PriusChat Forums - Gen II Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Front bearing growl

kapper — Sun, 27 May 2012 15:54:14 GMT

Had my front bearings replaced on 2005 prius about 1 month ago as the right side bearing was making all the usuall noises of a bad bearing...After about 3 weeks the right side again started to make a low humming noise but not quite the same as the original problem bearing, this time there was no change in noise on wide sweeping turns like there was with the original problem...Took it back to the mechanic and had him ride with me and he immediatly diagnosed that the bearing had failed again, even though the noise was differant....He replaced the bearing on Friday, I drove it home with no apparent noises, put maybe 100 miles on it Saturday and noticed again a low hum starting on the right side...Now here on Sunday it is a very loud hum/growl with some shimmey coming from that side...I'm guessing it's not a bearing problem, haven't talked to the mechanic yet but does anyone have any suggestions on what else it might be in that area.....Thanks

2004 Prius Warning Lights - help

Salisbury — Sun, 27 May 2012 14:31:58 GMT

Hello - I've read these forums for years, but never registered because I never had the need to post...until now. We own a 2004 Prius with 149,408 miles. We replaced the 12v battery in 2009.

Just the other day, it seems that pretty much ever warning light came on, including the master. Any ideas on how to troubleshoot? We are unsure if it is safe to drive it (or if it will break down). Any assistance is very much appreciated.

I tried including links, but since I just registered, it will not let me. :(

Traction battery acting up... impending failure?

isucompositeur — Sun, 27 May 2012 02:04:17 GMT

Edit: vehicle is a 2008 Prius base model.

Hey folks...

So, I'm in the middle of a cross-country road trip, from Nebraska to LA. About 500 miles into my drive today, I notice the car is laboring a lot trying to pass/go uphill, so I switch over to the battery display, and see that the battery is at 2 bars. It was windy, I had my air conditioning on, and it was starting to get hilly in the mostly uphill direction (just after crossing into Wyoming from Nebraska), so I figured that was the issue.

I needed a break anyway, so at the next town, I stopped and filled up the tank, and drove around town a bit to get a little stop-and-go going and get the traction battery charged, which I did, up to 6 bars (top of the blue range). I headed back toward the interstate, and was at 5 bars when I hit the onramp. By the time I was back on the interstate going full-speed, I was back down to two red bars again.

There were no indicator lights, so I kept going with it, being careful to try and not let it sit in the red range (slowing down to cut the wind resistance). My top speed was 75mph during this stretch, but I would slow to ~60 to get the traction battery out of the red when necessary. At one point I had several minutes of steep (5%) downward grade, during which I took my foot off the accelerator and let the engine charge the battery to full... however, once I started in the uphill direction (not nearly as steep), it only took a couple of minutes for it to get back down to 3 bars.

After that point, I never broke 4 bars again at all when I was on the interstate.

I thought the heat of the day + possibly working the car hard and long may have caused the battery to overheat a bit, and to the credit of that hypothesis, near the end of the drive when the temperature had dropped from mid-80s to mid-40s, the traction battery seemed to do much better in-town than it had an previous in-town stops.

The last disturbing thing was, right at the very end of our trip when we were driving slowly trying to find our hotel in town, whenever I would hit the brake pedal, there would be a short squeal right at the beginning of braking. I didn't try and pin it down much further than knowing that at that point the friction brake should not be engaging... honestly, I just wanted to give the poor guy a rest.

The car JUST had it's 80000 mile service done, and I asked them to do a careful inspection in anticipation of this trip; they said everything checked out. The 12v battery is <6 months old. So, my question is... does this sound like a possible battery overheat? If that was the case, would I not get a check engine light or something of that nature? Could there be an issue with my transaxle? (Batt seemed to charge fine when I wasn't fighting wind and hills)? Or, am I staring face-first into a full-on traction battery failure right in the middle of my long road trip?

Bangor, ME PriusChat DIYers?

Mylar — Fri, 25 May 2012 21:42:52 GMT

Hi All!

