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Toyota Prius: Problems & Solutions
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Anyway, in theory a catalytic converter should NEVER fail. It is a catalyst for a chemical reaction but it is not consumed itself. The reason a catalytic converter fails is that the bricks get contaminated. Number one culprit is motor oil, but low quality fuel can cause trouble too.
So. Here I am with a Prius. On the 90-mile drive home I only got 39.9 mpg, according to the dashboard gauge. According to this group and others, that's almost certainly 2-5 miles higher than I actually got. I was only going about 65 mph and the temp was about 58. So that's pretty disappointing.
I already knew about Prius' tire problem, but figured at the car's price an extra set of tires wasn't that big a deal. Now I find out that Toyota gave "classic" Prius a unique wheel size that nobody makes tires for. WHAT!?! Is that true? I'm seeing very different stories around the user-groups. Am I stuck with a car that I can't even get snow tires for?
And the radio! I noticed it was an unusual shape when I test drove the car, but assumed I could adapt any radio with a kit and harness (I've installed radios in few cars, and am pretty handy). It looks like that's very, very untrue. Even Cruthchfield has NO radio that fits the Prius, and no adapter kit or harness.
What is Toyota thinking!?! How many more simple things on my "economy" car are unique and unavailable through the after-market? And now I read all the horror stories about very expensive repairs and the dubious knowledge of most dealers.
I'm very concerned that I made a terrible decision buying this car. If the mileage barely beats a normal Civic or Echo, simple things like tires and radios (and maybe other things) are unavailable or exhorbitantly expensive, and even specially-trained technicians can't be trusted, what is the upside?
Please help,
Steve Jones
Can't speak to the rest of your issues, but the tires are no big deal. See the link above from the Tire Rack for alternatives in the 175/65x14 size. I have no idea where you got the impression that "nobody makes tires" in this size, which is indeed unusual, but not unheard of.
You could substitute the much more common 185/65x14s [as long as you did all four at once], and put up with the small amount of speedo/odo error [on the order of 3-5%] they would introduce.
185/60x14s would have the same rolling diameter as the originals, but they aren't real common, either.
In any case, this is not a crisis.
Welcome to the Forum. The battery should have a manufacturers warranty longer than one year. Others have paid as much as $400 for that battery. I would question if that electrical panel in any way affects the operation of the car, it may have to be covered under the emissions law. I can understand your frustration with a car that is less than a year and a half old costing that kind of money to repair. Good luck
That is a known problem covered under TSB EL002-05 "Multi-Display Functions are Inoperative"
Take that TSB Number to your dealer. If they don't try to work with Toyota to get it covered under warrantee, then you should call Toyota Corporate directly. I'd expect they would cover it. They've been good about that.
If for some unfathomable reason they don't, the $1K is still too much. A refurbished MFD is about $400 and it is .2 (that is 2/10 hour) labor to install.
HMMM, who will install it? The dealer is unlikely to work with a refurb, and many mechanics seem to be leery of working on the electronics of a hybrid.
But, the replacement is simple anyway. You can get a DVD from a place like CoastalETech that shows you step by step how to disassemble the dash to get at the MFD for adding Satellite Radio, Backup Cameras, etc.
It's no different than replacing a stereo head. Unplug a couple of cables, plug in the new one, snap the dash back together.
this morning I was getting ready for church and lo and behold could not find my key fob..I searched and searched and finally decided to look in the last pair of pants I had been wearing...
It was in the pocket of the sweat pants I had worn while washing the car..It had gone thru the wash cycle and the dry cycle.
I immediately went into the garage.. jumped into the seat and all was well
Pruis problems, not at all.
It is in TSB EL002-05
OP Code EL4012 - R&R Display, Multi-Display
First of all, the seller said he had replaced what appears to be the AC/DC converter. I gathered this info from looking at a chart of the engine online---it's the big square silver thing under the hood.
Secondly, he said he bought it at auction and it had a salvage title. What is a salvage title and is it such a bad thing?
