Prius Plug-in 2012-15 :: Check Hybrid System Message While Driving On Freeway In EV Mode - Code P03CE
Mar 21, 2014
Yesterday while driving on the freeway in EV mode, my PIP (one of the first delivered to the states) flashed the "Check Hybrid System - Stop the vehicle in a safe place" message. I was near my house so I just went home. My SG2 showed code P0C3E, which is apparently an inverter over temperature code.
Took it to the dealer this morning and they just informed me that the car needs a new inverter, but no other details… "internal fault" is what he said.
While googling, i found this recall notice:
Green Car Congress: Toyota recalling about 701,000 Gen 3 Prius vehicles in US over software issue in inverter assembly
that doesn't talk specifically about the PIP and implies that it is a software problem, but goes on to say if the car is in a fault condition the inverter will be replaced. of course, it's possible that a software problem leads to hardware damage.
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I was driving my plug-in yesterday on the freeway and suddenly it alerted me the following:
Check Hybrid System
Stop the vehicle in a safe place
I pulled over to the side and tried to reset the message (push power button 3x), but message still was coming up. With my Toyota dealership not too far away, decided to bring in my car to have it checked out.
After 2 hours with their hybrid tech, they were not able to replicate the message (of course, always the case), but the tech was able to catch a P0C3E error from their diag tool. Being that they could not replicate the issue, they released my car and started to bring it back it the issue persist.
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The engine check light is ON this morning. It said that there are problems for the hybrid system on the display. I sent it to dealer immediately.
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My new-to-me (bought in May this year) 2010 Prius last night suffered. Nearing home on my usual 21-mi commute from work and on a secondary road, I was stopped at a red light. As I normally do when at a red light when a rather spirited start isn't needed (no or few cars behind me, not uphill, etc) I pushed the "EV" button to take advantage of electric acceleration up to 25 mph. All seemed normal as the light turned green and I started off. I don't know if I reached 25 or not - must've been close - when all of a sudden the acceleration stopped as if I'd taken my foot off the pedal when indeed I'd not. Simultaneously, a circus of lights lit up on the dash along with the fairly ominous message of "Check Hybrid System."
As with all things electronic these days, I figured a good ol' fashioned reboot was in order. Turned it off and back on and...same thing of course. Being near an intersection and a very bad place to be stopped - and not knowing if the car would actually move - I pressed the accelerator anyway, despite the warning lights, and indeed the car started to move. It seemed to cap the speed at 12-13 mph, which immediately seemed like some kind of self-protective safe mode. Luckily, I was within spitting distance from home, so I limped the last 1/4 mile in this state - and at 12 mph.
There are probably 5-6 warning lights on in addition to the big "Check Hybrid System" message. Let's see, first and foremost, the yellow triangle of death, followed by what I think is the Slip indicator (car icon with wavy lines), the CEL, the encircled exclamation point which I think is the braking system, and I forget, a couple of more. I should've snapped a pic but I was in a hurry to troubleshoot.
So I used my Actron scanner to pull the P0A94 code. I didn't see that it's able to read the sub codes, or maybe that's a capability that only the expensive dealer scanners have. Anyway, I can't conclude what it is other than the generic "DC-DC Converter Performance". I know that here and elsewhere there's a list of all DTC codes, and I saw that this code has 17 sub-codes, many of which are related somehow to the inverter, which seems to have been the subject of a recall in Gen II models (acutally the inverter cooling pump IIRC) but not on Gen III.
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New 2015 PIP, got it 2 months ago, and it drove fine till Thursday, when this message came up. I believe I first got a "Charge interrupted due to malfunction" and then the dreaded "Check Hybrid System, Stop the vehicle in a safe place." alert with all the engine lights on.
Took it to the dealer and they charge it up, cleared the message, and gave it back. They told me it was because I shared the car's outlet with something else, and then threatened to charge me money if I came back because it was my fault. Took it home, charged it exactly the way they told me to, and this morning the error message came back up. Going to take it in to the dealer tomorrow.
