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While Driving-Prius totally shut down

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by dwpeterson, May 15, 2012.

  1. dwpeterson

    dwpeterson New Member

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    I was driving on the highway when everything on the car went dark-the wipers (it was raining) stopped-and I was left just coasting. The hazards worked. I managed to coast through the exit and off the access road which is where the car is now, the next morning.

    Once again: Car running fine, with no problems when an instantaneous shutdown occurred.

    The key fob's battery had gotten to the point that the Smart System wasn't working so I assumed that the fob battery had gone totally dead and wasn't communicating with the car while inserted in the fob slot. I replaced the fob battery and it activates the Smart System now.

    The 12v battery was replaced less than 6 months ago. The headlights still work....I think that would only happen when the key was available normally and this might be related to the below description:

    The car makes the warning sound when I open the driver door as if the fob is still in the ignition (it's the warning that the keys are about to be locked in the car) so it seems to not realize the key has been removed.

    The suddenness of the shut down makes me think that it's a blown fuse or, a horrible thought, that the immobilization feature is activated.

    I haven't seen anything posted that describes this type of problem. Any thoughts before I get the thing towed?
     
    #1 dwpeterson, May 15, 2012
  2. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    No good ideas here.
    One common problem is running out of fuel. Assume that is not the case.
    I would still worry about 12v even though sounds ok, you might check voltage.
    Otherwise you need to get failure codes to diagnose.
    I am not aware if this can be done on the road or you need to tow.
     
    #2 wjtracy, May 15, 2012
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    how many miles on her?
     
    #3 bisco, May 15, 2012
  4. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Has the car ever been in an accident? Approximate mileage? I am thinking that something got wet somewhere and, hopefully, the only problem is a blown fuse. A major portion of electrical wiring is in the front driver's side of the engine bay and if it is not absolutely water tight you can have serious problems.

    We have not heard good things about Charles Maund Toyota when it comes to hybrids. I vaguely recall a recommendation for Round Rock. Still, a problem like this, if you have any skills whatsoever, take a crack at figuring it out.

    One thing to try is go out there this morning and see if it will start up. If something got wet and caused a short to ground in a signal wire, then it is possible that the car will work after having dried out. Now, you said "totally shut down" but I think it is possible that you have had an incomplete shutdown and the 12V battery will be dead. So take with you a voltmeter to check first that you have >11.5V at the jump point in the front fuse box. If so, try to start the car. If no joy, check the fuses, particularly AM2 and HEV.

    If there was no big red triangle prior to stalling out, then it is guaranteed to be electrical in nature and it is quite likely that no codes will be found, even possible that the OBDII port is dead.
     
    #4 seilerts, May 15, 2012
    SFO likes this.
  5. HaroldW

    HaroldW Active Member

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    Check for circulation in the inverter tank. The pump may have stopped pumping causing a over heat problem? H
     
    #5 HaroldW, May 15, 2012
  6. dwpeterson

    dwpeterson New Member

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    Thanks guys--so I figured the car thinks the key is still in the slot and disconnected the 12v battery and it fixed that problem but the car still wouldn't start.

    I checked the fuses and found the AM2 was blown. Grabbed the dome fuse, put it in the AM2 slot (same rating) and was half a step towards the driver's door when I saw smoke coming from below that general area-where the jumper connectors are.

    What does the AM2 fuse operate? Is it something I can turn off without having to put the fuse back in?

    And yes, it has been fairly continually raining throughout all of this.

    Just over 100k, predictably. It's a 2007.

    Any hope out there?
     
    #6 dwpeterson, May 15, 2012
  7. dwpeterson

    dwpeterson New Member

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    So this is looking like a similar problem's solution:

    I can't post a link yet as I"m still on site probation but this is priuschat forum...
    /forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/65173-how-replace-inverter-coolant-pump-5.html
     
    #7 dwpeterson, May 15, 2012
  8. northwichita

    northwichita .

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    above link
    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...5173-how-replace-inverter-coolant-pump-5.html

    There is a connection for the inverter pump by the bulkhead, easier to unplug this than the inverter pump itself. If you haven't already replaced the pump, I would try unplugging it at either place and replacing the fuse to isolate the cause of the problem.

    This web link has information and a picture of the connection.
    Inverter Pump


    I also had the AM2 fuse blow when my inverter pump went out for this second time earlier this year. The car will not go into gear with a blown AM2 fuse from my experience.

    Believe 07's are still under the recall for the inverter pump, so you may get a free repair if you check.
    .http://lusciousgarage.com/blog/toyota_prius_inverter_water_pump_recall/
     
    #8 northwichita, May 15, 2012
  9. dwpeterson

    dwpeterson New Member

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    Thanks-hopefully it is the inverter pump and the repair will be covered by Toyota. Got the car towed and will see what they find in the morning. The smoke coming out made me not want to troubleshoot any further.
     
    #9 dwpeterson, May 15, 2012
  10. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    #10 cwerdna, May 15, 2012
  11. s q

    s q New Member

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    Any ideas on what it may be besides the AM2 fuse or electrical problem? My cars doing the same thing, 270k miles, just put gas and it stalled about 20 miles after i put the gas. Maybe its oil leak? I put pil a few days ago but whe. I checked now it seems like it has none.
     
    #11 s q, Sep 27, 2017
  12. Uwindsprint

    Uwindsprint Junior Member

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    ----USA----
    dwpeterson, many years have gone
    by since you had the trouble described above. Just yesterday I had the same trouble. If you can think back and remember, please describe how this was resolved. I appreciate you for your time.

    QUOTE="dwpeterson, post: 1557801, member: 91675"]Thanks-hopefully it is the inverter pump and the repair will be covered by Toyota. Got the car towed and will see what they find in the morning. The smoke coming out made me not want to troubleshoot any further.[/QUOTE]
     
    #12 Uwindsprint, Apr 22, 2019
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