Prius (2004-09) :: Won't Accelerate Uphill?
Oct 25, 2013
I just bought this car last night from a guy with a dealer license. The car was used, so he sold it with an "as-is" statement. I've read there is a 2 day law to return used cars, but he never gave me this option.
I test drove the car but nothing appeared wrong except the heater did not blow hot, thought the car wasn't warmed up. May be unrelated. Anyways, driving on the interstate I noticed he pulled the battery before selling it to clear the trip memory, and all of that information. So I asked him and he said it was for a small part he installed (he showed me, it looks like a thermostat of some kind with a hose coming off of it, he did not know the name).
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2004 F150 FX4 5.4L. I drove from Vancouver to Edmonton and back this week and I started to get some issues. If I'm in overdrive at highway speeds, from about 90km/h to 120km/h give or take, which would be around 1600-2100rpm, and then I try to accelerate, sometimes on flats, rarely on downhills, but always on uphills, the truck will begin to jerk fore and aft. It feels like it's something through the driveline, either the driveshaft or the differential, but I really can't say for certain as I'm stuck in the driver's seat while this is happening.
If the truck downshifts or if I take it out of overdrive, i.e. getting the revs up high, the problem is no more. Other than the issue I'm having, it operates perfectly so this is very odd. I know that overdrive isn't a hill climbing gear, but normally an engine in the wrong gear will simply lug along until it's downshifted. The entire truck jerking shouldn't happen.
On my way to Edmonton, I noticed that this would cause one single, minor jerk. This is my way of describing it, but it was like the driveshaft had spun freely and then promptly re-engaged with the differential gear, causing a clunk. I doubt that's actually what happened, but I'm just trying to explain the sensation. It kind of feels like trailer jerking.
On the way back to Vancouver, it was a lot worse. Like I said, the whole truck would be jerking about once per second but there was one time that I found the sweet spot and it began jerking rapidly, twice per second. I threw it out of overdrive to stop this but the vibration caused the check engine light to flash a few times but it went away and didn't stay on.
What I might be up against? Been doing a little research. Seems as though this is common and it's supposedly the spark plugs, but those only have 50,000km on them.
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I have a late model 2004 F-350 6.0 powerstroke. 182K miles. Auto Transmission
What happened. Condensed version
Left house, drove out to highway, got on highway. Everything feels normal.
About 1 mile of going 70mph, I notice I can no longer accelerate. after 1/2 mile, I begin loosing speed, and engine will not rev past 1000 rpm. I eventually pull over (another mile), put in neutral and will not rev past 1000. put in drive and start to idle to highway exit. it gets about another .5 mile and begin going up a hill when it completely dies. Will not restart.
No prior issues with the truck. Full tank of fuel.
What I have tested so far. Ficm 48.5 volts cranking. Icp .225V KOEO, .875V Cranking. LPOP is registering pressure on the dash. No Fault codes.
I have gotten it to start twice now, one time it allowed me to rev to 750 rpm, where i used 4 low to make it onto a trailer. second time would not rev at all. idling at 250-300 rpm.
That same night as it died, I drained the transmission pan/ TP filter and filled with 8.5 Quarts of Mercon LV. This is the first time I have done this since purchasing @ 161K miles. Everything seemed normal, no leaks present.
Also my buddy showed me how to enter the dash test mode and we cycled through these. Not sure if this is relevant.
So, What do I test next? I don't think its HPOP issue since the ICP is reading .875 volts at crank. I did unplug the ICP and it still would not start. I don't think its the injector side of the ficm because they buzz as normal with koeo, but this is a possibility as I don't have equipment to test. Egr valve is clean for age of truck.
Would it be possible that the Mercon LV knocked crud loose in the transmission causing it to fail/seize? would siezed tranny cause the engine to behave in this manner?
Fuel bowl on top of the engine was full of fuel. I have not pressure tested it yet as I can hear the pump running during key on.
could i have a bad crank or cam sensor?
Multi-injector failure?
Bad Icp with HPO failure?
