Prius V :: 2013 - Intermittent Power Failure
Dec 8, 2015
I have a 2013 prius v 5. I bought it new from the dealer, and it has now 40,000 miles.
Lately, I've been having intermittent power failure problems.
Dec 8, 2015
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Toyota - Camry :: 1999 - Intermittent Power Steering Failure
Twice in the past two months, the power steering in my 1999 Toyota Camry has temporarily stopped working. The first time, I was making a turn out of a parking lot, and the wheel froze up (or at least became very difficult to turn). The problem completely disappeared after about 30 seconds. Two months later, the problem happened again while making a turn onto a busy street. This time, it lasted only about 10 seconds before recovering. Both times, the wheel seemed to lock after I had already turned it some amount - i.e., halfway through the turn. And both times, it was raining. I did not hear any unusual noises - e.g., belts slipping.
I have taken the car to two different mechanics (one of them the local Toyota dealer), and neither could find anything wrong with the power steering. From their visual inspection, the power steering fluid looks good, there are no obvious leaks in the system, and the power steering belt looks fine. And they were unable to replicate the problem, since it occurs so infrequently.
The mechanics have said that there are two most likely culprits - a faulty rack and pinion ($1800), or a bad power steering pump ($800). I am hesitant to spend this kind of money without believing that the problem would be fixed, but I'm also very uncomfortable driving the car when the steering could give out at any time.
What the problem might be, or how I should proceed? The car has about 100,000 miles on it and is otherwise in great shape, so I'd like to keep driving it for years to come...
Subaru - Forester :: 2009 - Intermittent Power Steering Assist Failure During Low Speed Maneuvering
I just took my 2009 Subaru Forester (80,000 miles) in to a mechanic because it was having an intermittent power steering assist failure during low speed maneuvering (i.e., parking lot). This is always accompanied by a loud rhythmic whining form under the hood (kind of like a whaawhaawhaawhaa). By intermittent, I mean maybe 50% chance of it happening when I am maneuvering in a parking lot. By failure, I mean I can still turn the wheel but it's much harder. The mechanic diagnosed it as the following:
dry rot in drive belts, recommended replacement
leaky rack and pinion, recommended replacement
2 leaky front struts
I checked my power steering fluid before I brought it in and the level/color looks great. The mechanic said in addition to the leak that there's a little bit of a catch in the steering at a certain steering position when going faster, but I haven't noticed it myself. I have trusted this shop in the past and had good experiences, but there has been a lot of turnover lately, so I'm unsure of what to do. I went ahead and had them change the belts, but decided to wait on the rack/struts until I did more research/got a second opinion.
Ford 7.3L Power Stroke (1999-2003) :: Total Intermittent Electrical Flicker / Failure
New ghost in the machine.
Pulled out of the driveway two days ago to go trailer a wrecked car home. Got about half a mile up the road, and my electrical system started flickering. Engine died, dash went nuts, everything is clicking on and off real fast. This went on for a minute or two, then stopped. After a little internal debate, I decided to continue on.
Ran fine for another mile or so. Hitched up the trailer and checked the lights, everything A-OK. Started rolling down the lane and the truck went dark. Engine shut down, no sign of electrical power anywhere. It was as if my batteries had been suddenly abducted by aliens. Truck stayed dark for about 5 - 10 seconds, then like a switch was thrown all the electric came back on. Dropped the trailer and drove back to the house without incident. Not towing a car like this.
Checked the battery connections. Looked really good and tight. Pulled and cleaned them anyways.
Pulled the fuse box out from under the dash and looked for water damage. Absolutely no sign of moisture or corrosion anywhere on the box or anything else under the dash.
Started the truck and turned every electrical item I could think of on. Truck sat and idled for 15 minutes without a hiccup. Voltage at the batteries was normal. I wiggled wires everywhere with no effect.
Decided to quit for the night. Got into the truck to move it to it's parking spot and POOF, all went dark again. Engine died, heater blower, radio, headlights, interior lights, all dark. About 5 seconds later, everything came back online.
No CEL. No other symptoms. She was either running perfectly or had no juice at all.
I drove it last night to the mechanic I use. 7 miles, bumps, potholes, stop and go traffic, no issues.
Just spoke with the mechanic. They can't reproduce the problem. I told him I can't reproduce it on demand either. I asked that they put it up on the rack and check all the ground points.
Ford Super Duty (1999-2016) :: Intermittent Power Window Failure On Driver Side Door
As the title says, I have an intermittent issue with the power window in the driver's door. It always works, with the exception of when it gets really damp during the night. In that case when I get in the truck first thing, the window will go down, but not always up the first few tries.
View 1 RepliesLexus GS 2013+ :: Driver Side Rear Power Door Lock Failure
Strangely today my drivers side rear power door lock stopped working. Very annoying, can't unlock it electronically, and if its unlocked the rest of the car won't lock and the headlights won't go off.