I recently moved to Bangor, ME. I'm used to doing all the maintenance on my 2006 Toyota Prius myself like change the oil, rotate the tires, etc.

Is there anyone near the Bangor, ME area that would allow me to use their driveway / garage to perform some preventative maintenance? All I need is a place, and either ramps or a floor jack with jack stands.

Thanks In Advance,

Mylar

Non HID Low beam out Passenger Side. Not bulb. Not Connector.

GeorgeGarman — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:03:05 GMT

Resolved: Fuse for low beam, Right Hand side only out.
I am having an issue where the passenger side low beam headlight does not get power. At first I thought it was the bulb, but after troubleshooting, I found I am not getting power to the wire for the low beam on the passenger side (on my non HID bulb). I tested at the connector - no power. The Wire itself near connector also shows no power as well by probing back about an inch. The high beam works properly.
I was wondering what I should check next since all other exterior lights on the car function properly. I can try to trace the wire back to find a damaged spot, but I wasn't sure if there were any other easier items to check first.
Thanks in advance!

Acceleration whine

northcoaster — Fri, 25 May 2012 17:50:03 GMT

2006, 112k mi. there's been a whine-like noise that only happens when the accelerator is pressed ( and mostly noticed at highway speeds) and stops immediately when accelerator is released

Thinking of trying a 5w40 Oil

Cooker — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:53:46 GMT

On my 2005 with 234k miles on it the engine has a bit of a piston slap. Its not severe but the noise is there and I have been trying a few different 5w30 oils to try and quiet the noise a bit. I have found some better than others but since its time for an oil change again I am considering bumping up in viscosity and giving a 40 weight oil a try to see if a little heavier oil might help it out a bit.

I would like some opinions on running a heavier oil in the Prius. It seems like if the climate is warmer a heavier oil is approved in the Prius (like a 15w40 or a 20w50). I dont know why I would have any issues with a 5w40 and they are generally a very robust oil with a great additive package.

I appreciate your comments.

'04 died & won't restart this morning

funkadelic — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:06:50 GMT

i started my '04 prius (~110k miles) this morning, went back into the house to grab a few things, & then I started hearing a loud rattling sound from the engine for a few seconds before the engine died.

The dash and MFD lite up with these symbols in the attached images.

I tried to start up the car again & the motor turned on but then the loud rattle sounds started back again and the engine shut down again.

Looks like I may have to get the car flatbedded to the dealer but does anyone know what this symptom might be indicative of so I know what to expect? The car has been running fine without issue & just filled it up yesterday.

thanks
-norm

Attached Thumbnails

Over zealous sister in law

singert — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:19:13 GMT

While on a recent vacation, my sister-in-law, trying to do a good thing, washed my clothes but neglected to remove my FOB for my 2008 Prius. I returned home only to find that the FOB would not lock/unlock the doors.
I replaced the battery (the old one was reading only .03vDC) but still no remote lock/unlock.

How can you tell if the FOB is working since there is no "little red light" like I have seen mentioned by other owners

It looks as if the FOB should be watertight, is it?

Any way to clean inside the FOB in case there is some corrosion?

What should be my next step?

MFD Screen issues-- 'Check Air Conditioner connection'? No consumption screen?

stevenpashmina — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:37:51 GMT

Hi everyone,

This morning on my way to work I noticed my consumption read out was blank, and I thought it was odd. I restarted the car, and everything seemed to be fine...until I took it out at lunch and got a message when I hit the climate button that said 'check air conditioner connection'. I googled it and it looks like the problem with the MFD that some people were having with it malfunctioning-- now the consumption screen is blank, the radio isn't working (except through the steering wheel), and the climate screen does nothing. The screen also seems to be taking a while to load.

And this all is just from this morning.

My main concern at this point: does this effect the actual driving/safety of the car? I mean, I know that without heat/ac/radio, that's a pain-- but is this connected to any of the other systems of the car? Am I at risk for breaking down because of this problem, or any other safety issues? Or is this just an expensive pain (especially coming into the summer.)

