen again, I open the windows all the way and turn fan on full blast to vent the hot air out as quickly as possible. After about 5 min of driving, I put up the windows, turn on the A/C and set it to 78. This seems to get the battery cooled down the quickest. Freeway driving also seems to get the battery cooled down faster than city driving.
     
  18. Daniel B.

    Daniel B. Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2016
    20
    5
    0
    Location:
    Port Richey, FL
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Okay ladies and gentlemen. All done with the dealership and the car is perfectly fine. clean bill of health. Apparently when these cars sit in direct sunlight on asphalt for about 9 hours it tends to make the whole car in general extremely hot and doesnt like to charge very well until it has a chance to cool down. So instead it runs a little strange for a bit until it cools down. And i'm sure not having tinted windows doesnt help the battery pack stay cool either. So, there we have it. Everything is good. Seriously, thanks for everyone's help.I'm going to go enjoy my sweet new Prius now :)
     
    bisco likes this.
  19. MoarMPGplz

    MoarMPGplz Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2013
    29
    11
    0
    Location:
    'Lost Wages'
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Cool deal...glad to hear there's nothing wrong with your car and is operating normally for a hybrid car. One other thing that you may run across, being that this is your first hybrid vehicle, is that when temps start cooling back down, like back into the 50's/60's when Fall comes around, the car may act 'funny' if you start the car and then turn it off before before the ICE has a chance to warm up enough, like say moving the car from inside the garage to outside and vice-versa. When you go to start it the next time, it may run very rough and shake the car a bit, like as if the engine is idling too low. Turning the car off and back on usually will fix it, but it will also cure itself as the car is driven around for a little while. Don't want to alarm you, but just an FYI in case you run into this 'quirk' :) It certainly surprised the heck out of me the first time I experienced it that I seriously thought something was wrong with the car, only to find out on these forums, that it is also a common thing that pops up now and then. Using EV mode to avoid firing up the ICE seems to help avoid running into that 'issue', so I try to remember that if I just need to move the car a short distance. Now, enough of all this hybrid mumbo-jumbo and just enjoy your 'new' ride!
     
    #19 MoarMPGplz, Jun 2, 2016
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2016
  20. ILuvMyPriusToo

    ILuvMyPriusToo Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2014
    778
    514
    0
    Location:
    Outside Philly, PA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    All's well that ends well! Time to get a sunshade! :cool: Enjoy your Prius!