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Toyota Prius: Problems & Solutions
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With the engine cold, start the car. Engine runs for a few seconds and dies. I can usually re start the engine on the next try and drive to work. Of course all the engine warning lights are on. After the car starts successfully three more times, the warning lights go away and the display returns to normal. I've had the car into the deal and they couldn't find anything wrong since the engine codes has cleared by the time they got the car. The frequency of occurrence is increasing. Has anyone seen this problem?
I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. I have a 2004 and now have over 20,000 miles (33,000 km) on mine. I have had none of your problems and have been generally very pleased. Unfortunately it sounds like your vehicle may have been a victim of Toyota's push for more volume when the backlog of buyers was at it's worst. Yours is the first such story I've heard. If I were in your position, I would be starting talks with my dealer and Toyota about a replacement, lemon law or not, Toyota is successful because they have generally done the right things to maintain a reputation for consistent, reliable, well built vehicles - yours is clearly an anomoly. Good luck.
HELP!!!
We're a family of devoted Toyota cars in the pass and my wife's '93 Tercel's battery lasted over 8 years, never dies and starts every single time.
Now We're beginning to have second thoughts about our '02 and '04 Prius that costs an arm and leg just for run-of-the mill item replacements. The heavy duty battery itself would have cost me over $200.
Would anyone out there who may have similar starter battery problems share some light and experiences on this. It would be much appreciated as we may end our relationship with Toyota hybrids. Thank you in advance.
We have 55000 miles on our '02 and have had no problem with the 12v battery.
It's critical that the car be run for at least 30 minutes (without turning the key off) every week or so to allow enough time to recharge the 12v battery. While the HV battery can recharge very quickly the 12v battery is recharged at a slower rate to prevent it from overheating. It's not necessary for the gas engine to be running, but the key must be in the "on" position so the inverter's battery charger function is running. Your owner's manual should have something to say about this.
The Car Giveth and the Car Taketh Away
Yeah, the 12v battery is one of the things in the Prius that is more expensive, and touchier than in other cars.
But, by the same token, there are some things that you either have to do regularly or can expect to do at least once over the life of a regular car that you don't have to worry about with the Prius.
The Prius is very good on brakes. So, you don't have to do that brake job every 35K miles. Maybe you'll do it at 100K, maybe not
The Prius doesn't have a transmisison per-se, so if you're someone who keeps cars a long time (like me), it's nice not to have to sorry about the huge cost of modern transmission repairs.
On the 04 at least, the entire exhaust system is Stainless Steel, so hopefully I won't have to visit MIDAS for that either. On my other cars, living in the Salt Belt, the most you can expect to get out of mufflers and such is 50K.
Taking a look at the big picture, I think it's likely that it's quite likely the Prius lifetime repair/maintenance costs for things that wear out may be less than other cars.
But yeah, the Battery is a potential annoyance
I thought I've checked my manual, but found nothing about the subject. I have a stinking hunch that maybe Toyota just wants to sell more after-market items.
Again, a BIG THANKS!!!
Seriously, anyone know what it takes to get titles to display? I've not gotten it to work on any CDs, either store bought or self-burned. Is there some format my CD burner needs to use?
Also, anyone know what the letters RDS on the CD player stand for? (I have a type 1 system, no changer)
Thanks!
I'm in the market for a Prius and was able to test drive one today. Loved it, except for the somewhat obstructed view out the back window. Has anyone found it to be a problem, or is it something you get used to? Any advice about working around it? Thanks!
Lots of factors can contribute to lower mileage in the cold.
1) Check your tire pressure. Your tire pressure will drop as it gets colder and if you don't keep checking it and compensate, you will wind up running on under-inflated tires, which will kill mileage (and may be unsafe).
2) See if your locality uses oxygenated (Reformulated or RF) gasoline in the winter. This gas formulation contains less energy and results in lower mileage. This alone can drop mileage by 2-3% minimum and more in some cases.
3) Cold air is denser than Warm air, making it harder to push the car through and decreasing mileage.
4) The Engine takes longer to reach operating temperature, and cools off faster due to cold air over the radiator, meaning it must run more often. Lots of people block a portion of the radiator in winter to cut down on this effect.
5) The Engine is also providing your cabin heat, so it has to keep the coolant hot for you too.
6) The Engine is also keeping the catalytic converters up to effective temperature, so even if the engine is warm, and you are warm, if the catalytic converters cool off, the Prius will run the engine to heat them back up. Remember, the Prius is tuned to minimize emissions, not maximize mileage. It will sacrifice mileage if necessary to keep the emissions system working at peak performance.
7) The HV battery gets cold too. It's warmed by cabin air, and by charge/discharge cycling, so it won't be as efficient initially either.
8) Short trips that don't let anything warm up will be even worse on mileage in the cold than they are under normal conditions. Gasoline doesn't combust as efficiently in a cold engine, so there's a double hit for short trips, which are bad enough even in warm weather.
If you think your mileage drop is way out of line, get your dealer to check, but a drop of 5 MPG or more when going from 80 degrees to 20 degrees isn't surprising depending on all the possible factors.
