Hey all, Long time lurker and decided to make a proper account and join the forum! Diving right in, does anyone else get repeated P013A codes? (O2 Sensor Slow Response - Rich to Lean, Bank 1 Sensor 2) Context: I got my 2023 Prime XSE Premium last November. This code has appeared 3 times now since last September... The 2nd time the check engine light came on the estimated fuel mileage dropped considerably. A 20km trip would see a 40-50km reduction in estimated distance remaining. Toyota replaced the rear O2 sensor and that solved it for maybe a month or two. Sitrep: The code came back a 3rd time and my Prius has been at the dealership for a month now... Service department have been helpful and providing weekly check ins. Unfortunately they seem completely stumped and apparently in regular contact with Toyota HQ. They claim to have already inspected the sensor, catalytic converter, muffler, etc. They also tried to determine if there's a pinhole leak somewhere. After considerable back and forth with Toyota they are quote "getting ready to load up the part cannon" and just swap in new parts and hope it solves it. Fingers crossed it does just that. What if this keeps happening when the 3 year warranty expires next year? I assume Toyota would claim it is not a hybrid component and isn't covered under the 8 year warranty. Either way this seems odd. Is this a known issue with the 5th gen? Could this be a potential lemon issue? Any feedback and suggestions are welcome. Thanks!
That would fall under the emissions warranty in the US, which is much longer than the bumper to bumper one.
Right, I thought the same as you. Then I double checked and perhaps it's a bit different in Canada. My coverage has both a 3 year and 8 year warranty for emissions. Depending on whether the components are classified as ITEM 1 or ITEM 2 determines which warranty they fall under. An O2 sensor is an ITEM 1 component (3 years). Some exhaust components are also ITEM 1. Whereas a full catalytic converter is ITEM 2 (8 years). I intend to keep a close eye on the parts replaced and hopefully avoid having to go through additional sensors when the 3 years are up. But at this point I think the O2 sensor issues are a symptom of something else.
Once had a car with repeating O2 sensor issues. Turns out it needed an engine replacement. There was a slow coolant leak into a cylinder and I was messing up the sensors...
IMHO; I'd take the car to another dealership. While the one your going to seems nice; they don't seem to know what they're doing. Sorry They have the OEM diagnostic tool and can access the sensor data directly. That data should show them what's in tolerance, out of tolerance and what's borderline passing. I don't see how they can't figure out the problem. I'm assuming the car was bought used and the previous owner probably monkeyed with something. Again; the dealership should be able to nail that down with the OEM diagnostic tool. Good Luck. FWIW; dealership computer systems are linked, so the new dealership should be able to see what was done and tried at the other dealership.
JJNY - Thanks for the insight! I'll ask during the dealerships next check in if that has been considered. BiomedO1 - Thank you for confirming the doubt that has been growing in the back of mind hahaha. Based on the CARFAX I got before buying this vehicle in Nov it was used as a "fleet vehicle" for a dealership... Perhaps that's a red flag that I should have paid more attention to? Either way, perhaps they tinkered with something that isn't reflected in the service history. In any case I'm starting to suspect this particular dealership doesn't have a hybrid specialist and hesitant to mention it to me. Okay this is exactly what I had assumed, especially with modern hybrid vehicles. I tried to go to a different Toyota dealership for this 3rd code and they called me back saying "it's better to stick with the service department that has troubleshooted the issue thus far". Which I chalked up to "I don't want to have to pick up someone else's problem midway through"...
Well this is getting fubar. I picked up the car today after dropping it off on March 25th. Over a month of back and forth troubleshooting with Toyota HQ. They opted to replace sensor 2 again, which will make it the 2nd/3rd replacement of that part within the past year. Service confirmed that it is an ITEM 1 component so its warranty will expire next June. My wife took the car to work. Not even 40km after picking it up from the dealership: Check Engine Visit Your Dealer I'll use my OBD once she's back and see if it's the same code. Maybe it's something completely different this time. If it's B1S2 again then clearly it is not the issue and a reoccurring symptom of something else. I thought about taking it to another dealership but the steps and suggestions have apparently come directly from Toyota HQ. Maybe it's worth a visit to a different location so it can be handled by a different technician. I'm in direct contact with the advisor and assistant manager so I'll suggest it. Wouldn't be surprised if they latch onto that idea so they can dust their hands of this car.
Possible cause of the code P013A: Manifold Break (Exhaus leak) defective catalitic converter or replace with a jobber Exhaus flight defective injector or jobber Mass Air Flow Sale DEFECTUE PCM or ECM etc... First test, injecting smoke under pressure into the exhaust to detect leaks.
Thanks for this, I'll ask them if these possible causes have been considered yet. Absolutely. If the problem is ever found lol.
TL;DR Update: A month has passed, code still frequently reappears. My Prius is back at the dealership again for who knows how long. Still no confirmed cause or ETA for when this will be resolved. An off the record admission echos a previous reply on this thread. Update: Another month has gone by... I spoke with the Service reps at the dealership. They seem to be getting agitated with the tedious back and forth troubleshooting, recommended procedures and due process HQ are putting them through. We agreed for me to take the car back and continue monitoring it rather than them holding onto it for extensive testing. That went on for about 2-3 weeks. I then provided them a report log in the following format: DATE CODE CLEARED: May 10th - 5:01 am ODO CODE CLEARED: 39320km DATE CODE RETURNED: May 19th - 7:39 pm ODO CODE RETURNED: 39939km RETURNED CODE: P013A7C DRIVING MODE: HV NOTES: - Prior to the code, vehicle was driven on pure EV range for a few days - Charged numerous times until HV mode was enabled after EV range depleted - EV range was not utilized from that point on - Fuel was fairly low and tank was completely filled on May 16th at 11:41 am - Code reappeared a few days later The code kept coming back fairly quickly whenever the ICE was engaged. Within the past month I got 3-4 repeat codes, it's clear that the code is permanent. I also am starting to notice a potential pattern of when the code reappears. When the fuel tank is 1/2 full or below, I do not seem to get the code that often, if at all. I am not certain, but it seems like the code appears more often when the fuel tank is above 1/2 to full. The car is back at the dealership and Service did what they could to encourage me they will fix it for good this time. I am not that optimistic at this point. To their credit though, they provided me a same year Toyota hybrid as a courtesy car to hold onto until the Prius is returned to me. I also got a brief window of honesty when picking up my car back in early May... I have been very calm, patient and understanding with the Service team throughout the process. Who have been immensely grateful for that to the point they pulled back the curtain a bit: "Off the record... We've seen this before. And in those cases it resulted in an engine replacement. There was a case at another dealership I was at where O2 sensor kept coming back and eventually the engine was ruined." You were right JJNY. At least that seems to be where my situation is likely headed. Only problem is Service (understandably) seem tied to the due process and feet dragging of HQ before they will approve a full engine replacement. Since that would be completely covered under warranty it is no wonder HQ seem hesitant, maybe even reluctant, to proceed with that decision until all other options are considered and vetted.