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My '03 Grand Marquis "shudders" when I accelerate, especially up hills. It feels like it cuts in and out momentarily, shaking backward and forward. Here is what I have had done, based on mechanics' advice: replace spark plugs, replace fuel filter, clean throttle body, clean mass airflow sensor. It still does it after all this and I am stumped.
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Its been few month hearing this noise from my r32. Car has 54k miles currently.
I hear rumble? sound when I accelerate going uphill. It seems like coming from front side and only sounds 1-2sec.
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About 3 weeks after an oil change, my 01 Ford Ranger started knocking and smoking when I accelerated up hills. I checked the oil levels to find that it was completely empty. Refilled the oil, but the problem persisted. Tried gas additive--nothing. Finally limped into the Ford dealership where they kept my car for 6 weeks trying to figure out what the problem was. After new plugs, wires, MAF sensor, coil, and PCM the problem seemed to be fixed...mostly. Knocking and smoking eventually stopped until I checked the oil levels again and it was empty. Added oil which started the symptoms all over again. Mechanic ruled out blown gasket. Claims knocking and smoking are unrelated (even though they happen at the same time 100% of the time). Smoke is white. Knocking (at its worst) sounds like a bolt rattling around in engine. Car does not lose power, and when I gun the engine it seems to go away. Only happens going up hills (of which Tennessee has plenty of).
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I've been having problems with my '02 Elantra. It shudders and doesn't accelerate well (or at all) going up hill, or attempting to accelerate quickly (like passing a car on the interstate). If I try to push it through these situations it will run worse, engine light flashes, and sometimes will stall. In the past, when it stalled, it would start up again in about 30mins or so.
Codes it has thrown were P0304, P0303, and P0420.
When I took it to mechanic, he really couldn't figure it out. He ended up testing and replacing fuel pump motor in November. Got it back and within a few days it was throwing same codes and having same symptoms.
Everything else from this point as been DIY. I bought a manual, researched these forums, learned as I went, and did the following myself:
I changed the spark plugs and wires. Still ran as described above but at this point when the engine light comes on, I am only down to the P0304 code right now.
Thought perhaps it was a vacuum leak. I have very few tools, and Autozone said I could use seafoam as a means to tell if I had a leak if smoke came out of vacuum lines as I put it in. I tried this, none came out of vacuum lines that I could tell. I drove it after seafoam, some white smoke came out tail pipe from solution but dissipated after driving a little while, and then I had the shuddering issues and loss of power while driving the interstate. It literally would act like I wasn't pressing the gas peddle, then suddenly surge as if it realized I was... engine continued to run until I pulled over and then it stalled. Normally it would start right back up after 30mins or so. But this time it didn't, I had to tow it home.
With a crap load of starter fluid and jamming the gas pedal, I finally got it to start. It ran horribly at idle, had a weird knock. So I didn't drive it and did the following instead.
I replaced the coil pack.
Replaced crank position sensor.
I confirmed that I have spark on all 4 cylinders.
There are no obvious oil leaks (nothing on garage floor and I don't see any obvious signs of wet oil on engine or smoke when it runs)
Temperature is fine, coolant level is normal & hasn't needed refill or topping off.
I pulled the fuel pump again, noticed that the fuel sock had holes and was full of muddy/pasty type crap. Gas was dark, cloudy in spots, and appeared to separate in some areas.
Replaced fuel sock.
Syphoned gas.
Thoroughly cleaned out gas tank.
Put premium gas in.
Manually cleaned fuel injectors.
Reassembled and it started right up, runs strong, no more weird knock, but the other symptoms start to reappear... the shuddering, loss of power, and stalling. Its intermittent... sometimes when I jam on the gas peddle, sometimes when I'm cruising at low speeds. I can force it to stall by jamming on the gas peddle to the floor, acts like it's choking, engine light flashes, lose power, then it stalls. Pretty much every time I push it like that.
I can continue to limp it to Autozone for codes, but the engine light currently isn't on.... and it usually takes it a hard drive pushing it through the symptoms for the light to appear, and it's always been the P0304 code at this point.