I have to put it in anyways for the airbag seat rail TSB, but I was going to wait until my 40k service was due. This is too annoying to wait on since I put my briefcase and hang up my suit jacket in that seat...
Elantra MD (2010-15) :: 2013 - Intermittent Power Short
My 2013 Elantra is experiencing intermittent power shorts where all power (electrical is lost). Had to open door with manual key; clock resets and radio pre-sets lost.
View 2 RepliesSanta Fe (DM - 2013+) :: Intermittent Hesitation - No Power And The Engine Will Stall
I purchased my 2013 SF 2.0 Turbo SE in August 2013. Up until then, I was a long time Toyota owner. I've very satisfied with the SF, except I've been having an intermittent issue since I bought the vehicle.
Maybe 3-4 times a month, out of the blue, when I making a left hand turn, there is a hesitation when I press the accelerator. The hesitation lasts for about a second or so, but when there's traffic coming at you while you're making the left turn, it can be quite scary and the second feels like forever!
The hesitation feels like there is absolutely no power and the engine will stall. It never does. I've had it back to the dealer/garage for diagnostics several times but they can't seem to find anything wrong. And they keep charging me for the diagnostics! This occurs in ECO mode and non-ECO mode.
Passat (B6) :: Intermittent Compass Failure
For the past 4 mornings when leaving for work my compass (not satnav) in the MFD has been wrong. It has only said N or NE regardless of which way I am traveling.
I have about an hour-long trip to work. The car sits for about 4 hours then for lunch IT WORKS. For the trip home IT WORKS. Then the next morning... CRAP. I've tried shutting off the car and restarting first thing and half way through the trip. I've also tried stopping for 20 minutes on the way in.
Honda - Cr-v :: 2009 - Intermittent AC Failure / Blowing Hot Air
The A/C on my 2009 Honda CRV fail intermittently. I've had the system recharged, checked for leaks, and a relay replaced. Here's what's been happening... only during really warm weather sometimes the A/C just starts blowing hot air. Normally when this happens it resumes working the next day. One time I engaged the defrost and cold air blew out the windshield vents, when I then pushed the a/c button cold air came out the face vents. I was never able to reproduce this though. Also, a few days ago when the a/c failed I deselected the a/c control button and suddenly the air went from hot to ice cold - with the a/c off!
View 7 RepliesMazda - Tribute :: 2002 DX - Intermittent Failure To Start
I'll be driving the car fine, but after driving for maybe 10+ minutes and then stopping for 20-30 minutes, my manual 2002 Mazda Tribute DX (about 126K miles) won't start. It doesn't act flooded at all, all I hear is a click. The lights and radio and air conditioning and everything come on perfectly, but it won't start. About half of the time, it won't work at all with repeated attempts but after about 5 min. it'll just start normally. I've towed it to a shop 3 times now, on the first the alternator was replaced, and after about a week the same problem occurred, etc.
My mechanic then thought I might not be pressing the clutch all the way down since it worked right after towing but after about a week (I removed the floor mat and even made a video of me, a relatively large male, pressing as hard as safely possible on the clutch) but it still wouldn't start. It was towed, and now the car is at the shop again but the mechanic can't reproduce the problem yet again. Its battery and clutch were just replaced about a year ago, the connections don't look corroded, and my mechanic's tests on the alternator seem fine. Steering wheel isn't locked, and (supposedly) the shop's tried looking at the starter.
Civic - Honda :: Won't Start - Intermittent Ignition Failure
I have had a problem compounding for about 6 months. The car will not even try to turn over. One day she works perfect, the next day the starter won't even try to turn over. Recently it has been getting worse, I continued to roll start when it wouldn't start and kept driving... but now it will not even try to start at all.
I thought perhaps it was the starter solenoid failing, but when I took it to advance auto parts they tested it and it was functioning just as it should. I then figured it could be the relay, but I can hear it clicking on. What else could it be? I know that the spark plug wires and distributor are all good because I have personally replaced them in the last 6 months. I found some things on the internet referring to a clutch pedal ignition lock switch. Any good way to test it?
[URL] .....
This would appear to be the switch that I have heard of. Can it cause a complete breach of power from the ignition switch to the starter when failing? I will check to make sure that power is not making it to the starter tomorrow... I'm just not that familiar with the circuit.
Elantra MD (2010-15) :: Intermittent Door Lock Failure
My friend's 2012 Elantra's driver's door lock has started acting up intermittently. Sometimes the door locks, sometimes it doesn't. It won't do it on command so it can't be taken to the dealer to be looked at. Has this problem been cropping up on the 2012 models? He has had it for almost 2 years and has about 22000 miles.
