Prius (2004-09) :: Won't Start Properly And Smoothly
Dec 11, 2013
I checked the voltage of my battery after sitting for 6 hours and it was 12.3 (through the diagnostic screen). The battery is only about a 1.5 years old.
A couple times I go to start the car and the dashboard lights turn on and off, the brake pedal feels like the hydraulic turns on and then off (with the lights) and it just cycles like this, unless you turn it off. Sometimes it starts after a few cycles.
A couple days ago I tried starting it and the check engine light came on (but no other lights). Then after trying a few more times the lights came on, but almost like acc mode (wouldn't let you put the car in drive). Then after trying more the gas gauge went up to full and started blinking, as well as boxes around the drive, park, B icons on the dash (almost like the computer was resetting). The battery seemed low, but after a few minutes it started up fine, and drove home.
Since then I've had the first issue return where it feels like the car is turning on, off, on, off.
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I have a 2004 Jetta TDI Stationwagon. In January it started having starting problems. The car would crank but not fire. After about 8-9 tries it would fire. MOstly does it first crank of the day (whether morning or afternoon).
Mechanic #1 said it was the fuel filter and changed it. But it still had starting problems. Then Mechanic #1 said it was a sensor and changed it. Still had starting problems. In February, Mechanic #2 said it was the fuel pump. Changed the fuel pump. Still had starting problems.
Then Mechanic #2 said it was the crank sensor. But when he checked the crank sensor was brand new (apparently Mech #1 changed it in January). Still had same starting problems.
Mechanic #3 said he received the Crank sensor diagnostic error too but he checked it and it was brand new! He told me to take it to the dealer. I did. Dealer said no it wasn't the crank sensor it was the new fuel pump installed in April was defective. Took off the brand new fuel pump that was installed another brand new fuel pump. Next day car started fine but two days later didn't start again. Took car back to the dealer. They said after all it wasn't the fuel pump it was the crank sensor. After a couple days they said it wasn't the crank sensor but it was the EGR valve that was clogged with carbon. They changed the EGR valve, cleaned it out and gave the car back to me.
Today the car doesn't start again! I tried it about 7 times! Dealer is going to haul it back and try to figure it out! But I am frustrated! What could it be?
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I have a 2004 bought in 2003. It recently logged its first 100k miles. My problem with it is not easy to describe. It is actually running more like a non-hybrid car. I can feel and tell the hybrid system is operational, and I can hear the electric motor whine when coasting, down, etc. However, I don't think it is running as it should or as it used to. It happened on highway while cruising about 70 mph. I hit the accelerator to pass someone, and I felt that something changed. I'll try to describe it: think of a half-clogged pipe. The water can barely gets past the obstruction. You keep applying pressure, and suddenly the clog dissolves under pressure, and water begins to flow freely, and the pressure goes down. So it felt like that. Now the accelerator pedal is lighter, car is faster to respond, yet I think something is wrong because the car isn't itself anymore.
I don't like problems like these because they are very difficult to diagnose, let alone fix. For a while I also have not heard the inverter pump whine after shutting the car off as I did in the past, but the last time I got out of the car today I heard it. I believe it was replaced five years ago after a collision with a Trailblazer wiped out half of the front end ( but with no power train damage). I checked the VIN for the inverter pump campaign, but my VIN was not in the range.
Right now my problem is that the car feels a lot faster than it has ever been. When I lift off the accelerator, it doesn't begin to coast as it used to. No warning light of any kind out of the ordinary is present on the dash, although it did have the red triangle on during start up with a message about the parking gear not being engaged properly. That warning went away after the change in performance occurred. Related?
I guess I will take it to the dealer to see if there are any codes stored. After my 30 mile commute this morning, no whining, buzzing or any kind of noise was present after I shut off the car and I got out. There is still no warning light.
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I have a 2009 Prius base model, and I've been having two different brake problems.
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I have a 2009 Prius. Last summer I noticed that the outside temperature gauge was not working properly. I asked at the wonderful dealership I go to and no one knew anything.
