Hello! I’ve bought an used 2002 Prius about a month ago. It’s a well preserved car, but the only problem is the red triangle. It shows up each time when I need to accelerate and push the pedal a bit stronger. Also the triangle appears when I climb a slope. Before the triangle pop up, the ICE increases rotation (sounds like it is in 1st gear) but stil the car don’t get speed, instead it runs around 15-20 kmph (or 10 mph) and it trembles. Then the red triangle appears, the ICE stops and only the electric engine moves the car. When electric engine is in control, the car moves smoothly. After 1-2 miles it gets discharged and it stops. Then I have to restart the ICE (it starts ok). - If I wait around 8-10 mins of ICE functioning and stop-restart, the triangle is gone, but the ECU light remain on. - If I just stop and restart, move imediately, the ICE’s behavior it’s weird: pushing the acceleration pedal give some shakes. It loose power and slows down. When I depress the pedal, the car moves faster. It’s like the speed pedal is mounted upside down. Went to a mechanic and tested the errors. It gives the next codes: - 3190 (poor engine power) - 3101 (engine system malfunction) But the ICE is running fine. It’s just doesn’t transmit the power to wheels. It does not have torque. The mechanic on service did the following: changed the spark plugs - one was warned out), changed the oils (engine and transmission), cleared the AF circuit and throttle plate. I would apreciate if someone give me clues about solving this thing and if the problem could originate from the transaxle or clutch, since the torque doesnt get to wheels. Thank you!
What are you going to believe, the codes telling you it's not fine, the lack of torque telling you it's not fine, or that it's running fine? Is it possible you meant P3191 rather than "P3101"? I don't think "P3101" is a gen 1 Prius code. P3190 means the engine is producing less than a fifth of the torque that an engine running fine would produce. P3191 in gen 1 means the car has had to crank the engine unreasonably long without the engine producing power of its own at all. It's a gasoline engine that's got problems. The codes tell you that, but a human with gas engine diagnostic skills now has to work out why. Good compression, proper fuel/air mixture and good sparks at the right times are the ingredients needed for running fine. Those all have to be on the list to be checked.
+1^ and it also look like you need a new traction battery pack too. That pack is 20+ years old and tired - that's why the read triangle is popping up whenever the ECU is asking for traction battery boost. (ie. hard acceleration or hill climbs) It's an old car that needs work - lots of worn out parts.......
Traction battery (HV) looks fine, or at least that’s what they told me at car service workshop. They tested it and the modules and SOC is in normal range. No problems when the car moves on electric. But I noticed that it switch to ICE too soon, even if car is moving around 12-13 mph on a flat road.
Looks can be deceiving; that's why cars are detailed before they're sold. IMHO; you need to find better mechanics and use better scan tools. Those are our opinions above from the information you've provided us. If your mechanics actually knew what they were doing; Why are you asking us these questions? Shouldn't they already know? Why is the red triangle popping up, if your traction battery is fine? The least they could do is follow the OEM troubleshooting manual and come up with the correct answers to your questions. Tests must be performed to determine if there are sensor or mechanical issues. Replacing parts that a scan tool tells you to replace is just plain lazy and shows the lack of knowledge, of your mechanic. FWIW: you can download and run the Dr Prius app to give you a confirmation answer to the traction battery question. If you can't do that, take it to another Prius specialty repair shop. I'll bet they will tell you something different.
Ah, got it. Yes, it's in a separate section, not a code from the ECM but from the HV ECU. P3101 is the old, Toyota-defined gen 1 version of the later P0A0F standardized SAE code. It's just the HV ECU saying hey, I wanted power from the engine, what's going on? The P3190 is the more specific code, coming from the ECM, actually in charge of the engine. Saying, hey, I'm doing what I can, but I'm getting less than a fifth of the power out. So the focus needs to be on the P3190 and what's going on with the gas engine. The P3101 is just telling you the same thing.
Have your mechanic double check the fuel pump pressure and volume output. Fuel starvation could explain why the car would idle but misfire and sputter upon acceleration. That's one of the FIRST basic test a good mechanic would perform on any car with your issues. Hope this helps.....
Of the three icons displayed on your screen - the PS, car and battery - which one lights up? I doubt it's the battery. You got basic gas engine issues to diagnose. Hey BioMan, what info can you get out of Dr. Prius on the Gen1s. I never found anything useful. My understanding is that G1s use an older comm protocol that the Dr. Pruis developer has never bothered to interface because they're aren't enough of these cars left.
Gen 1s use quite a mishmash of comm protocols, including different ECUs using different bit rates and protocols on the same physical wires, and some sitting on different buses that can only be reached by asking the right other ECU to relay the messages. I think there were only around 52,000 gen 1s, probably not enough for anybody to have put the work into getting a scan tool to really work for them, other than Techstream of course.
Autel Ap200 also doesn't see Gen1? The description stated that he had been diagnosing cars since the 90s of the last century.
I also decided to order AP200 for testing. I am interested in its capabilities compared to Techstream.
Let me know how it goes. I have Techstream on a Lenovo laptop and it's been working well, but not very portable. I read that you only get one car with full diagnostic capabilities and additional vehicle specific abilities are extra in the app.