Is there anything else I can do from home with no special testing equipment?
Is there a part or sensor that would cause these symptoms and NOT throw a code other than the misfire?
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I have a 2008 Altima coupe SE V6 with a manual transmission and approximately 45,000 miles. Recently, I have been having an issue with cruise control when going uphill. It started that I could not accelerate using the cruise control button going uphill without the cruise control cancelling. If I hit the "resume" button, the cruise control would try and accelerate again and cancel out again. Since I took it in earlier this week, the cruise control has been cancelling whenever going up even a relatively modest hill whether I'm accelerating or not, so, whatever the issue is, it appears to be getting worse.
Assuming it was a problem with the cruise control itself (which would presumably be covered under warranty) I took the car to a Nissan dealer. They said that the clutch was wearing out and so the gear was slipping (or something) when the cruise control was trying to accelerate, causing the cruise control to cancel.
I was pretty shocked given that the car only has 45,000 miles on it and I don't grind the gears or ride the clutch. I spend a good bit of time in D.C. area traffic, but even considering that, 45,000 miles?? I did buy the car used, so it's possible that the previous owner did a number on the car in the first 10,000 miles or so, but it still seemed unlikely. I haven't noticed any other symptoms of the clutch dying except that recently, when I accelerate in 1st gear and am around the engagement point, occasionally there is sort of a metal-on-metal sound; almost like when breaks need new pads or something, but not as high pitched or loud.
Any thoughts on: a) if the issue is really the clutch, and b) if so, why it would cost so much to replace?
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I've noticed that my car is struggling a lot to climb uphill. I am not seeing any signs yet but I hear the gas engine running hard all the time going 30mph-50mph depending on elevation. Battery level on the monitor is always one or two purples when climbing up but it charges pretty quickly downhill. Should I risk driving the car anymore? My next destination is Yellowstone and Banff National Park so these driving conditions will continue.
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My wife and i have noticed over the last few months that our 08 has been revving higher, (much higher), than it used to when driving uphill. It has 65 k miles.
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I have a 2008 Honda Odyssey. Lately, we've been bothered by a sweet smell, particularly when coming to a stop at the bottom of a hill or acceleration uphill. The smell is most noticeable from the two front, center AC vents. The dealer swears it's not a hose or heater core issue. He also checked the cabin air filter. AC "on" and recirc "on" seem to exacerbate the problem.
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Today I was driving up to the highlands, and there is a hill I have to climb called 2 mile hill, it's an 8% grade, I started the climb with 7 green bars on the display, and the engine revved to what sounded like full pace (5000rpm) but I paid attention to the battery and it was actually being charged despite the situation. I got to the top of the hill and the battery was showing all 8 green bars. I'm shocked because I was going uphill at 65-70 MPH and it fully charged the traction battery.
I thought I heard a couple years ago that every couple months, the Prius will do this thing where it will fully charge the battery or something like that because of memory effect of the cells? Why it did this?
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I've bought a second handed European Prius 2en Gen from year 2006, the car is wonderful and I simply love it ! I wouldn't change it for anything, but yet I have some problems with it.
When I start the car I get the Red Triangle on the front panel, and exclamation symbol, a VSC symbol and an engine (?) symbol on. On the Display I always have a black bar on the top with a car and an exclamation point on it. Both can be seen int the pictures below....
At this point the car runs normally, the only things I notice are :
1 - When I stop the car (without shutting him down) I notice that the consumption of fuel is at 99.9/L because it is charging the battery, which is already full.
2 - The back-right ventilation fan of the car (on the passenger seat) is ON even when the Air Conditioner is OFF.
After a few miles (I don't know exactly when it happens, sometimes it happens when stopped, sometimes when on the road), the car beeps and then it shows a, on the same black bar on the display, a message saying "Problem", after a few seconds I get a Battery symbol on the right of the car with an exclamation point symbol.
At this point the car starts having the following problems :
1 - The motor begins to speed like if I was at full speed on the highway.
