[Nafeez]

Hello All

I have a 2006 prius, bought a used vehicle from local toyota dealer with 68k mileage, everything was ok till 3 days ago...

when I used to drive from my home to work it was 99% running on hybrid battery, at times changes to tyre rolling power, when driving at higher speed above 60kmph it will run and as the speed becomes steady it will either move to rolling power, neutral or to hybrid power.

from last 3 days as soon as the hybrid power kicks in within 10-20 seconds it automatically jumps to engine power or both engine & hybrid power even though the hybrid battery is fully or 75% charged its jumps to engine power but runs normal on rolling power.

If i stop the vehicle and press the park button and move the vehicle again it works normal or driving below 50kmph when I press the EV button it works normal on hybrid power.

I took it to the local Toyota dealer from where I bought this vehicle we did a test drive it happened, today when we did the test drive it did not but later it started happening again.

I also have slight rattling sound in dashboard on the left passenger side, it started the same day this power swap problem started.

and there is no form of any warning indication light flashing to alert me.

please advise what may be the cause

thanks

Nafeez

 

[Easy Rider]

when I used to drive from my home to work it was 99% running on hybrid battery,

No offense intended but that is not true.

Unless it is less than 5 miles to work and you drive REALLY slow or you have a plug-in model, which I don't think they even made in 2006.

In a "normal" hybrid, the battery actually has very little capacity and won't really propel the car very far by itself.

In addition to that, the Toyota design is for the gas engine to start up for a minute or two almost immediately upon starting out whether it is needed or not.......just to get the gas engine up to operating temperature.

Something might actually be wrong here but I think it's more likely that you are mis-interpreting what is happening.

If the dealer didn't scan for codes while they had it, you should take it back so they can.

You also should have the 12 V battery tested. If it is the original one or looks like it is old, just replace it. A failing 12 V battery can cause all kinds of strange things to happen.

How long have you had the car ??

 

[Nafeez]

the vehicle is with me for last 3 weeks...

it actually happens the way I have written above and its true, even the Toyota dealer does not know what to do, we tested another vehicle its works fine, they also checked the code and reset the system, it worked and later started giving problem again. dealer told me to keep using and testing while they will check with the Toyota dealer in Japan and will advise me back.

 

[Easy Rider]

it actually happens the way I have written above and its true,

How far is it to work, one way ??

Something about your story is NOT true.

Read my first post again. Everything in it IS true.

The battery in a standard Prius will NOT drive the car more than a couple of miles by itself.

The gas engine should start within the first quarter of a mile just because the way the system is designed.

Those two things are absolutely true.

 

[Nafeez]

distance from my home to work is 8km. on hybrid battery/rolling power/neutral mode it runs for minimum of 3-4km but in between climbing the slope twice and it kicks engine power which is normal and charges the battery as well. my speed is between 8kmph - 20kmph as its a gravel road, the rest of the 3-4 km is tar sealed road it kicks engine; battery is charged mostly half or 3/4 and I exclrate and let the vehicle run on rlling power & hybrid. in total the vehicle kicks engine for atleast 6-8 times. while on tar sealed road my speed is from around 40kmph to 80kmph, today i took it for long drive it worked normal, speed was from 50kmph to 110kmph on tar sealed road (driving time included 1hr each way and had to climb hills as well)....will take for long drive again and compare.

I also checked the status of the 12v battery, it reads 12v to 12.3 (fluctuates), when put on load its jumps to 11.7v, when engine is fully started it reads 14.3v.

well all the story is true....y wud i make up things.

also will there be any form of sound from engine when brake is applied, slowly or suddenly to slow down or to stop, actually when i do this there is a sound from the left side of the engine compartment which sounds like 'mmmmmmmmmmmmm'.

the problem is that none of the local importers including the Toyota dealer have detailed knowledge of this car but its sold like a hot cake.

 

[Easy Rider]

distance from my home to work is 8km. on hybrid battery/rolling power/neutral mode it runs for minimum of 3-4km

I also checked the status of the 12v battery, it reads 12v to 12.3 (fluctuates), when put on load its jumps to 11.7v,

well all the story is true....y wud i make up things.

I'm not saying you are making up things, just that you are being somewhat sloppy and inaccurate with what you are reporting.

For instance, 4Km out of 8 is NOT 99%; it is only 50%.

From the readings you give for the battery, I think you need a new one.
Fully charged, it should be able to hold a 12.6-12.9 voltage level for at least 24 hours with no load.

Your latest trip report sounds about normal to me.
The battery is supposed to propel the car ONLY when the load and speed is very low OR when the gas engine needs "help".
You should expect that it will run on the gas engine most of the time.

 

[Nafeez]

ok agree with you..

anything else about this car which may be useful to me...may be technical knowledge & tips

any idea how we check the status of the hybrid battery.

and thanks for you kind advice.

 

[Easy Rider]

I'm a bit biased.
I think it is a car and you should just DRIVE it.

For the average driver, there is no way to "check" the HV battery......except to let the onboard computer monitor it and report a problem when it sees one.

Alas the only other Prius forum I'm familiar with has good information but is VERY poorly run and I can't recommend it.

 

[Nafeez]

noted with thanks

 

[Nafeez]

Please assist on this...

as usual i went to work and car operation was normal.

during day time I made 2 short runs appx 2 to 3km each way and traffic was slow as speed was less than 50kmph so i used EV mode, it worked fine, later i made another short run and wanted to again use EV mode as battery was 3/4 full, but the EV mode didnt start nor the EV light displayed on the dash, it just beeps and nothing happens, the battery got charged and was full in color green, I tried again it didnt work, i tried at very low speed it still does not work, this afternoon while returning home I tried EV mode again it does same things beeps and nothing happens, apart from that car operation and running is normal.

Any idea what happened.

 

[Easy Rider]

The car has a set of parameters it checks before it will enter EV mode.
I don't know them all but gas engine temperature, vehicle speed, engine load and HV battery state of charge are but a few.

If the engine isn't warmed up yet, no EV.
If you are going over 40 MPH or so, no EV.
If you are going uphill, no EV.
If the HV battery is low, no EV.

If you are absolutely sure than none of those factors was present, it can be a sign of HV battery weakness.......but it's MUCH more likely that the 12 V battery is failing. That can make all kinds of weird things happen without any rhyme or reason.

 

[Nafeez]

yes all the above was ok........seems like the 12v is dying out.