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Does PIP have two different batteries for each mode (EV and Hybrid) or is it the same battery?
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Searched for threads about this error message, didn't find much substantive except 'check your gas cap'.
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I cleaned out hybrid battery cooling fan today, not too bad after 160K . However, as I test drove prius the Triangle of death and "Check Hybrid System" message pops up.
Drove 13 miles back home, battery charged good. No power consumption data given on hud. Rechecked fan connection and looked over area. All looked good. I dont think ICE was running during drive home. Tested 12 volt=good. Disconnected 12 volt and orange plug. Reconnected. System reboots and seems Ice goes through warm up. Even put in power mode and it roars. Scratching head on this. Coincedence or maybe I should have disconnected 12volt before disconnecting cooling fan?
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I have noticed that when driving in EV mode when the car switches over to HV mode the Eco icon always lights up! Of course you can select Eco, or Power mode manually, but when it does this automatically, after the EV battery charge is used up, it keeps showing the Eco icon being lite not HV.
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Just curious, is the low speed electric acceleration in *hybrid mode* generally, seat of the pants, noticeably more robust than that of the 'regular', 3rd gen Prius? By low speed, I mean starting off from stop lights in normal driving.
Why do I ask? In 3rd gen Prius, electric acceleration lasts only a few seconds from a stop, maybe up to about 15 MPG roughly with light acceleration. With heavy throttle, gas engine comes on about right away.
How does the PiP behave under moderate acceleration from stop in hybrid mode? Could we say PiP accelerates on electric drive in HV about 6 MPH per second +/-x up to 25 MPH +/- x on level ground, etc....?
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Jumped into the Prius this morning to discover dash lights working, no radio etc so vehicle would not turn on. Replaced the auxiliary battery (about 5 years old.) Now all dash light, radio etc are looking great BUT:
- Enngine will not engage
- Message stating Check Hybrid System
- Various waning lights on dash (yellow waning triangle, swerve icon on left)(battery, brake, chech engine, steering wheel?) and abs!!!on the right)
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I am having a gen 3 prius and yesterday when I am driving on a humpy road.(village side road) i got this message on the prius hybrid indicator screen, with orange color engine light and orange color triangle warning light. But still i can drive the vehicle and it charge the hybrid battery and everything going OK. I got really got fuel economy too after getting the warning message. Only thing is the message is appearing every time at the screen, What should i do now.
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I Opened my 2011 Prius trunk to get the tire wrench to take my snow tires off, and install my main tires and rims. When I went to start up the car after it was done, I have a "Check Hybrid System" Message on the MFD. I wondered if I'd hit one of the 2 orange items on the Electric drive battery, that was exposed in the trunk, and I can't get rid of the message. The car is not drivable, the system doesn't read "READY" and the engine doesn't start.
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I was driving down the road and suddenly the car stopped. The check hybrid system light came on, and it wouldn't go forward or backward. I had to have it towed. What has happened? Is it included in extended warranty?
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I have a 2010 Prius, currently at around 69,000 miles. Back in Feb 2015 (when it was just under 60,000) I was driving on a city street and hit the accelerator once a stoplight turned green - immediately as I took off (at a normal rate of acceleration) my 2010 Prius made a loud noise and I got the red triangle of death, with a "Check Hybrid System" message. The car quickly shifted into "limp home" mode and I was able to make it back home as I was only about a mile away.
Got towed to the nearest dealer the next morning and after tons of testing and going back and forth, they replaced the transmission and inverter (was able to get it covered under powertrain warranty), and I was on my merry way. No issues until last night.
Yesterday evening, I am on a city street and get a warning beep. I look at my dashboard and this time I have a yellow exclamation mark with the "Check Hybrid System" message yet AGAIN. Towed the car to the nearest dealer and am now waiting on next steps. Only update I've gotten so far is that they are still trying to diagnose the issue, and are getting 4 error codes in this process, 2 of which are new. I am waiting on the technician to tell me what the actual codes are - hopefully should get them tomorrow.