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I just swapped the 1.8 7a-fe for a fresher 1.8 7a-fe. Everything is properly assembled, but when I start it up it idles low and doesn't run smoothly. As if it weren't timed correctly... My buddy claims it is though, and he ran it with a timing light.
Another issue is black exhaust, I'm not sure if they bare any relation but I know black exhaust cannot be good..
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i have a 2001 mercury sable what im getting is its will not start but starts on occasion like today it started fine this morning did errands before work drove it turned it off short period and then started just fine and then drove to work after work it did not want to start tried every thing check engine light is not on and has not come on im am getting stumped i had to leave it in the parking lot at my work so my question is what could make it do this where it starts on occasion and then when sitting for a period of time will not start it cranks but just does not start
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Having trouble starting my car after getting gas on a low tank. It had appeared to me this was the only time and maybe it was at the time but now I've noticed it happens whenever I turn the car off after its warmed up and been driven and have it left off for several minutes and try to restart it. If I just turn it off and try to turn it back on immediately it will start fine, or if it is left off for 10 minutes or more it will be fine to start back up. It always starts when cold. The jetta is a 2003 1.8t manual transmission, I always let it idle for a short period after driving, longer if driven hard before shutting down. It was suggested to replace the evap purge valve which I did and it has not fixed the issue. Another piece I have replaced recently is the crankshaft position sensor which was to resolve a random stalling problem.
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I am having an issue where my Navigation display on my 07 Prius wont respond properly to touch. Like i would press in the left corner and it registers in the right. So i have given up on fixing it and just going to buy a new unit. My question is how can i tell which unit i need so that it fits and i still have all my options that my car has. I have an 07 model with navigation, back up camera, Bluetooth, leather seats, JBL audio not sure which exact model it is tho.
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I have a 2007 Prius gen II with 50,000 miles on it. I took it for MOT ministry of transport annual test and it failed on rear brakes. The near side puled 82kg the off side puled 242kg I puled the pads and copper slipped the pads and sliders the piston pushed bake with ease reassembled them and re tested them witch increased the near side by 5kg. How did you rectify it.
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When stuck in traffic jams, and my 2004 Prius shows 2 bars on the HV battery charge, it attempts to start the engine to maintain the charge on the HV battery. What was happening was the engine would attempt to start and then it would immediately die. It would keep repeating this process, over and over again, and would not charge the HV battery. Once I started driving out of the traffic jam, the engine ran fine and it charged up the HV battery while I was moving down the road. I decided to clean the throttle body. My charging problem did change due to me cleaning the throttle body. Instead of starting and immediately dying, over and over again, the engine no longer dies.
It now revs up, and slows back down to idle over and over again when sitting still with 2 bars of charge. The display does not show any charging going on during this revving up and slowing down episode. I need some more hints as to what to check out. I am studying electrical diagrams of the vehicle, but I need a synopsis of which system starts the engine for HV charging, and which system keeps the engine revving at the same RPMs during charging while not in motion. The throttle body cleaning made my 257 K mile Prius run like a scared deer again. I just need to get her charging while sitting still again. 12 volt charging system is in the 14+ volt range and 12 volt battery with no load is around 12.2 volts.
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This is my first VW. My first European car at all. I've been having what I think are battery issues, but they're weird. Every... I'd say 3rd or 4th start, I just get the clickclickclickclickclick thing. Then I jump it and it starts fine. When I don't have to jump it, it's been starting rough. When I jump it is the only time it starts smoothly. To me that screams battery.
The other day, I went to start it and it wouldn't start. But I had nothing to do that day so I went back inside and did whatever. Went out about 5 hours later, and it started just fine.
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I just bought a 2007 and my Multi Information Display does not work properly on the climate control screen or information screen. ie when you press temp up or down buttons it sometimes works and when you want to change the fan speed and press medium it goes to low. On the information screen no matter what you select it goes to Trip information screen. However the Audio screen works perfectly.
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We spend summers away and our 06 Prius stays in the garage. I connect a battery minder and it keeps the 12v battery charged with no problem. I also turn off the switch under the steering column that works with the remote.
