I own a '08 Prius that has a loss of power with the gas engine at highway speeds going uphill, after the hybrid batteries have drained, and the motor is at a very high RPM and I slowly lose speed. The Check Engine light has eventually come on and the code that came up (no code # available as someone else read the code issues to me) was for the advance timing for the ignition was faulty. The mechanic said the car's computer adjusts the timing but its a mechanical unit, that senses the info that the computer uses to adjust the timing, is what has become faulty. Is this a DIY type job, as I'm very mechanically inclined. I haven't found any posts here for such a replacement task. I just need to know where this unit is and any tips on the replacement process. Thanks in advance for your assistance here.
Welcome to PriusChat!! Please retrieve the codes (DTCs) by using a toyota hybrid compatible OBD2 scanner, then post the results here for further advice. How many miles on the vehicle? FYI : your posts are being moderated until you've post five (5) times.
The only "mechanical unit" involved with the ignition timing would have to be the crankshaft position sensor or the camshaft position sensor, and there's very little "mechanical" about them. They are electrical coils that never move and never touch the crankshaft or camshaft, and magnetically sense the fixed teeth on the shafts going around. Pretty much nothing to mechanically "become faulty". Every now and then somebody does have a rodent chew their sensor wiring, the connection gets bad, etc.
It's normal to lose engine power gradually while climbing up a hill after the battery depletes. You can improve engine performance with new spark plugs, air filter, throttle body and MAF sensor cleaning, then 12v reset. You can improve hybrid battery performance / restore capacity via three rounds of charging and discharging with a grid charging system like Maxx Volts hybrid automotive or Prolong. Or you can replace pack with brand new. Specific to warning lights and error code, easiest way to get that information is with Dr. Prius app and an OBD2 reader to connect the phone to the car. Here's buyer's guide for that device: Hybrid battery diagnostic and repair tool for Toyota and Lexus
Thanks! With a response after yours I'll be obtaining a PanLong adapter and the Dr. Prius app to obtain the code(s). I'm the 3rd owner of this Prius with 167K on it.
Thanks. The mechanic stated its a solenoid that senses the info needed to send to the computer. I made an appointment with him for next week in case I cannot do this myself and want to get it resolved sooner rather than later. I'm aiming to sell this Prius for a 2017 Prius I've spotted, as an upgrade, as the hybrid batteries on my current Prius are waning, cycling quicker with every 5K I do a month as a ride share driver, and these other repairs are cropping up more often. Just replaced the combination meter myself and now this!
There is no "solenoid" involved. Please see post #4 above. With 165K miles and a failing HV battery, what you describe is to be expected and the only real "fix" is a new engine AND a new battery. Your proposed trade is a good plan. Trying to fix the current problem on the cheap is NOT. It is not a "timing" problem. The engine is starting to wear out and is losing power as a result.
Huh. Was this mechanic, by any chance, a mathematician or physicist in a past career, and now doing auto mechanics for fun? I ask because, to most people, a 'solenoid' only means a kind of actuator, a tube-shaped wound electromagnet that pulls on something when energized. There isn't anything like that involved in the Prius ignition timing. But a mathematician can use solenoid in the original Greek sense of something tube-shaped, and a physicist can use it to mean any wire wound into a coil with length ≫ diameter. It may well be true that the crank and cam position sensors are solenoids in that sense, having wire wound into that shape. It's just funny the mechanic would say that because really, outside of a math or physics lecture, nobody much knows that meaning or uses the word that way. In more 'normal' usage it's always an electromagnetic actuator used to mechanically pull something, and the crank and cam sensors are definitely not that. Is your mechanic's name Magliozzi, by any chance?
The guy in this thread: No power on hills, MPG down, SOC low, PROBLEM FIXED described something similar. What are the chances you have the DTC P0011? YMMV.
