Zap Automotive Repair

Zap Automotive Repair Zap Automotive Repair is your full service shop for all of your hybrid, full electric, gas-to-electric conversions, and high performance needs.

My wife just sent me this …. lol
12/09/2023

My wife just sent me this …. lol

2007 PriusCustomer says "Engine surges at freeway speeds"We test drove the vehicle and it seemed fine in hilly areas, bu...
04/26/2021

2007 Prius
Customer says "Engine surges at freeway speeds"
We test drove the vehicle and it seemed fine in hilly areas, but on a flat freeway, the car would buck and surge at a steady speed. We observed the Energy Monitor was switching between charging mode and supply mode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlxRhZEsVkw
We also observed that the battery consumption was vary greatly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWJc0MZxBpM
A vehicle inspection found that the transmission fluid level was extremely low - bone dry! And the transmission was making a lot of noise. Customer then admitted that some time ago another shop had serviced the transmission and apparently they had replaced the drain plug with a "generic" aftermarket drain plug, which did not seal properly. The trans had slowly leaked out all of it's fluid.
How does this affect the engine, you say? The engine would start up (to charge the battery) and at some point the trans would lock up, causing the engine to stall. It kept driving because it was running (mostly) off the battery only.

2005 Ford Escape Hybrid Customer said: "Engine won't start"The hybrid battery was severely depleted and would not even t...
04/26/2021

2005 Ford Escape Hybrid
Customer said: "Engine won't start"
The hybrid battery was severely depleted and would not even turn over the engine, so we charged it up (using the on-board battery charger), then tried to crank it over. The engine did not sound right, so we removed the valve cover and turned it manually to TDC, where we observed the #1 intake valve was still open. It would seem the engine was out of time.
Customer then admitted that another shop had replaced the engine and after talking to that shop, we discovered that the used engine they had gotten had a damaged harmonic balancer. When they replaced the balancer, they did not "pin" it at TDC, so when they loosened the harmonic balancer bolt, the engine slipped time and bent the valves the next time they attempted to start the engine.
We worked with the company that provided the engine and we were able to get another one, free of charge. We replaced the engine and it fired right up.

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Galt, CA
95632

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