View 14 RepliesSubaru :: 2003 - Intermittent Starting And Idling Failure
I have a '03 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport thing with the 2.5L boxer engine, standard, with 160,000 miles.There is an intermittent starting and idling failure that i thought started because of the colder weather rolling in(25 at night 35 during the day). When I turned the ignition to start it, there was a huff, it sounded like it would start, but it would simply shut down after about one second. If I depressed the throttle it would run at 1.5k rpm but only with my foot on the pedal. If i took it off it would die. Here's where it gets odd. The other night I had been getting rid of some rust on the undercarriage and so i kept the car indoors overnight. In the morning it started fine, and ran fine for an hour. I parked it and went to run an errand. 20 minutes later when i got back into my car to start it, still warm, it was 49 degrees outside, i started it and it went dead again. The same happened two days later after I had driven it out of the garage, I drove it for about 20 minutes, got out for less than five minutes, and when i got back in, it did the same thing twice. My uncle says it could be a hose leak.
View 5 RepliesPassat (B6) :: Intermittent Cruise Control Failure Due To Dying Battery
We began to get an intermittent cruise control failure (big exclamation point in the lower left of the MFD and no green "cruise" when the lever was clicked to "on") in my wife's 2007 2.0T Passat several months ago. During the same period she told me that the car occasionally didn't want to crank...although it always started on a second try. Well, to make a long story short, I had the battery replaced at the 60K service a couple weeks ago and the cruise has worked flawlessly ever since.
I put two and two together just before I took it in for service when the car showed failure of the antiskid system in addition to the cruise following a particularly difficult start. Sure enough, the new battery fixed it. Apparently some of the accessory systems go into a failure mode when they don't get enough current on startup.
Passat (B5) :: Cannot Engage Cruise Control - Intermittent Failure On 1999 VW
I have a 1999 VW Passat that has a problem with its cruise control that two dealers have not been able to solve. Most of the time I cannot engage the cruise control. Other times it will work properly for 30 minutes. On a rare occasion, it will work properly for several hours. It does not seem to matter what type of road I am driving on. On the rare occasions when it works properly, it does not seem to matter if I stop the care and shut off the engine.
It appears is is there are times when it stops working that stopping the care and shutting off the engine is useful when I begin driving again. However, there is nothing consistent about when it fails, and when it again functions. The dealers have said little more than the cruise control is not working. One dealer installed a new break pedal sensor which did not resolve the problem.
Touareg :: 2004 - Intermittent TPMS Failure Only In Cold Weather
Our late '04 touarg has been experiencing an intermittent tpms failure. Seems to occur only during sub-20 degree farenhiet whether and only when the 'egg is cold (i.e. parked outdoors or in an unheated garage) and generally occurrs shortly after starting/driving the car. Message we receive states that the system has failed (not flat tire/defective wheel/etc). The fault will then clear itself after around 10 minutes. Any solutions?
View 16 RepliesCivic - Honda :: 1991 - Random Intermittent Ignition Failure
I have a 1991 Honda Civic DX and it is doing something I can't explain. Randomly the car will not even try to turn over. The ignition switch will click, the dash lights come on... but not even the slightest peep from the starter motor. If I put the vehicle in fifth gear and roll it, turning the engine over even half a rotation, the engine will fire right up.
It started on a road trip and happened very sparsely, but has since become more common. What used to be 1 out of 20 is now maybe 1 out of 4 chance it doesn't start. Every now and then it will go days without any problems, then seemingly randomly the ignition fails again for spurts. I replaced the distributor cap, plugs, and rotor about 2 months ago. The ignition switch appears to be fine....
Passat (B5) :: Cruise Control Failure / Intermittent For A While And Now Completely Dead
My B5 1.8t 5M cruise control has stopped working. It became intermittent for a while and now it is dead. I have a long commute and really need the cruise to work.
View 2 RepliesPhaeton :: 2004 - Getting Intermittent Steering Failure - Workshop Message?
I posted last week that I was getting an intermittent "Steering Failure - Workshop" message on my '04 V-8 Phaeton. I asked forum members if I was alone and no one responded to the post. Last week I made an appointment with my VW dealer to get the car's steering fault looked at but I wasn't fast enough. The other day the car would not let me start it. The 'steering failure workshop' problem doesn't seem to be a mechanical issue. There are two other '04 Phaeton's at my dealer right now with the same problem. It looks like my car will join the party awaiting new steering control modules. The back-order on the modules appears to be at least another three weeks. Funny, you can get an entire Phaeton steering column in two days. If and when this steering module goes south all kinds of fun interior electrical glitches jump on board. No one ever said owning a Phaeton wouldn't be interesting and yes I still plan on keeping it for a very long time.
View 2 RepliesPrius (2004-09) :: Power Inverter Failure While Driving
What happens when a power inverter fails while driving?
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