Help!prius Won't Start After Recently Flooding

RViji · May 17, 2016

Hi, I am posting on behalf of a relative with a 2013 Prius. His car was in a parking lot where water came up about wheel-high from back, and he got water inside boot. He has managed to get his car home safely, and he had to go through a couple places with some water in the road. At night he got out most of the water , and put some clothes/papers inside to soak up some moisture.

Today, The keyless entry worked, he got inside and went to start it, and then it flashed the check engine light and some other light(VSC).. The check engine light stayed on for a minute or two, and then went out.But Now the car is completely dead.

Does anyone know if he just need a jumpstart, or if something else might be wrong? Is jumpstart safe,if there is still water inside hi voltage system? I read somewhere that HV battery is not completely water proof. Since water came from back,it is unlikely that cylinders have water....

RViji · May 18, 2016

Agree with Mudita100%,except for the accident part.I also have heard about cars with flood damage after cleaning,entering auctions in Japan with A-grading because the auction guys only check external and internal for scratches,dents etc.

Edited May 18, 2016 by RViji

Muditha420 · May 18, 2016

@RViji - The example i took is actually from SL not from Japan. if you go to these independent vehicle inspection FB sight in SL you will see enough to be pretty damn worried on the car you buy. As usual there are no laws as far as i know to check these shoddy work so these cars will be on the road eventually

RViji · May 20, 2016

Update:he could not get a nearby appointment at TL. But after a technician scanning with a Launch scanner,showed following codes.

P0420, P0A6/526-612-655.

(and Still not starting)

Any ideas ..

Edited May 20, 2016 by RViji

Rumesh88 · May 20, 2016

On 5/20/2016 at 11:47 AM, RViji said:
Update:he could not get a nearby appointment at TL. But after a technician scanning with a Launch scanner,showed following codes.
P0420, P0A6/526-612-655.

(and Still not starting)

Any ideas ..

P0420 - Catalytic converter - you can ignore it for now. Must have popped up some time back and still stored in ECU.

P0AA6/526 - High Voltage Isolation Fault common code. To decide the area of leakage check the other two codes.

P0AA6/612 - Leak on battery case, should not be an issue once cleaned up and dried clear of water.

P0AA6/526 - MGR ie motor generator and transmission. If this code is still appearing it is very serious.

Please note that these are stored codes. Did the technician clear the codes and tried to start? If that too failed then you will have no option but to tow it to the agent. At least if the battery case was dry by the time it was scanned then you should not have got the 612 code after resetting.

gayanath · May 20, 2016

On 5/20/2016 at 12:51 PM, Rumesh88 said:
P0420 - Catalytic converter - you can ignore it for now. Must have popped up some time back and still stored in ECU.
P0AA6/526 - High Voltage Isolation Fault common code. To decide the area of leakage check the other two codes.

P0AA6/612 - Leak on battery case, should not be an issue once cleaned up and dried clear of water.

P0AA6/526 - MGR ie motor generator and transmission. If this code is still appearing it is very serious.

Please note that these are stored codes. Did the technician clear the codes and tried to start? If that too failed then you will have no option but to tow it to the agent. At least if the battery case was dry by the time it was scanned then you should not have got the 612 code after resetting.

Adding to rumesh88 reply,

If code clearance also not working, propose to remove 12V battery terminal and keep some time to reset every thing. Then reconnect the battery terminal and try to start the vehicle. However, as rumesh88 also said, no point of doing those things before drying the HV battery pack area. Since the batteries are made to withstand for heat, propose to use hairdryer to dry battery pack area.

RViji · May 20, 2016

It seems these were the codes that remain after clearing all codes and the 12V battery reset many times..so it suggests the motor generator could be bust?

gayanath · May 20, 2016

On 5/20/2016 at 3:03 PM, RViji said:
It seems these were the codes that remain after clearing all codes and the 12V battery reset many times..so it suggests the motor generator could be bust?

Couldn't be still the leak is there.? Need to dry or identify the short circuiting point. ??

gayanath · May 20, 2016

On 5/20/2016 at 11:47 AM, RViji said:
Update:he could not get a nearby appointment at TL. But after a technician scanning with a Launch scanner,showed following codes.
P0420, P0A6/526-612-655.

(and Still not starting)

Any ideas ..

Below document having more details about DTC codes. Specially trouble areas. All codes are available except 655. Please check and it will give some clue.

http://priuschat.com/attachments/2010-prius-dtc-codes-pdf.33416/

Shack · May 24, 2016

Hybrids are not the type of machines to mess around with everyday bass. Better to get it diagnosed through TL. If you need an expert to overlook the car why not try with Lal alawatta. I have no personal experience with him but heard the guy is sound enough for these type of matters.You can contact him through 0777229714