ANSWER: Audio CDs don't normally contain the title and artist information. There is an exception, some CDs have a "CD-Text" logo which indicates they can provide this information on the display, but not many CD players support it. Your PC can display the titles because it looks at the CD and based on the tracks and times it looks up the info on the internet. Since we don't have internet in our cars yet, that doesn't work on the road :-)
RDS is a system that sends short text messages from FM radio stations to your receiver. Many FM stations use this to display song titles and artists which you can see on your display when you bring up the audio screen. It also can indicate the "format" of the radio station which can allow you to categorize all the stations in your radio, but many stations change format often enough that the format info in the RDS stream may or may not match what the station actually airs :-).
There is a redesigned "filler neck" to address the issue you are having. Only if your VIN applies if it is after counter measure you already have the latest part. If in that case you may have a defective gas tank (the tank is made up a metal body with a rubber bladder that expands and contracts, it may be defective).
Consult with your dealer.
I told the dealer that I had had the problem while under warranty, but to no avail. The new, heavy duty battery cost about $165 plus an additional $130 for the mounting kit. Then, yet another $60 to install it. So, consider yourself lucky that you only paid $200.
I have a 2005 Prius on order. I hope it already comes with a heavy duty battery.
RAB
The 2004 Prius certainly does have a secondary battery, and I'm under the impression that the vehicle won't start without that battery working.
Anyone out there ever started the 04 Prius with a dead secondary battery?
A poster last year paid $300 for the 12 Volt battery in the Prius. It does seem high, but it is a Toyota. They did not get to be the highest profit automaker giving cars & parts away.
roof for 2 more weeks with the dashboard torn apart. After two weeks they said that Panasonic does not have the part, and will have to backorder it from Japan. They did put the dashboard together,about 1 hour, and I now have an audio quiet car to drive.
Has anyone else had that problem?
You can deactivate it by a switch under the steering wheel. This will greatly reduce the cars need for electricity. From what I was told by my dealer, The car may still need to be jump started.
I actually find the "A" pillars are more distracting. They are so big and slanted it is hard to see into a turn. But I still love mine
(maybe 2-3 mpg: I get 38mpg as compared to 41mpg overall)
But when it gets down to 0 to 10 degrees. I got barely 30 mpg. This was mostly city, but even when I got on the Highway, it did not pick up much
I normally get 41mpg i was getting 30mpg during that frosty weather in January
The car then stopped and would not move forward. I turned it off and read some of the manual. After a few minutes, I pressed the "ON" button and this time the gas engine started, although the mass of warning lights stayed on. I got the car into the garage, where I left it running to charge the battery (garage door open of course). While I called Toyota, the car stopped.
After having it towed on a flatbed to Toyota the next day, the car was fixed by reprogramming the ECM (engine control module). So far there is no explanation from Toyota for the failure, I'm trying to work my way up to someone who actually knows something about the computers. My confidence in this car, and Toyota, was badly shaken by this incident.
Before this incident, my Prius ran perfectly for 12,900 miles. Summer mileage is 48 to 52 mpg, winter is 40 to 46 mpg. Mileage is much better in warm weather.
Has anyone gotten a real explanation for similar failures? How many 04 Prius's have had the same problem? I see a few others at post #40 here.
Now, after taking the Prius for service, (see post #134) it turns out that the service technician put nearly a QUART TOO MUCH OIL in the car! According to the service manager, this will make the car run roughly.
Always check the oil level yourself- it is critical to proper performance of this car, and unbelievable to me until I saw it happen that the service person could be so careless.
Is this the way the system is supposed to work or do I have a problem?
That's the default programming. If you use SKS to open the Passenger Door or Rear Hatch, all the doors will unlock.
If you use it on the Driver Door, only that door will unlock.
The defaults can be changed using just the key fob to program it I believe (some default changes require the scan tool).
I think the instructions are in the manual.
Do you mean the Dash Lights reflecting off the Windshield?
First thing to do is find the roller knob to the lower left of the steering column (IE the Dash Light Dimmer) and turn it down.
In it's upright and locked position, the dash lights will be on full, even when you have the headlights on.
If you roll it down, the Dash lights will be on full when your headlights are off, but will be dimmed when you have the headlights on.
If it seems to not be working, check the display settings in the MFD. It's possible to get the "Night Mode" and "Day Mode" of the dash hosed up in there.
But, odds are it's just the dimmer switch.
Also, the buttons on the steering wheel (and a few assorted other buttons) are extremely dim. When I used the dimmer on the dash (to the left of the steering wheel), it lit up everything BUT these buttons. Does anyone know how to adjust these buttons? (The steering wheel buttons, including the CD changer, the rear defroster, the front defroster buttons and more.)
Thanks!
I put the Prius in the garage the minute any bit of snow falls and get into a real snow-worthy vehicle where I can spin all four wheels if I'm on ice (F250 4WD).
Prius is a great warm weather car, 50+ mpg for me when the temp is above 60.
Please post any similar experiences, Toyota seems to be just burying these failures, but together we can find out how widespread they are.
This car is no worse than any other fwd car in the winter IF you put the proper tires on it [one of the earliest buyers, who used to contribute regularly to this forum, lives in Minnesota, and never had a problem]. The OEM GY Intregity tires are a particularly poor choice in snow.
You should have pushed the "Info" button again. The screen would come right back and never disappear again. I tried it last night, and it seems to work fine.
That said, if you know how to drive in the snow, you should be fine. Based on experience with a '02 Prius (wife's car) and a '05 Subaru Forester (mine, and somewhat comparable to the Rav4), you'll have to pay more attention to the road conditions and the way the Prius is responding to the white stuff than you would with the Rav4.