When I started the car after two months and driving for a few blocks, I noticed the MFD showed the battery at a low of two purple lines. After a while, it charges up normally. The car has 47000 miles and the 12 v battery has never been changed. Would that have something to do with it or am I being concerned over nothing?
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A few days ago the 12V battery of my Prius II went flat. We got the car to start by connecting it with the 12V battery of another car.
Since then we have got a problem when we raise the front glass on the driver side automatically: if we trigger it so that it automatically goes all the way to the top it will no longer stop at the highest position. It will instead raise to the top, then go back down and stop at the middle.
We can still raise the glass by manually using the button and stopping manually at the right moment.
I am guessing that the car does not "remember" what is the correct "highest position" of the glass, and that this memory was lost because of the battery discharge. Any way to "teach" this to the car again ?
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I have a gen II Prius 2007 with 115,000 miles on it ...
When I use my brakes at low speeds under 15 mph, there is a bit of extra brake travel before they engage properly ...
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My 2010 MazdaSpeed 3 (turbo charged, ~75K miles) will have difficulty starting after prolonged (>2hrs) sitting with engine off (no difference with changes in outside temperature). I would either have to crank for a very long time or crank multiple times (at least twice) before engine will turn on. No other problems (idle is smooth).
I have done simple maintenance (brand new K&N air filter, new spark plugs, new battery, MAF sensor cleaning). I took it to dealer and they have done extensive testing on fuel pump system with no luck. They recommended decarbonizing service ($150), made no difference.
Only pattern I've noticed is if I rev the engine before shutting off, even after sitting overnight, the engine will start right away without any problem. Modern fuel injection engine...
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My engine seems to misfire when I first start out and then runs smoothly. The first mechanic got a random misfire from the diagnostic and replaced all the cylinder coils which worked for about a week. The second mechanic ran a diagnostic which said random misfire and he said it was a loose spark plug. This worked for 4 days then it started misfiring again. There's no violent shaking or backfiring. I don't know much about cars but it seems odd that it doesn't keep misfiring. It's a 2006 jeep Liberty with 87,000 miles...
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I've had this happen twice: Foot on Brake, press start, car powers up. RED Triangle with exclamation point on dash. Message on MFD screen says something like "Transmission not properly engaged, move vehicle to level area and press Park"
I can't move it anywhere because nothing but the electrical system works. I can't even turn it back off.
Toyota tells me have it towed. They send "their guy", who is also the area AAA guy. Tow truck driver says he can't tow it because it won't go into neutral. So he jumps it...car shuts off when power is pushed. Push power again. Car starts fine.
Drive to Toyota. They keep it all day, do all kinds of diagnostic tests, tell me there's nothing wrong. I ask if it's the battery, they say it tests fine, but they'll replace it if I want (of course they don't keep it in stock and have to order it).
The car did the same thing this morning, but I was able to turn it off & restart. (That makes it #3)
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When cold engine starts on the first attemp 80% of the time, when warm its about 60-70%. Sometimes it take 2-3 attemps to start. But on the second to last attemp the engine will fire very little and then knock off.
So far I replaced the distributor, spark plugs and wires, boost sensor?, fuel pressure regulator, and checked the injector ohms and fuel pressure at the engine with the old pump. After replacing the fuel filter it started fine for a few days, after replacing the fuel pump it started fine for a week. Thus making me believe it's a fuel issue. So I added check valves to the fuel line at the engine, both the supply and return lines. And still few days later it's back.
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I have a 1997 Ford Explorer. Starting about 4 months ago I have had intermittent problems with it not wanting to start.When you turn the key the radio and dome lights etc. come on but it is dead silence from the motor.First time it happened we ended up replacing the starter solenoid. Next time we discovered that if you "jump" the 2 posts on the solenoid (using well insulated rubber handled pliers) while turning the ignition it will start every time.Took it to a local, reputable mechanic - he is baffled. They looked at every connection and wire they could think of.It is not the battery or solenoid, as best we can tell. It does not do it all the time. It will ocur, then it will start fine for 2 weeks then happen 3 times in a row, then not happenf for say another week or two.
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