Warning Lights

Greetings.

I have a 2004 Prius purchased in early March with approximately 5,000 miles. Until now it has been very reliable.

While driving home from work yesterday I encountered a problem with the gas engine. As I accelerated via an entry ramp onto the interstate my ICE engine shutdown. Only the electric motor was powering the vehicle and the primary battery was losing its charge rapidly as I approached 45 miles per hour. Note, various warning lights were displayed.

I probably went about a mile or so before being able to pull safely to the side of the road. After turning the car off, I waited a few minutes before restarting. At this point the ICE engine turned over and started charging the battery, however, the warning lights remained on.

Since the engine seemed to be functioning properly I drove home even though the master warning light, check engine light and a red car icon warning light in the multifunction display remained on.

This morning I started the car and the engine again appeared to be fine but the warning lights were still displayed. I shut off the car and about a half hour later started it again but all the warning lights disappeared as if nothing was wrong.

The Prius is now at the dealership for diagnostic testing. I'm not certain if the on board computer chips recorded the problem but thought I would ask if anyone experienced a similar situation or has any advice on what may have caused the problem? The only other input I can provide is that there was a half a tank of gas and the A/C was on high.

Thanks, I appreciate any response to this topic.

 

Troubleshooting Warning Lights

Thanks Drew I appreciate your input. I did not wash the car but heavy rains have been the norm the past few weeks. Note, on the day the incident occurred it was very hot and humid.

The dealership did perform the recall or service request updates for the diagnostic codes about a month ago.

I have not heard back from the dealership yet, after bringing in the car yesterday morning. They provided a loaner vehicle and said it would take a few days to perform diagnostic analysis. As you stated, hopefully the car's computer system has registered the problem in it's memory chip.

Will the dealership notify the manufacturer of this incident and do they maintain history records on all major issues since the first generation Prius was introduced?

Given all the warning lights disappeared after the third restart maybe we can assume it was just a one time event that may never reoccur??

 

ICE Engine Shutdown

"Your Prius is going to need the 40E recall fix. Some water got under the hood and dripped down on I'm not sure what but this is what generated the problem and you were put into limp home mode. This is the problem that evan has talked about recently. I just got my 40E notice yesterday"

Thank you for the info. on the recall, however, I'm not certain it will apply to my Prius given it was built in January 2004. Don't believe I will receive a recall notice although this will be good information to mention to the dealer. Tomorrow will be the third day they have my car.

 

LSC 40E Campaign

Evan

The events you described mirror closely my situation although you explained it in more accurate detail. All the warning lights you mentioned were displayed in my scenario. The sudden loss of power felt like I was piloting a twin engine plane with one propeller and could not gain altitude.

I am somewhat concerned because if this issue occurs again as I merge with high speed traffic will the lack of power cause a major accident.

As mentioned in a previous post, my vehicle was manufactured in January 2004, so I probably do not qualify for the recall. If my Prius already has the fix posted in LSC 40E and my problem mirrors yours, does the replacement seal really resolve the issues??

Thanks. By the way, Fusco sounds italian, are you a paisano?

 

LSC 40E Campaign

jchu

I appreciate the prompt response. Your comments are a relief because I assumed the seal replacement fix was already installed and, therefore, we were back to square one as far as diagnosing the problem.

 

Irish

I'm sure an Irish and Italian together is a volatile mix of emotions. By the way I am first generation Italian, the name is Andreoli. My father was born in Italy and is still alive and well in his 86th year. Hope I have his genes.

 

Results of Diagnostic Testing

Evan

Greetings Doc. How are the malpractice rates out west? Physicians here in PA, are leaving the state in noticeable numbers due to high fees (at least that is what the local papers claim).

Anyway, as a follow-up to one of our earlier discussions I finally got my Prius back after six days at the dealership. They claim my problem is not the water seal leak under the hood, instead it is a software programming error.

The service department used their scan tool and performed diagnostics. They found error codes P3191 and P0A0f for software malfunction. The fix was to reprogram the engine ECU as per service program TSB EG027-04. Don't know what it all means but sounds like the Prius is one big software program with thousands of lines of code.

 

olive oil

.....extra virgin of course with a lots of garlic and vintage muscatel

 

LSC 40E Campaign

Jchu

The dealership informed me that my car was built in January and already has the water seal under the hood. Note, I did not receive the recall notice. Based on the results of diagnostic testing they believe my engine shutdown problem was due to a computer malfunction (one piece of software not communicating properly with another program). I am not technically inclined so I don't know how to question or evaluate their findings adequately.

All the Best!
Rick A.