Also, I've seen online that it's upwards of 3,000 to fix this. On a 2004 with over 130,000 miles, does anyone have any suggestions for a cheaper fix? Does the whole thing need to be replaced? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Replacing big battery

IABoy987 — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:09:48 GMT

Been reading that if aux battery is weak your milage decreases because Prius is spending energy keeping aux charged that could be used to propel the car. Found the "how to check your aux" by various button pushes, and indeed its time to change it out (6+ years now) and hopefully the milage comes back up.

Now my real question which I can't seem to get a definitive answer reading threads to is when to change the BIG battery. Prius was brand new 2006 off the lot, so far no major problems and normal oil and bulb replacements etc. and minimal dings to tinfoil thin body shell. Coming up on 7 year warranty or 100K miles expiration in 2013 sometime. Should I be proactive and bite the $3K+ bullet and change it out then, or just drive Prius until one morning the dreaded red triangle of death lights up (or whatever indicates the BIG one has gone to that great battery in the sky).:(
Thanks

Nav. Problems after Replaced Main Hybrid Batt.

madog6862 — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:42:25 GMT

Just replaced Main Hybrid Battery on Toyota. Since then have lost voice on Nav. system and also ability to zoom in or out on Milage scale, HELP any suggestions accepted.
madog6862 2006 Prius options 7

High voltage battery pack fan

FirstFlight — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:34:16 GMT

I've read a few stories on here about how the battery fan was clogged with a lot of dirt, fur, lint, etc. I decided to take mine out and inspect it. It was in pretty good shape, just a light coating of dust.

I measured the resistance and got 4.23 ohms. Also, I turned it by hand and it seemed to be a little tougher to turn than I anticipated.

My battery does get warm and I can never hear my fan running. However, I just got my scangauge so I have no measurements to compare it to. I did verify that the fan works when the battery gets warm. My additional questions are:

1. Should the fan turn freely and easily or have a small amount of resistance?

2. Is 4.23 ohms correct? (more than 2 amps seems excessive)

3. How many speeds does the fan have?

Strange Transmission Problem

gmcneil05 — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:55:42 GMT

Okay just to start I know it's not a normal trans with a fluid filled torque converter but it's still a trans. I got in the car today and had to move it a few feet and i put it in park and got out leaving the car on. Well just as I put it in park the motor started as normal, but it was at the exact same time as I was pushing P. The car rocked a little as normal but didn't give it a second thought. Got out, got back in selected D and when I stepped on the gas it was lagging, like a turbo motor would do. I thought it was just my imagination, then when stopped at the edge of the road to pull out and stepped on the gas again I knew something was definitely off. Acceleration was normal but when I let off the gas to maintain speed the motor RPM staid up. I mean the throttle wasn't stuck. The transmission released but the RPM staid up and I was getting 24 MPG leveled off at 55. I then let completely off the gas and put the car in N and the motor shutoff like normal and I turned on a side street and put it in P and turned the car off. Started up fine and drove like normal. I would also like to mention the battery had all of the blue bars on the battery, one down from green and no warning lights the entire time. I just don't know whether it was a fluke from me putting it in park like that or what.
Any Ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Tire Pressure Monitoring Sytem- am i being ripped off?

seafoam — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:18:13 GMT

Hi! I recently purchased a 2008 Prius (package 6, I think, fully loaded) with 44k miles for 14,500.

I just took it into a dealer to get a once-over, because the tire pressure light was on. The private seller I purchased it from said he had been in one rear-end collision (Carfax confirms this) and that the light had been on since but was not necessary to fix.

The dealer said the car was in great shape except for the "tire pressure monitoring system" needed to be replaced and that some sort of computer related to this was missing (forgive me, I am car illiterate). He assured me that this electrical component was VITAL to the overall performance of the car and would negatively affect the vehicle if it was not replaced. He quoted the repair at $1,402.90!

Now, seeing as this is only something for monitoring air pressure I am obviously quite concerned to shell out that kind of money to do something I can monitor myself. What exactly does this system do, should I replace it, and if so, am I being ripped off?