Prius rough start multiple codes need help with this issue

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Adam Kapit, Aug 14, 2017.

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  1. Adam Kapit

    Adam Kapit New Member

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    Hey I am a new 2008 Prius owner.

    I bought the car with 138,519 miles on 2/24/2017. The battery was changed on the car 7/10/2013 with 95K miles.

    The car now has 150,573 miles. Recently the check engine light came on with a red exclamation point in addition to the check engine light and another smaller exclamation mark.

    My mechanic did a diagnostic which is feeding many codes relating to the cooling system. He feels the water pump needs to be replaced but it also might be a head gasket issue. The car slightly misfires which he can feel when it starts up. There is no oil in the coolant and it doesn't appear to be rapidly loosing coolant. He is not diagnosing as a head gasket issue but suggesting starting with the water pump and taking it from there.

    Attached are pics of the codes. There is also a low voltage error code.

    I am new with this and would really appreciate any help before I tell the mechanic what to do! This is my main source of transportation. Thank you in advance.
     

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    #1 Adam Kapit, Aug 14, 2017
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Who's your mechanic that can't diagnose at bad head gasket? He should be out of business.

    I don't think you have a bad gasket, it's not common in a 2008. Probably bad coil or spark plugs.

    But you need an inverter pump, that's the reason for the triangle
     
    #2 JC91006, Aug 14, 2017
  3. Adam Kapit

    Adam Kapit New Member

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    Hey I am a new 2008 Prius owner.

    I bought the car with 138,519 miles on 2/24/2017. The battery was changed on the car 7/10/2013 with 95K miles.

    The car now has 150,573 miles. Recently the check engine light came on with a red exclamation point in addition to the check engine light and another smaller exclamation mark.

    My mechanic did a diagnostic which is feeding many codes relating to the cooling system. He feels the water pump needs to be replaced but it also might be a head gasket issue. The car slightly misfires which he can feel when it starts up. There is no oil in the coolant and it doesn't appear to be rapidly loosing coolant. He is not diagnosing as a head gasket issue but suggesting starting with the water pump and taking it from there.

    Attached are pics of the codes. There is also a low voltage error code.

    I am new with this and would really appreciate any help before I tell the mechanic what to do! This is my main source of transportation.
     

    Attached Files:

    #3 Adam Kapit, Aug 14, 2017
  4. Adam Kapit

    Adam Kapit New Member

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    Thanks so much for your quick response.

    Would you happen to know what the other issues are based off the codes I posted?
     
    #4 Adam Kapit, Aug 14, 2017
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You have all kinds of faults, I would suggest you replace the 12v battery if you haven't done so. Then replace the inverter pump AND 3 way coolant valve.

    If you would have addressed some of these problems before going over 150,000 miles, the dealer would have picked up the tab on the 3 way coolant valve under CA CARB warranty

    Afterwards.....then rescan for codes. You do have a few cooling codes, so maybe if your car overheated, you could have a head gasket issue.
     
    #5 JC91006, Aug 14, 2017
  6. Adam Kapit

    Adam Kapit New Member

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    In reference to the water pump, it looks like it was replaced in 2013 with 90k miles is there a good chance that it failed again causing the triangle or that it could be a low voltage situation because of the old battery? You've been very helpful thanks!
     
    #6 Adam Kapit, Aug 14, 2017
  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The inverter water pump is an electric pump, we've seen failures here about every 100k miles. The pump that was replaced in 2013, was that through a recall? It can fail again, you've put 60k+ miles on it since.

    If you have an interest in doing some DIY repairs, these repairs are not that hard. You can do it yourself if you like doing this type of stuff
     
    #7 JC91006, Aug 14, 2017
  8. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    The error codes in the first photo are all for the heat storage tank. No biggie... Many people continue to operate their cars with this failure. The C2318 code, if I remember correctly, is indicative of a low 12v battery. That would be worth checking, as it could also lead to many spurious codes/tail chasing. Did anyone check to see what your 12v battery voltage was reading?

    Just found this in my manual...C2318 Low Voltage Error (power supply malfunction)
    Trouble Area:
    HEV fuse
    IGCT relay
    Wire harness or connector
    Auxiliary battery (the 12v battery in your trunk)
     
    #8 TMR-JWAP, Aug 14, 2017
  9. Adam Kapit

    Adam Kapit New Member

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    Thanks so much for looking that up.

    Are these things that I should replace in addition to the battery or will be this something that clears up when the 12v battery is replaced?
     
    #9 Adam Kapit, Aug 14, 2017
  10. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Personally, checking the 12v battery is cheap and easy. Hopefully it will have a date code on top. IF the battery is weak, I'd replace it first and then see if the other codes are still showing up. If the battery is fine, then there will be more troubleshooting needed. Considering how many codes you suddenly have, the 12v battery may be the cause. You can search the forum, as there are ways to check the 12v battery using the interior multi-function display
     
    #10 TMR-JWAP, Aug 14, 2017
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i've reported your post, and asked the mods to merge them.
     
    #11 bisco, Aug 14, 2017
  12. Adam Kapit

    Adam Kapit New Member

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    I just had the mechanic check the battery. You can see the pic attached here. Is it safe to say that the 12v battery isn't the issue?
     

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    #12 Adam Kapit, Aug 14, 2017
  13. Adam Kapit

    Adam Kapit New Member

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    Thanks. I just had the mechanic check the battery. You can see the pic here. Is it safe to say that this isn't the issue?
     

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    #13 Adam Kapit, Aug 14, 2017
  14. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Well I don't know how old your battery is, if it's tested good, I guess that's not the problem. You should check the voltage early in the morning, after it sat overnight. It's just unusual to see all those codes....unless you've ignored them all for a while.
     
    #14 JC91006, Aug 14, 2017
  15. Adam Kapit

    Adam Kapit New Member

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    Got it. The car has been sitting in the lot until i tell them whether or not to change the water pump. I do like putting things together but dont have experience with working on cars. You still feel that changing the water pump is an easy DIY? Regardless it seems like this is the next step huh?
     
    #15 Adam Kapit, Aug 14, 2017
  16. greasemonkey007

    greasemonkey007 Active Member

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    #16 greasemonkey007, Aug 14, 2017
  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    If this was my car, I would look into the head gasket and rule that out. If you do have a bad head gasket, all these other repairs won't mean anything.

    If head gasket is ruled out, then you would address the inverter pump and 3 way coolant valve (p1121). They are both right next to each other and will be easy to tackle. Plenty of YouTube videos on both of these DIY repairs
     
    #17 JC91006, Aug 14, 2017
  18. Adam Kapit

    Adam Kapit New Member

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    How can you diagnose if it is the head gasket without changing the water pump first? According to the mechanic, the next step is changing the water pump. There is no way to indicate a head gasket issue on the diagnostic tests.
     
    #18 Adam Kapit, Aug 14, 2017
  19. Adam Kapit

    Adam Kapit New Member

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    I have not.

    What would that mean exactly?
     
    #19 Adam Kapit, Aug 14, 2017
  20. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The water pump that failed is the inverter pump, not the regular water pump (that might be leaking but that is not the failure code).

    Who do you bring your car to? You've titled this thread as "rough start", water pump won't do that
     
    #20 JC91006, Aug 14, 2017
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