Toyota Prius: P0607-ECM Malfunction & P0138-O2 Sensor Case Study 

I know it's been years for this video but just in case anyone is watching now. There is a way to put any Toyota Hybrid in service mode where the gas engine will run as if it's not a hybrid. Follow these steps: Hybrid Maintenance Mode 1. Accessories/On position 2. Press Gas pedal all the way 2 times 3. Press the Brake pedal and hold it 4. Put the Car in Neutral 5. Press Gas pedal all the way 2 times 6. Press the Brake pedal and hold it 7. Put the Car in Park 8. Press Gas pedal all the way 2 times 9. Press the Brake pedal and hold it 10. Start the car When you shut off the car it goes out of the maintenance mode

Appreciated seeing the thorough and methodical approach to set up isolated verifiable checks. Well done.

Another great video Ivan. A pleasure to watch and learn from as always.

Whenever you do any work on a Prius that requires the engine to stay running without shutting off, you must put the gear shifter in "B" mode. That doesn't allow the hybrid to activate so you can do OBD tests easily. Or you may want the engine to keep running so you can warm the motor oil before changing it. Or you may want the engine running to spray cleaner in the air intake. So many projects require the engine running, so the "B" mode is your secret. And of course the emergency brake has to be fully applied during the "B" mode if the car is still.

On these Prius, if you ever need to keep the gas engine running continuously without it shutting off to go into Hybrid mode, use this procedure. 1. KOEO 2. Depress & release gas pedal 2x 3. Shift and leave in neutral. 4. Depress & release gas 2x again. 5. Shift back to park. 6. Gas 2x again 7. Press brake and start button together. There will then be a message on the screen that reads "maintenance mode". Now the engine will not shut off until you're ready to. Perform the steps quickly with only a second or two in between. You can do this with scan tool also, but this literally takes seconds and comes in handy. Works on these Prius and also the generation before it. Former Toyota technician here, Great work Ivan been following your stuff for a while.

Awesome! I have the same van, same year, same problem! Thank you for your effort! This should save me a buttload of time!

Thanks for the video, lots of great info there. Just ran across this on a 2013, both codes were stored in history with a no start, or not "ready" concern. visual inspection showed that the B1S2 O2 Sensor had become a meal for a small woodland creature. replaced sensor and retested, okay.

Hello Ivan, I have been watching your videos for about 2 months now, found you through Eric O, I am an old man(61) and the cars I grew up working on are antiques now, like me, I am learning how to work on the modern stuff through guys like you, Thanks. You are a really good teacher, your videos are interesting and informative, have you ever thought about becoming an instructor at a school, you would be great at it. Merry Christmas to you and your Family, thanks for teaching an old dog some new tricks.

I got the same color prius it drives good and never had an issue with it so far with basic maintenance. With those hybrids if you don't drive them on the highway from time to time the car does take a nose dive in efficiency. The other thing with that car is that the egr system is very dirty I only discovered this when I took off my intake at 50K miles it was crusty sooty so I busted out the compressed air and brake cleaner, not good for plastics but did the job, So the reason your o2 might of gone out of spec was because the sensor got dirty but I also read your comment about the wire chaffing. I will have to check mine for that condition too. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I guess none of you viewers have ever left a dog in the car alone! Steering wheel condition is a non issue compared to an engine code problem. That said, your video is excellent considering you made it all alone with no helper. I also appreciate your detailed explanation and thorough approach in trying to find the cause of the problem. I only wish I had a repair mechanic in my area that is as thorough and straight forward as you. Good Job on this one and I'm looking forward to your future videos. Very educational!

Great video Ivan. the equivalent of that Toyota in my line if work is repairing a GE Harmony washer and dryer. the 2 are connected via serial cable. the washer informs the dryer of what kind of wash load it will be receiving. it's complicated but you always get through it. thanks for the sharing you do.

The reason the heater did not come on with the testlight is the computer monitors the heater current and only activates it when it sees the correct resistance on the O2 sensor.This is to protect the internal grounding transistors.The hotter the sensor gets the less the current will flow.

Very informative video and a new scenario with the wideband sensor.Like how it measures the heater current and impedance.The +12 and -12 on the stft saved a lot of hassle with pulling vacuum and adding propane.Bi directional scanners are an absolute must have for the pro along with the scope.Would placing a test light across signal and ground not fry the pcm?Be interesting to see graph from the wideband sensor and an ordinary sensor on the one scope and see the difference.Them Hybrids take some knowing and guess could be tricky to diagnose.The moral behind this video is------First take the vehicle for a decent drive to blow away the cobwebs and then plug in the scanner.

great stuff Ivan it goes to show you that we sometimes underestimate snapons diagnostic software , its not the best but its sure worth every penny invested

Good Call and good video. The Snapon software really helped on that diagnosis.

