Had A/C go out while in Vegas almost 2 weeks ago. Dealer said compressor dead, replaced at my dealer back home, now having loss of power issue's, poor acceleration, 29mpg, & bad smell like transmission fluid or catalytic converter... Any ideas ??? problems noticed after picked up car, then went away, now back.. No codes on the scantool, no lights etc. Any help appreciated, going back to dealer 9/5.. Thanks, Joe-Socal
Not sure if it's the problem, but definitely check for circulation of the inverter coolant fluid (inverter coolant pump failure). Simple test, just place the car in ready mode and remove the cap on the plastic reservoir (the one next to the silver inverter) and take a look down there. It runs all the time, so if you cant see flow or turbulence then it's not working.
Checked for circulation of the inverter coolant fluid, all good, took to dealer today, no word from their Tech yet..
Got word from stealership they came up with DTC "C1241=Low Battery Voltage 12volt Battery". Also they said spark plugs needed to be changed and throttle body needed to be serviced ( 103k miles ) ok it's getting close. As well, they were saying the K&N air filter is causing an error in the Mass Air Flow Sensor. $150 to fix, changing spark plugs, service throttle body/ clean plate, & MAFS. Now no excuse for it to run bad now, hopefully. I told them to leave my K&N alone, as well as new Optima Yellow top, checked them when I got it home, 12.6v @ battery terminals & 14.0 on the scantool, seems fine. Cleaning K&N filter now, even though it looked pretty good, maybe a little to much oil (fairly common).. All seems to be good though.
The 12V problem was due to a shorted cell in the old battery, mostly due to sulfation warping the plates and causing them to touch. That in turn causes the voltage on the battery to be about 2 volts lower, and the 12V charger in the car works overtime to try and bring it up to what would be a normal voltage. But all the other unshorted cells are already fully charged, so they just boil away their electrolyte, which is what you were smelling. The 12V converter portion of the Prius is not cooled the way the rest of the inverter is, so it overheats more easily under this circumstance, and that really cripples the car's performance, more than what one would expect. The repair guys left the doors open or something, and your old battery didn't like getting the discharge. Happens all the time here.
