2014 Hybrid Estate CHeck Hybrid System Warning

[mushrooom]

This has happened a few times recently, (twice in the last week)

I get the warnings on the dash but carry on driving. Usually it's just tootling along at 30mph, no drama but lights come on.

I check the hybrid Battery state and it's down to two bars and stays that way for five mins then starts to fill up again.

Get home disconnect the 12volt Battery for ten minutes and all is OK for a few hundred miles.

The check engine light comes on and goes off at random times too but no effect to how it drives

Any ideas ?  

[flash22]

You will need to scan for codes or use a crystal ball

[mushrooom]

Can you recommend a specific scanner ?

[Cyker]

Who services your car? Have you shown it to them...?

 

[mushrooom]

I service my car, I don't trust garages anymore 

[TonyHSD]

14 minutes ago, mushrooom said:

I service my car, I don't trust garages anymore 

You better stop driving this car until you run a diagnostic and see the exact fault codes because this warning can mean many things and some can be major faults that can lead to engine, transmission or hybrid Battery total failure and expensive repair. 
Run a diagnostic and take it from there, look for additional codes on top of the main one, this warning often comes when you have inverter water pump failure or hybrid Battery cooling fan blocked, both can lead to further damage. 
DIY scan tools for phone apps are Carista obd 2 adapter, linx lx, mx etc

a subscription may be required to unlock full potential. 
CARISTA OBD- bluetooth Scanner and App for your VW, Audi, SEAT, Skoda, Nissan, Infiniti, Toyota, Lexus, BMW, Mini https://amzn.eu/d/9sPSxGV

[mushrooom]

Inverter water pump is fine, I've just checked it. You can see the coolant flowing through the expansion tank and you can hear the pump running

[TonyHSD]

22 minutes ago, mushrooom said:

Inverter water pump is fine, I've just checked it. You can see the coolant flowing through the expansion tank and you can hear the pump running

Then you check your hybrid Battery cooling fan grill, filter condition, clean or replace as necessary. Also engine water pump failure will also trigger hybrid system check. Read the codes is very important. Double check if you have a good cabin heating. 

[mushrooom]

Cabin heater is working fine, Battery cooling fan is clear, I clean it every few weeks. It's all pointing towards the hybrid Battery. I've ordered a veepeak bluetooth OBD reader  

[Saxmaniac]

No good just taking wild guesses. If like me you do your own maintenance then you need to invest in whatever tools you need, the cost of a good scanner will be outweighed by the savings made over shoddy work done by the motor trade. I have a bootleg of Techstream and an old XP laptop. This has done what I need so far though the car is still young. If needed I would invest in an X Tool scanner based on the attached video. The D7 has been updated since this so you could go to a newer version 

[ashaman]

I experienced the same problem last night! I was driving on a highway. Then, the car started to shake between 2500-3000 RPM. Immediately, check hybrid system message and engine light popped on. I pulled over immediately. I tried to go with the power mode on (as the car shouldn't use the hybrid system when it is on the power mode). However, the car moved only 50 meters and then completely stopped. The emergency mechanic said that it seems like a big problem and it can be related to cylinder heads (I guess he meant head gasket?). The car is at a parking spot right now and will be transferred to a dealer on Monday.

What should I expect? Do you think that it is a big problem (like an expensive one)? If the dealer fixes it, should I expect to experience this problem again?

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, ashaman said:

I experienced the same problem last night! I was driving on a highway. Then, the car started to shake between 2500-3000 RPM. Immediately, check hybrid system message and engine light popped on. I pulled over immediately. I tried to go with the power mode on (as the car shouldn't use the hybrid system when it is on the power mode). However, the car moved only 50 meters and then completely stopped. The emergency mechanic said that it seems like a big problem and it can be related to cylinder heads (I guess he meant head gasket?). The car is at a parking spot right now and will be transferred to a dealer on Monday.

What should I expect? Do you think that it is a big problem (like an expensive one)? If the dealer fixes it, should I expect to experience this problem again?

Hi and welcome. 
Sorry to hear your bad experience. The issue you have sounds like complicated and likely something with the petrol engine as this will cause shakes while on the move. Possible misfire, but for the car to trigger check hybrid system it might be more serious. You should not continue to drive in any mode as these cars are always driven by the hybrid system. There is no exception where you can drive on electric or on petrol only. 
You need to read the fault codes with a scan tool to get an idea what can have caused the problem. Check your coolant levels for both inverter and engine. Check engine oil. Check hybrid Battery cooling fan grill , filter. But whatever you do you need the codes. 
Head gasket also possible to be gone. Blocked egr system also likely.
At the moment is all of a guess work. Wray is the mileage of the car? 
 

