My continual Prius problems lately

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Justdidit, Jan 17, 2014.

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  1. Justdidit

    Justdidit LVNPZEV

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    Had a company install fog lights on my replacement 2007 Prius I picked up after I totaled my 2008. When i went to pick the car up, the car wouldn't start. Showed the triangle of death and threw a code that the 12v was bad. Probably from having the car off and testing the fog lights continually - resulted in a drained battery. I picked up a brand new yellow top optima battery and thought this would resolve my issues. Nope, once the batter was replaced, the car wouldn't go into Drive or Reverse, only park or neutral. The current code is P0A0D. The shop is baffled. They removed all modified parts and still can't figure out the issue. They are currently replacing the interlock plug in hopes that this will resolve the issue.

    Any ideas??
     
    #1 Justdidit, Jan 17, 2014
  2. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    Did you try to start to start the car more than once. When the battery is disconnected it usually takes to restarts before the Prius works.
    The Prius also shows a fault code if you check for codes in a workshop. This code is for the light sensor on the dash.

    John (Britprius)
     
    #2 Britprius, Jan 17, 2014
  3. Justdidit

    Justdidit LVNPZEV

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    I've tried to start the car several times since the issues started. When this all started the car said: A warning on the dashboard says "P Lock Malfunction when parking, park car on a flat place" The car is parked on a very flat surface. The e-brake light was stuck on and it wasn't even engaged. That's about the time i replaced the 12v to eliminate that as a possible threat.
     
    #3 Justdidit, Jan 17, 2014
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    How long have you had this car?
     
    #4 JC91006, Jan 17, 2014
  5. Justdidit

    Justdidit LVNPZEV

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    Barely 2 weeks and it was working perfectly fine before the garage attempted their fog light install. This was a base model with no fog lights and I wanted some installed.
     
    #5 Justdidit, Jan 17, 2014
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Disconnect the negative battery cable for 30 seconds and try it again. Make sure all the connections on the battery are tight.
     
    #6 JC91006, Jan 17, 2014
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  7. Justdidit

    Justdidit LVNPZEV

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    I'll try this again after work.
     
    #7 Justdidit, Jan 17, 2014
  8. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    double check to make sure the ground connection to the car body is tight as well (next to the negative on the battery)
     
    #8 JC91006, Jan 17, 2014
  9. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Yeah, its still giving you the symptoms for a weak 12V battery. Is the "new" Optima fully charged?

    Charge the battery, and you'll be fine. If you decide to jump it, do not reverse polarity.
     
    #9 usnavystgc, Jan 17, 2014
  10. Justdidit

    Justdidit LVNPZEV

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    The new YellowTop is showing 'Good' by the Prius on-board diagnostics in the 14.1 range.
     
    #10 Justdidit, Jan 17, 2014
  11. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    That is with the car on and running "Ready" right?
     
    #11 usnavystgc, Jan 17, 2014
  12. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Turn the car off, take foot off the brake, press pwr 2x, turn lights on and then give me the reading.
     
    #12 usnavystgc, Jan 17, 2014
  13. Justdidit

    Justdidit LVNPZEV

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    This was the reading i got when i ran the the on-board 12 battery testing - what mode i don't remember. I'll run it again once i get off work and get all the different readings.
     
    #13 Justdidit, Jan 17, 2014
  14. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Yeah, you have to be in IG ON to correctly read the 12V battery. If your in "Ready", you will read the DC to DC converter voltage (which should be right around 14.1V and which is what you likely read). I would be willing to bet you one of two things is the problem
    1) The battery has a loose connection
    2) the battery is discharged

    I've seen this problem so many times (exact symptoms you describe) and it always turns out to be the 12V battery or a connection to it.

    To access IG ON, with foot OFF the brake, press pwr twice.
     
    #14 usnavystgc, Jan 17, 2014
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  15. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    I know this sounds stupid, but does the car have plenty of gas? It almost sounds like the Prius thinks it is out of gas. But it also sounds like the battery is not charged up due to the warning statement on the MFD.

    I would check the voltage at the jump post under the hood with a digital volt meter when the Prius is turned off with NO load present.

    It should read in the area of 12.6 volts if fully charged at the jump post. If it is lower, then fully charge the battery and try again.

    If the voltage is good, then I would suggest you unhook the battery to possibly clear any "no start" conditions and then reconnect after waiting a few minutes and see if the ICE will start up normally while in Ready Mode. Also confirm that the brake lights are working when you step on the brake.
     
    #15 dorunron, Jan 17, 2014
  16. Justdidit

    Justdidit LVNPZEV

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    It has 2 lil bars left. - I'll try all of these suggestions.
     
    #16 Justdidit, Jan 17, 2014
  17. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    Any lights on the dash? Have you tried to pull codes yet? Check the voltage like I and other's have suggested. 2 lil bars should be Ok I think.

    Some folks report it takes two tries to get the Prius back up after a battery swap. But the thing that really stands out is the MFD warning. It sounds like a weak battery from that aspect. Make sure the brake lights are coming on when you step on the brake.
     
    #17 dorunron, Jan 17, 2014
  18. 00-00

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    This makes me wonder if the installation shop ran down the battery and mistakenly jumped it improperly.
    Just a thought...
     
    #18 00-00, Jan 17, 2014
  19. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    No, if they did that, there would be diff symptoms.
     
    #19 usnavystgc, Jan 17, 2014
  20. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    I bet like OO-OO said.

    Seen this before. They either killed the 12 went to jump it and blew the car up or they took power off the wrong place and damaged an ecu. Idiots. Its pretty easy to f up a Prius if you are not familiar with the car. Ask them if they replaced any fuses like the dome fuse.

    POA's are usually Hybrid Powertrain Control Module nags.
     
    #20 edthefox5, Jan 17, 2014
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