I would hope if it's another issue with transmission or inverter, it's covered under warranty given I replaced both less than a year ago. However I'm not sure and am worried that it's going to be $$$ in case it's something else that failed. Plus I'm getting serious doubts as to the safety of my car - what if I had been moving at a high speed on the highway during either of these situations?
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Went to start the car up this morning - foot on brake and pressed the Power button. The car went through its checks but when it finished the 'Welcome to Prius' graphic it did a continuous beeep and displayed 'Check Hybrid System' and didn't start.
I turned it off and tried again and on the third or fourth attempt the car eventually fired up, the error message was gone and there were no warning lights on the dash. The car did smell like it was running rich though.
I turned it off and called the dealers. They said if no warning lights are now on it should be ok to drive the 6 miles to see them and they'll check it on their computer. As I drove to see them the car was running OK but the fuel economy was shocking. I was getting about 40 mpg UK (30 US mpg) as a trip average.
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My Prius yesterday while driving slowly (under 10 mph) all the dash warning lights came on(triangle, cel, trac control, brake). the gas engine started and the message came on that says: "check hybrid system". Today when I went out to check there only two warning lights on (triangle and cel) with the same message displayed. My question is can the vehicle operate without damaging anything if I drive it as is? I have read on several threads that the engine will not start if the hybrid motor(s) are not working. Since my engine starts and runs I have to believe the motor(s) are working.
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Just bought a new 2012 Prius Plug-in on Friday. Still learning the ropes. I've selected EV mode, and the EV mode indicator light is lit up as it should be on he dashboard above my steering wheel. As would be expected, to the right, the Hybrid System Indicator bar features a little car sitting on top of it with the letters "EV."
However, after a few minutes of driving, the letters "EV" disappear from the little car in the Hybrid System Indicator. The indicator doesn't switch the to HV screen (where the main bar is divided into two halves), but remains in the EV screen (where the main bar is undivided, with a little nub on the left for "charge" and on the right for "power.") And the EV mode indicator light above my steering wheel remains lit.
A few minutes later, the "EV" letters appear in the little car once again. Then they disappear, then they come back again. All along, I've had plenty of mileage left to go in EV mode (more than 6 miles).
Is this normal behavior? Is this simply what happens when the ICE kicks in despite being in EV mode? (And the ICE definitely kicked in - I saw that on the Energy Monitor graphic. And I understand why - it's been very cold here [northern NJ].)
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I just hit 20,000 miles and my Hybrid System Indicator Trip B which has my historical data was reset to zero.
When I got to the first 10,000 miles it did the same thing but at that time I thought I reset it by mistake.
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I had my brand new plug in prius for 6 whole days before my house was hit by lightening, while the car was charging. The car has been in the shop for 3 weeks since that has happened and they eventually replaced the "electric vehicle recharge unit". But it still doesn't seem right to me. one of the things that is happening is that the EV switch is not operating while I'm driving.
For instance: I'm driving locally on EV and then get on the highway and when I get to the point that the engine kicks on, I hit the EV switch to turn it off and move to hybrid mode. However, even though the EV light is off, the battery continues to discharge and will eventually completely discharge. To prevent this I do a number of maneuvers like hit the brakes repeatedly or hit every button the dash (EV, ECO) until it stops!
This cannot be normal but then again I only drove the car for 6 days before lightening struck. It also happens the other way. If I'm driving on the highway and get off and then hit the EV switch to turn the electric back on, the electric motor doesn't kick in.Am I imagining this? Is there some fancy way to switch EV and back on the fly?
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If I'm driving around town and have to accelerate to merge with traffic, the ICE will come on even though I'm in EV mode. I understand why that would/should happen. But why does it stay on for so long after that? It seems like it stays on for several minutes, even if you're driving slow after the the few seconds of acceleration. And I've noticed a few times under the above circumstances that the ICE is clearly on (I can feel it's on) but the dashboard indicator shows it is off. What gives?
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