Lastly, he had a yellow brake on one of the front wheels---obviously an after-market caliper? I'm not sure---I don't know that much about brakes. The car had 45K miles on it which is not much. Would a caliper have to be replaced after 45K miles?
Thanks for your help---I'm so glad I found this forum. I have been wondering how much repairs for the Prius cost vs. a conventional car.
Run, do not walk, away from this car at top speed. Don't look back.
I would suspect flood damage, from your description of what has been replaced. Of all the cars in the world that you don't want to have any part of under these circumstances, it is a Prius.
Glad you asked first - this would have been a big mistake.
Now I'd like to know what kind of maintenance a Prius needs. In other words, is regular maintenance comparable in cost to a conventional car? Oil chages every 7,500, when do I get a tune-up, is there a timing belt to change? I have read that new batteries, if needed, have come down in cost from $5K to $3K so if those fail it's comparable to having to rebuild the engine and transmission both, whch some people don't mind doing if they love a car. I have test driven this car and it is very fun to drive, IMO, and very peaceful while stuck in traffic because it's so quiet. I just wish there was more info out there about what it's like to live with one!
Sound familiar to anyone? Thanks in advance for any help!
Isn't the transmission controlled by the computer? Maybe you should post this in the "Prius Software Problems" forum...
http://www.thecarconnection.com/Industry/Daily_Edition/Daily_Edition_May_16_2005.S173.A862- - - 4.html
"Are Priuses Stalling Out?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not launched a formal investigation yet, but it is compiling complaints from Toyota Prius owners that the cars can stall or shut down while on the road. The agency has logged 13 reports in which 2004 Priuses have shut down at highway or slower driving speeds; a TCC staffer's personal car experienced the problem late last year. ....."
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
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i'll try to update here what happens. the car is behaving normally, despite the second light on. the tech and the service rep assumed that when i had the oil changed [and converted to synthetic] a few months ago, they didn't reset the maint. req. code.
tomorrow may tell...
plusaf.
www.plusaf.com
weird thing was, the car seemed to shut down to electri-only, and i was able to limp to the side of the road safely, at no more than 5-10 mph.
the red ! came on, and i figured i'd blown something serious, so i shut the car down, let it sit for a minute, and restarted. the light stayed on, but since i was just a mile or two from my dealer [!], i took the car there and asked what to do. i didn't want to leave it overnight, and since it had come alive again [the IC was running, and it was behaving normally], i drove home after making a service appointment for the next morning.
of course, the next morning, the ! light was out, so i canceled the service appt. and have been driving with no problems for the next thousand or so miles.... until today [two orange lights came on... off to the dealer tomorrow.]
better not be serious... we're planning a 7-8000 mile cross country drive and back in a few weeks......
+af
the onboard systems will not let the battery discharge too low. even if the energy-screen on the dash shows "no bars" of juice, the battery is still not fully discharged. the onboard computers won't allow it. you will, at worst, be throttled down to the max that the internal combustion engine [ICE] will let you do, but my Prius ran up the east slope from truckee to the summit at easily over the speed limit, as it ran up the west slope with no trailer at over 83 mph on cruise-control without ever missing a beat OR discharging the NiMH batteries.
as a guy at priuschat.com put it, "buy it, then drive it like you stole it." the highlander should behave the same way, but with more acceleration and overall horsepower.
my vote: nothing to be afraid of. these guys [and gals?] have engineered the car very well.
+af
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2005-05-16-prius_x.htm
Welcome to the forum. The 12 volt battery is very easy to have checked. I would think it should have some kind of warranty from the battery manufacturer. You need to report this to the NHTSA. That is the only way that Toyota will know about the problems you are having. Your dealer is not going to admit that they are clueless. You should not have to put up with the problems you are having. It should all be covered by warranty. Be sure and document each visit to the dealership. Good luck and keep us posted as to what is found.
thanks, Sharon
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/recallsearch.cfm
I mentioned that the problem was also present in January and they had looked at it then three times (while under warranty) and no problem was found. This time the "codes came up on the computer diagnostics". I thought that Toyota may have sent the dealer new software for this problem but they said not. I am out 300 dollars right now for this fix and the vehicle only has 40K on it. And so many people have told me that Toyotas were good cars. With gas the price it is and if the problem is with the dirty fuel injectors due to the gas what and who can I report all of this to? Do I start with the NHTSA? Who regulates the gas companies? I live in Bremerton WA. Do I call the attorney general in Olympia?