I know this is an old video and I'm not sure if it was mentioned in the comments. The Prius has a "Maintenance Mode" you can activate so the vehicle runs on engine power only. This procedure can be easily found online.

Buddy you did a great job. My sister in law 09 Corolla have the same code let me try this hope fully it will fix the problem. Thanks.

Great diagnostic video , i am beginning to look at operational mode strategy when things don't add up what do you think .

Great diagnosis and fix ! Customer needs to make a road trip more often !

Nice diagnostics Ivan and good thing that you held up and not changed out the O2 sensor. I was wondering...Shouldn't the O2 sensor heater circuit start working went the engine is first started and maybe continue to work afterwards. I suspect that when you were up around the PCM that maybe some oxidation was on the heater control pin since it seems to work now. Good video Ivan and glad to see that you didn't have to change any part. Take care Ivan...

Hi could it be that there was a bad contact on the B1 S2 since you disconnected the harness connector ?

Hi Ivan after seeing you and Eric O using the Autel I bought their little AL100 Bluetooth fob. It calls the ECM the same S07E8 I see on your tool. Do you know what it means? Also for my Chevy truck it has two other choices and they have less PIDs.

Question. I have a 2011 prius p0171 comes on lean on bank 1. Where is bank 1 sensor at?

Hmm I was hoping this would help me. I'm working on a 2005 toyota prius, came in with a code for upstream o2 sensor, i tested resistance and it was out of spec so i replaced it. now im getting P0137 downstream o2 output voltage low. its just like yours, it will only read 0.01-0.07, spec is 0.1-0.9v. I do have voltage for heater circuit but im thinking the amperage might be low, so im going to backprobe and hook up a scope like u did. This car has 244k and it is driven in city and extended periods on highway, so unfortunately no cob webs in my case. As for toyota's breaking, they do, although u usually have to get them over 200k, and the HV batteries do fail, the worst thing for them is if they sit for long periods (6 months to a year) especially over a winter. I just diagnosed one the other day, only 111k, new owner, old owner must've let it sit, one cell inside a module reversed polarity, its easy to see because it will show up on open circuit voltage 1.0-1.4v lower than the other blocks. I seen one fail at 145k, single owner never sat, same thing one cell reversed, 1.2v lower than the rest. In my experience 90% of HV batteries last at least to 200k. The dealers won't share information of how many packs they replace under warranty, but I know it happens somewhat frequently, like 10% or less.

Ivan my Lexus Gx 470 2005 has p0441 p0455 and p0456 any idea what it could be?

I also had the code for the rear sensor. Replaced it to no avail. It was actually the front AFR sensor that was bad. Makes sense, the front sensor gets much hotter than the rear. The front sensor is 10X more difficult to replace. Must remove front plastic shield below the windshield. I tried many sensor sockets but the walls must be very thin, because the sensor has a heat shield. Ending up using a grinder to reduce the thickness of the socket. The best sensor socket is made by Snap-On. It's 4x the price at $40 but is shorter in length to fit and has very thin walls as well.. Snap-On is the only way to go. You can cut the old sensor wires and use a regular 7/8" socket to remove but you need the Snap-On to properly install.

hi am 65 and i am also a mechanic i own a 2012 venza 2.7 the car is not driven very hard i bought it new it has 30000 miles on it it also brings the same codes today but every know and then it would bring up code po138.02 i would just clear it so i did not think there was to much wrong because the car worked good so after watching this video i went for a test drive and gave her a good hard run car works the same as your toyota she works perfect thankyou no check engine lights i never would have thought to do that that must be a common problem for toyotas have a nice day

Realize the vid is Methuselah-aged according to current Internet standards but came across it while resolving P0607 and P0138 codes on my Corolla. For me, the codes were due to a clogged AC/heater drain line dripping onto the connector and shorting it out. If floorboards are wet, pull up the carpet on the passenger front side and find the drain hose. If you pull it from the bottom end and it doesn't drain, disconnect it from the console end and snake it. Disconnect the o2 connector on the driver's side and let it dry out.

thank you good info mine was on and i put in seafoam, filled the tank and drove a good 50 mi the light went out

Why would the current through the test light be the same as the amperage through the combined resistance? Wouldn't some current be going through the heater?

So Ivan you were correct Toyota's don't go wrong.....

Hello! Good job. I own a 2007 toyota corolla which was running fine till recently goes into limp mode when i drive out on evenings. The codes i get after scan is p0606 and p0607.

What model of Autel is that? There are so many different ones. I got the Innova 7111 SDS any opinions on that?