2 - I simply can't do an uphill, the car won't pass the 20Km/h speed, if I gain balance before arriving at the uphill, it will start losing speed until reaching the 18-20Km/h.
At this point I really don't know how to solve this. I only know that, the Toyota Representative here where I live (in Portugal), ask me for 2,975Euros (almost 3,263USD) saying that it is a problem in the Hybrid System. But yet it seems strange because from what I know, if the Hybrid System was compromised, the car wouldn't start at all.
Does changing the 12V Battery on the back would solve this (even knowing that the Display shows a fully charged battery ?) ?
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I have a 98 ranger, 4x4, 5spd 3.0 with 88k miles.
While I am driving it, everything is great, but when i start to accelerate, or torque the engine (going up a hill), I get this clicking/vibration in my gas pedal. its extremely noticeable, by feeling and ear.
Its most common around 2k to 2.5k RPM. There is a lot of play in the throttle cable, about an 1" or so give untill you feel pressure. What I need to replace or tighten?
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I found recently that my 04' Prius' engine easily goes higher rev than before (based on engine sound pitch). It happens mainly when cold start, go up hill. After warmed up and on flat road, it goes back to normal. Overall, still in great condition at 211K. MPG stays at 46 on meter when temp is around 45F with 50% highway drive at 100 miles/day. I suspect the serpentine belt slippery or something. What do you think? I think the belt is original. I bought it used at 104K.
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My 2007 Prius 4h with about 157k miles took a dump on Tuesday. My son was waiting for me in the car with both the air and the radio running on full blast. He'd pushed the power button twice (not sure if that matters) to get the air to run cold. After 20 minutes he turned it off. When I got back to the car, I push the power button and get a message stating "the P lock is not engaged" and to park on level ground, which I already was. I push the power button again start the car and all of the warning lights lit up, but the car didn't start. I push the power button and the warning lights would not go off. I had to push it a couple more times before they finally faded off. I tried to turn the car on again, same thing. No power. I lower the windows and they barely move. Eventually the car wouldn't respond at all. I had three different tow truck guys (they kept sending the wrong kind of truck) try to jump it.
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2005 prius battery is not charging . Then check engine light /problem light came on . The vehicle started sputtering and would not accelerate over 25 mph.
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Today, we got a flat tire, so went to put spare on. The jack bent when we jacket it up..so had to borrow jack from neighbor. Once we got the spare on, it made a funny noise..on the way home, it wouldn't drive over 22 MPH, and once we replaced the original tire (got a new one/fixed), the car started to accelerate and brake itself!! It was definitely not normal. And there was no resistance to the pedal or floor mat interference.
I believe it was a computer problem? Anyways, when you hit the brake (cause it was going so fast) you could hear the engine strain as it groaned to a stop. Got the car home and in the garage for the night..That was work in itself, not driving it through the wall! Arranged to get the Prius towed to Toyota in the morning..see what they can do. It's intermittent when it does this, and very weird.
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After one hour of freeway speed (60-80) the car slows down to a stop and red !triangle! light comes on. After coasting to the shoulder and waiting 10 minutes, car restarts. This has happened 3 times in the last two months (very frightening, but luckily it was light traffic). Dealer says 'no codes' and that there is nothing to fix!!!! What now? I can't drive a car that could lose power at any moment. Big safety issue....
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I may be worrying over nothing but lately when I brake or accelerate I hear a grinding noise on my radio. I listen to AM. With my other vehicle it usually meant there was a problem somewhere.
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I got a problem this morning my car was juddering when I tried to accelerate my Toyota Prius 2004. When it's over 40MPH the car runs smoothly. After few hours it increased and now its jerking and juddering big time. Also when my car is moving the "Traction Control light" flashed even on dry tar roads. When I try to run from the battery the car runs smoothly at any speed. Also on neutral, the car idles fine and no juddering. Since few months I felt like the clutch plates are slipping and engine revs high than normal only when it's running on gas. Seems to be okay on battery.
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