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Hybrid Vehicles Hybrid Vehicles - Archived Discussions Toyota Prius Software Problems 
752 messages, Last post on Sep 10, 2006 at 5:54 PM
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A few months ago we were hotly discussing the few reported "brake failures" and were trying to decide if it was a software problem causing the brake problem. Did anyone ever get a definitive answer on that? |
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Am posting this from Amarillo TX, en route from East Coast to West for a move. My 2006, 2 week old Prius did the first 1500 miles or so of the trip just fine, then experienced the same exact problem described by others on this site and at NHTSA website. Specifically, at highway speed, the gas guage started reading abnormally low , then flashing on the last box, then multiple warning lights came on all at once, including general woarning, engine check, brake failure, and VSC. The gas engine died. I was able to limp to the next offramp (in the middle of the prairie) on electric. Walked to a gas station and put a gallon of gas in to no avail. "Add fuel" prompt was still on, which really made no sense as the car easily gets over 400 miles a tank and there were less than 300 on the current tank. A tow quickly came, and when we unloaded the car at the local Toyota dealer (about 2 hours later), the car seemed fine except for the engine check light being on. This morning the service manager called to say they couldn't find anything. Engine check light was no longer on. The only diagnostic codes that read abnormal could be explained by running out of gas, and that the car worked fine on a 36 mile test run. Am going to pick up the car now, but will stock up on water for when we're stranded again!
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Replying to: wentgreenin06 (Aug 19, 2006 8:07 am) it would be one thing if your unit was out of fuel, but it wasn't. possibly there is a fuel pump or pressure/flow measurement problem. this is why someone needs to do some deeper analysis on the code thrown. did they document the diagnostic code on the repair order?
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Replying to: user777 (Aug 19, 2006 8:15 am) This is seeming to me not to be a problem that is limited to a specific model year, as I see postings of the same problem for models from 2001 through 2006 (on this forum and there are 2 others from 2006 on the NHTSA ODI website). About 24,000 cars were recalled from 2004 and 5 by Toyota for the problem, but clearly others NOT LIMITED TO THOSE IN THE RECALL are affected. It is clear from the postings that the same problem recurs and recurs, without resolution, prior to the car being recalled. It may also recur AFTER the recall treatment, (which is EITHER reprogramming OR just reloading the same software for the ECM??) but that is not clear. It would help if there were a log of whether the problem resolved after the recall "treatment" so those of us who put our hard-earned cash down on this fabulous new technology would not have to risk breaking down again. In my opinion, the burden is on Toyota to a) solve this problem and b) unthil they do, notify potential buyers this may occur. Went Green in '06 but Was Green Ready for Us?
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Replying to: wentgreenin06 (Aug 19, 2006 8:42 am)
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Replying to: pathstar1 (Aug 19, 2006 10:57 am) What is puzzling is WHY the car ran out of gas. For almost 2000 miles the average mileage was 37 MPG, with tank ranges allowing us to fill up at just under 400 miles with no problem. The last fill-up before the breakdown was 10.1 gallons, which tripped the pump turnoff. The INFO:Consumption panel was reading 36 + MPG avg, and there were only 290 miles on the tank when it broke down. Where did the other 100 miles go? Using the gas guage is no help - it reads full until about 160 miles have gone by, and when the gas got low, it dropped precipitously through the last 3 boxes, allowing inadequate time to stop for gas - in Texas, anyway. Since then we have made it to the Grand Canyon, and the car, very fully loaded, is getting 42 MPG at 7000 feet elevation. We are also filling it every 150-200 miles.
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Replying to: wentgreenin06 (Aug 20, 2006 7:27 pm) If you keep records of fillups (always a good idea so you can watch for strange behavior), check back to see if the mileage suddenly dropped. The records I'm referring to is: odometer reading : miles since last fill : gal put in : mileage calculated : mileage indicated Only then can you figure out what happened. I suspect that either of two things: The bladder prevented you from properly filling the tank, or You were bucking a severe headwind, or there was a temporary fault in the system that impacted the mileage severely. I think the reason the car reacts like that is there is no special alarm subroutine in the program for running out of fuel. When you run out the ICE stops without being commanded to, and that triggers the warnings. |
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Replying to: seroq (Jul 30, 2006 7:37 pm) |
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Replying to: stevedebi (Mar 16, 2005 1:58 pm)
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Replying to: pdahlin (Sep 07, 2006 6:50 pm) Be sure to monitor you mileage. Another side-effect of the "software upgrade" i s lower miles per gallon. You might want to ask if they can reverse the software fix. Good luck, MidCow |
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