Ivan! Why did you think a Prius was broken? How many times do I have to tell you Toyotas don't break!!! If you upload another Toyota video I'm hoppin across the pond and giving you a damned stern look! Seriously though, great video, I think you nailed it with the "needed a cruise" diagnosis. The rich/lean test is on most Toyotas, not just hybrid, it's a great feature for diagnosis. There is a procedure to force the engine to run constantly. It's called maintenance mode. Should be on Google. If you can't find it I can email you the procedure if you like.

I'm thinking your calculation of total circuit resistance with the test light is incorrect. Best I could tell from the video is that you had your test light attached in PARALLEL with the heater element in the circuit. Total resistance in a circuit is additive for resistances in SERIES. Resistances in parallel are actually lower than the algebraic sum of their individual values. In parallel circuits, total resistance R= 1/((1/r1) + (1/r2)) For example, for two 100 ohm resistances in series, total resistance is 200 ohms. Total for these same two resistances in parallel is 50 ohms.

Thank you for the great video! I'm trying to figure out if the downstream O2 sensor has any influence on fuel trims. My short term fuel trim B1S2 is at 99.2% just like this Prius, so I'm suspecting that's a default value. I've got a P0171 and P0037. B1S2 O2 sensor is known bad. Could P0171 be an effect of bad downstream O2?

Water intrusion behind driver’s side console box?

Hi Ivan, At 23 minutes you figured the total resistance of the light and O2 heater @75ohms, aren't they in parallel not series? I don't know if anyone else has pointed this out.

Which website are you using to check the meaning of the trouble codes?

Ivan what happened to the steering wheel the owner get hungry?

Hello Ivan. What software version is installed on your Verus? Working on european mostly, I often resort to Snap-on for confirmation. It wont work most of the time but when it works it is much more accurate than iScan2, which can send you barking up the wrong tree all day long. Thank You

there's a permanent ground on the connector or not, the manual prius does not show a permanent one

Interesting video I couldn’t believe how much data was available for the test results, was that the computer you used or did the Prius provide the data for the testing?

I just have a code on my 2010 Toyota Prius P0607 and P0138, should I replaced the downstream and that’ll fix the problem?

Who uses a 2010 Prius to putz around on a farm? Good case study!

Looks like someone got hungry waiting in traffic. 😁 (Steering wheel) 😂

i have a 04 Toyota Prius , i just had the Hybrid battery rebuilt by the collage here , i was hoping it would fix another problem i am having . The problem is some times the Speedometer works sometimes it does not ,neither do any of the gauges . when its a hot sunny day they work . i have ran a scan for any codes none come up ? i am hoping it is not the speedometer that is a intensive job , could the Ecu computer be causing the problem also the backup cam is out ,,

Both heater circuits r pwm circuits. Upstream needs to start working quickly. Downstream needs mostly to monitor cat. It would seem a better test of heaters would to ohm when disconnected. When connected, the frequency of the computer originated ground is going to b obscuring resistance reading. When testing sensor signal, I noticed u sent 12 volts to the signal wire. Was that thru a high impedance test light or incandescent light. If an incandescent, shouldn't there b some caution with that procedure? After all, the most that circuit could ever c is 1 volt, right?

does toyota not offer a heater control for a bi directional control? where you can just turn it on instead of driving it and waiting for it while scoped

If just a driver problem, can't you format or remove and reinstall the driver inside the ECM, or format the whole ECM and reinstall new program in it, you know like we do in a regular computer or laptop if something happens like that.

hi guys. bravo Ivan. Cool video and best knowladge . bat there ise one big NO. all P0607 foult code comes from Air filter dirty condition. anyone traid to replace it?. also code ,,p0607 powertrain . controle module performance" in description a P0607 could be caused by one or more of of the following:1.Loose ground terminal on PCM/ECM. 2. Dead or defective (12V main) battery. 3. An open or short in the power or ground circuit Loose or corroded. 4.battery terminals Failed PCM/ECM.

Many thanks. Great to se newer cars.

Ivan, I like the way you express your knowledge in a case study. If I had a question concerning my Durango would you answer on line?

Did someone bite and chewed that steering wheel? Lol

I wonder if this is what it is happening to my toyota corolla 09. Both P0607 and P0138 codes came on thought it was the Oxygen sensor so I replaced it but engine light came back on after resetting it. Im lost lol

That steering wheel! It's falling apart!

one way to make the gas engine running all the time is..hit the power botton twice,the than gas pedal 2 time,brake put it on neutral,gas pedal twice,then on park again gas pedal 2 time.it will check mode.will be a red light on dash.this way can check no worrys about going in to hibrid..