[ashaman]

1 hour ago, TonyHSD said:

Hi and welcome. 
Sorry to hear your bad experience. The issue you have sounds like complicated and likely something with the petrol engine as this will cause shakes while on the move. Possible misfire, but for the car to trigger check hybrid system it might be more serious. You should not continue to drive in any mode as these cars are always driven by the hybrid system. There is no exception where you can drive on electric or on petrol only. 
You need to read the fault codes with a scan tool to get an idea what can have caused the problem. Check your coolant levels for both inverter and engine. Check engine oil. Check hybrid battery cooling fan grill , filter. But whatever you do you need the codes. 
Head gasket also possible to be gone. Blocked egr system also likely.
At the moment is all of a guess work. Wray is the mileage of the car? 
 

Hi Tony,

Thank you for your suggestions! Indeed, it is a guess work at the moment. I hope that the issue is fixable with a reasonable price. The mileage is 141k kms. I thought that Toyotas lasted much longer than 140k.

[mushrooom]

I had this problem a while back when my wife accidentally put diesel in (in her defence, we'd only just got the car ) It had the same problems yours had

[Saxmaniac]

Power mode or normal should be irrelevant. Could be something very trivial or major but needs diagnosis by someone who knows what they're doing. Dealer will be expensive and probably worse than a competent independent, but it's hard to know who to trust with this stuff if you can't DIY 

[ashaman]

11 hours ago, mushrooom said:

I had this problem a while back when my wife accidentally put diesel in (in her defence, we'd only just got the car ) It had the same problems yours had

Hey, I realized that I think I made the same mistake!! What was the solution? Did it cost you a lot?

[mpm235]

With that warning on, could be numerous different things, from "not much really" to  "ohh eck need a new car" Maybe bite the bullet and get a Toyota Main Dealer just to diagnose the problem, to find out for certain. Then you could always get any parts and do the work yourself.

[mushrooom]

41 minutes ago, ashaman said:

Hey, I realized that I think I made the same mistake!! What was the solution? Did it cost you a lot?

I think it was about £200 , including them resetting all the lights on the dash and following us for a while to make sure everything was OK

[Roy124]

I had a diesel misfuel in a  Mercedes and also a Fiesta though it was petrol into diesel.  

Defuelling was the trick as you need a special rig.  It also depends on how accessible the fuel tanks are.  In the case of the Mercedes it was required to tank the top off both tanks under the seats.

Refuelling and restarting might fix it.  It did on both of mine.  I was advised I might need some additional attention but I didn't. 

The job breaks down into defuelling, refuelling,  checking.

Defuelling is the major time factor ££, disposal of the contaminated fuel, ££, refuelling, ££ and finally checking.

In my Mercedes case it involved collecting the defuelling truck (like hybrid Battery recharging there are few rigs around) doing the work and signing off.  About 4 hours work.   You can see the costs.

In my case it was done by Green Flag at home at no cost and included a free gallon of diesel. 

 

 

[ashaman]

Thanks a lot all! In my case, the car also drove a few miles on diesel. I hope this won't create too much trouble for me...

[mushrooom]

Mine did as well, then it died and lit up like a xmas tree 

[AisinW]

@mushrooom and @ashaman, what is the milleage on your car?  Do you drive in the city a lot? 

Pre Nov-2014 Engines have a tendency to have head gasket failure if we do not maintain them well.  It usually starts with high oil consumption, followed by a clogged intake manifold & EGR valve.  This will cause pinging or detonation and eventually leak the head gasket. The catalytic converter will fail too if the oil consumption is kept too long.   Toyota actually solve the problems by updating the EGR valve and intake manifold, reprograming the EGR ~ 2012, and finally update the cylinder ring, piston , and head gasket (without black coating) in Nov 2014.  So, before you decide what you want to do with the engine, the whole condition of the car need to be considered and proceed carefully. Either get 2015 engine or overhaul and put new piston, piston rings, and updated head gasket if the cylinder wall is not scorred badly. 

 

If it is just misfueling, the solution is pretty simple. Don't add diesel again. Women are beautiful creatures who can do a lot of multitasking, including put Diesel on Gasoline engine. 

[mushrooom]

My mileage is nearly on 299,000 now. The engine light being on is just the lambda sensor , P0420 eroor code 

I scanned with Dr Prius and the hybrid Battery isn't great but occasionally just dips out and triggers the check hybrid warning

[TonyHSD]

46 minutes ago, mushrooom said:

My mileage is nearly on 299,000 now. The engine light being on is just the lambda sensor , P0420 eroor code 

I scanned with Dr Prius and the hybrid battery isn't great but occasionally just dips out and triggers the check hybrid warning

Does your car had non original cat and sensor replacement?
This could be related to this fault code. If all original you may try wynns catalytic converter and lambda sensor cleaner in max 30ltr of petrol and take the car for a minimum of 30 min continuous motorway drive at 60mph, with few quick accelerations to clean your exhaust system. 

[mushrooom]

I've got a bottle of cataclean ready to go in when I've got 15 litres left. No idea if it's the original cat and sensor , I bought it 18 months ago with 242,000 on the clock