Help! and thank you....
I mentioned that the problem was also present in January and they had looked at it then three times (while under warranty) and no problem was found. This time the "codes came up on the computer diagnostics". I thought that Toyota may have sent the dealer new software for this problem but they said not. I am out 300 dollars right now for this fix and the vehicle only has 40K on it. And so many people have told me that Toyotas were good cars. With gas the price it is and if the problem is with the dirty fuel injectors due to the gas what and who can I report all of this to? Do I start with the NHTSA? Who regulates the gas companies? I live in Bremerton WA. Do I call the attorney general in Olympia?
Help! and thank you....
That is a good one. I have not heard that before. The fact that you had taken the car in several times while under warranty, then they come up with a fix past the warranty period is suspicious. I would go to the gas station you use most and tell them what happened. They may or may not go to bat for you. BP/ARCO is a lot bigger than Toyota. If the dealer is scamming you they may give you some ammunition to use. Gas is regulated pretty closely. Your fuel filter should have gotten any contaminants that got in the tank. I would assume that you had the car serviced at the prescribed intervals and the gas filter was changed on schedule. It would be worth filing a complaint and maybe find out who is at fault. Kind of like the Explorer/Firestone fiasco.
Sharon
Big car companies and their retailers are potential "scammers", but big oil companies and their refiners are surely OK?
The fact is that modern induction systems need a level of detergent to function properly; in the absence of a true national standard for fuel quality [fat chance, with the current crew], every buyer is literally on their own. This isn't the first time, and likely won't be the last; the remarkable thing is BP owning up to the problem...and since they ship the stuff all over the Northwest, it will be interesting to see who else is at risk [including me and my Mercedes C240, which is mostly fueled at the Costco in Vancouver, WA - where does their fuel come from? I guess I'll find out...]
I think the assumption that it was a Toyota dealership problem is correct. He had taken his car in several times for the same problem. If they had taken care of it as they should on the first visit they would be in the clear. That is not too much to expect from any dealership.
Your consumer protection agency is the entity that has the control over these oil refineries. Sounds like it may be a BIG problem for many car owners.
http://www.atg.wa.gov/consumer/gasprices/refineries.shtml
No, the compressor is not on when heat is requested. Far too many people assume that "air conditioning" means cooling only. It doesn't. The A/C conditions the air, which means heating, cooling, and dehumidifying. It's not wasting energy when AUTO A/C is enabled when heat is called for.
As for being a female and getting scammed by auto fix it places, let me tell you it is different when I send my husband in with the vehicle to the fix it shop. Funny how that is!
thanks,
sharon
--Yes. I tried this on my test drive. Pushing the Parking button while driving causes the car to beep and shift into neutral.
I leave to to be checked. The next day I am told that the car had the wrong program. This took hours of downloads at the dealership and sending info to national. They take hours to get back with info - and new program info. and three hours of new program I drive out.
I talk with the dealer service guy where i purchase the car - he sees nothing in his system about this. I hear from a friend today that there was an article in the Wall Street J. about software problems. And that 13 case have been reported to the Nat highwsay safety ad. My question - is Toyota being honest with me. How could they not know if this was in the WSJ and NHSA.
Any new from anyone else? charlie
There is a "shudder" when the ICE shuts down. Not bad but worse when it is warm. Only really noticable when at a stop sign. This is very subjective, but how much should I feel the ICE shut down?
Is there anyway to adjust when the ICE cuts in? There are times when I'm trying to accelerate entirely with the battery but the ICE kicks in. The electric motor doesn't seem maxed out and the battery is indicating near full charge so I assume the ICE is kicking in to help with acceleration. I would like to have that threshold increased so it doesn't kick in so early. Is this possible?
Thanks for anyones input!
http://tinyurl.com/b3lvm