Hey Ivan, I am running into P0138 and P0607 code on a 2011 Corolla. I don't have advanced scan tools, but I checked resistance of downstream sensor (~13 ohm) and upstream AF sensor (~3 ohm). I checked the connectors for dryness. Many people said it has to be upstream AF, so I replaced it yesterday. Cleared the codes with a cheap OBD scanner but I still had permanent 138 and 607 stuck on. Done the manual reset procedure by idling for 20 seconds, driving at 40kmh+ for 10 minutes, stopping and idling for another 20 three times. When I parked at home and cycled engine fourth time, permanent codes cleared but showed a pending 607. Today both 138 and 607 permanent codes kicked in again. This might be a wild guess, but I noticed that these errors would come randomly depending if the weather is humid or not. When it was dry, hot weather, they would come on less often. I have no clue what should I look for or do to fix it, or at least keep the damn errors off for long enough to pass inspection. I read somewhere it could be even a head gasket issue which I pray it is not. EDIT: So I took car out again, 138 was gone but still showed MIL 607 pending freeze frame and permanent. Once I got home and cycled engine, permanent was gone but Freeze Frame 607 was left. I cleared it and hopefully both errors were "ghosts" from replacing upstream sensor yesterday. EDIT2: Codes came back, going to replace O2 sensor now.

Hi Ivan. Quick question. I just bought an actron 9575 to read codes on a '06 Cad STS. I am trying to unplug the tool from the car. It feels like it is latched and won't come loose! Is there a trick to getting it out? BTW I got a P0174. Any ideas? Thanks.

Blow out the carbon tune up never fails 😂

wow, toyotas are so good that they break down if you DON'T drive them!

If I believe correctly, most Toyotas from this century use AFR sensors rather than O2 sensors, meaning that the voltages won't "switch" but rather slowly increase and decrease as the mixture changes. Am I wrong?

I think that cars got a water leak, spiked the voltage and you got the 607 code.

If you read through the comments like I have. He ended up replacing the Downstream O2 sensor. Make sure you use an official OEM Denso O2 sensor and not a China knockoff

Engine comes on if you place foot on brake and foot on throttle.

How much do you charge for the time you put in these kinds of cars that seem to fix themselves? I'm curious because it's not fair to spend your time for free. However, what do you tell the customer when they pick it up?

maybe you fixed a high resistance problem by unplugging and plugging back in the connection on the 02

1:25 Wait... what? somebody actually gnawed at their steering wheel (that's an expression in Dutch for when someone gets frustrated in traffic)?

Petrol engines need to be run on a highway cycle once in awhile to blow out the carbon. There are some shops up here that will run seafoam through the engine to clean them out, I personally wouldn't do that on a newer vehicle as the result may clog up something else. Once a week just drive your vehicle to highway speed, and getting up to highway speed give it the beans. You don't have to go to redline. God bless.

As I'm watching this video..I'm a little hungry..so do I take a bite on my steering wheel??

I’m confused! Scotty says that Toyodas don’t break. Yes Toyoda, the original name. It means rice paddy or something in Japanese

The engine is only spinning when you put on the gas, not burning gas.

rev up tune up huh Ivan

every car needs an Italian tune-up once in a while

update i added some lucus injector cleaner and took her out for a good run the shit that came out of the exhaust was incredable that was all that was wrong she works like new

That steering wheel

Must bite steering wheel when entering highway so when you get rear-ended your teeth will be closer to the steer wheel safety first in a small car lol

руль пиздатый!)

update also replace air filter even if it does not look dirty that is it your Toyota should work like new this works on all models with codes po607 and po138

Looks like the inside of a skip !, Ivan take it your up to date with your jags, tetanus, rabies etc.... ?

What engine????

У тоёта есть TSB по этой проблеме

and?

Sometimes an Italian tune up is all they need

Toyota s have a problem water getting in heater boxes and gets water all over Control modules. Quick fix clear out heater box drain and clean out o2 sensor wire to controller

Scotty says Toyota’s don’t have problems

Looks like the walking dead ran out of food...

Jesus the dash is dusty. How can someone drive a car like that??

This code basically means that the programminging the PCM/ECM (powertrain/engine control module) has failed. This can be a more serious code and may also be refered to as "ECM Internal Circuit Malfunction. BUT ALL THIS AND OTHER INFORMATUON IS ALL BLAFFFF. PLEASE REPLACE AIR FILTER . PRICE IS 5 EURO. AND ALL P0607 FOULT CODES WILL BE AUTOMATICALY CLEARED.

who the hell buys a hybrid car to put around the farm at 15 MPH? Something like a golf cart, tractor or riding lawnmower seems to make more sense.

Go back in the 1800.

Wow, you'd need a shovel to clean that thing out. Disgusting how some people keep their cars!

Just unplug battery and dam light will go out run the car over curb tell them now it time for alignment

Hahaha even Toyota's does break down

This video is too long. Did he replace the 02 sensor? Did he replace anything else?

i will be quite blunt here.....thats one heap of junk.