Every electrical motor has a maximum rpm that it can turn without sustaining damage. Once that speed is exceeded, centrifugal force will pull the windings from the armature and they will bind into the stator. In the case of the Prius transaxle we are actually talking about a rotor assembly that has permanent magnets attached to it. Exceed the rated speed of that rotor and it will grenade. The engineers are correct. http://eahart.com/prius/psd/ In order for the gas engine to propel the car, MG1 actually has to be a generator and provide resistance for the engine to push against, as well as MG2 being a motor that helps the gas engine push the car. Using the java applets on the site I provided you get to see the normal operation of the motors in the transaxle, and how they work together. Take note there are times that MG1 actually is forced to spin backwards. The Prius has a maximum vehicle speed of 94mph, with the primary reason being risking over-revving the electric motors and causing a catastrophic failure of the transaxle. Here is a link that might be useful: Prius Power Split Device.

Lots of ideas about what is wrong, but the answer lies in testing the system correctly. Behind the LF strut there is a gray connector with a red wire that does not appear to connect to anything. Take a test light and connect it to the battery positive terminal, and to that connector. The relay when turned off actually closes that connection and that feeds the fuel pump and is called a fuel pump priming connector. If the test light does not turn on the circuit is open or has excessive resistance. When you turn the key on without cranking the engine the relay will be turned on for about two seconds and then turn back off. The testlight should turn off, for that two seconds and then turn back on. Tell us what happened with this test, and then I'll tell you what to do next.

You did not give us a hint about the make. model, or what components your vehicle has, therefore a few general items will be mentioned. Differentials: Some axle assemblies have breathers. Most of the time, these do keep water out of the differential, but full submersion for a period can push water inside the caes. Drain and refill the cases. Wheel bearings: Wheel bearings should have seals that can keep splashes out, but submersion may let a few drops of water in. It requires only a few drop of water to mess up the lubricant. Repack wheel bearings. Brakes: Shoe brakes are more affected than disc. Immediately after a dunking, shoe brakes may not offer much resistance. It all depends on materials and design. On one car I owned (some time ago), I lost all brakeing effort after stopping in a flooded area to rescue another driver. Ater I pulled out of the puddle, my brakes were ineffective (Shoe brakes on all 4 wheels). It took many minutes of driving slowly and applying the brakes to regain some braking effort. (The brake shoes were water lubricated and were acting as a hydrodamic thrust bearing.) Once braking effort begins to come back, one has to watch for a fast change in behsvior. Some brakes will "grab" when they are almost moisture free. Any accessories that went under water should be inspected and dried out if needed. Examples are the alternator and starter motor. The AC compressor probably was not affected. However, its electric clutch may have been. The brake fluid resevior on top of the master cylinder should be ok. The liquid is sealed when the cover is in place. The vacuum booster for the power brake could have been affected. Air conditioner/heater system: With water up tot he door handles, this system went under water. Water could have got into the vacuum operated blend door actuators. The back side of the diaphrams are vented to atmosphere. if the water was clean and clear, there should be ok after drying out. But, if the water was loaded with mud, there could be mud in actuators and could interfere with their operation. If present, it needs to be cleaned out. The quick way ia to replace the actuators and acrap the old ones. The fan motor may or may not be ok. If the bearings are the sealed type, those are probably ok. However, if mud got into the fan scroll housing, that should be removed. Cruise control: The cruise control actuator - same comments as for other actuators. Depending on the model, there is a control box that meters the vacuum supply to the actuator. This box may be vented to atmosphere and that vent will be filtered. Clean or replace the filter. Cruise control action will be affected if this vent is plugged. Dash: Make sure that the backside of the dash is clean and dry. There's a bunch of electrical conections back there. Radio: Rinse the dirt of it (id present) and completely dry before applying any power to it. If it has a tape or CD player, those could be fouled. Electric window regulators and door lock actuators: These items are normally weatherproof and should be ok for shallow depth immersion. Make sure that the door drains are open. Drying of the door panels will be quickened if the door panels are removed. Power window and lock switches: These should be throughly dried. The driver's console usually is not water tight and its case could be full of water. Remove and dry. Power seat: If the power seat motor is sealed, it should be ok, but the seat mechanism should be cleaned and lubricated. Jack: The jack may be stored under the back seat or in the trunk. In any case, it went under water. Clean it and relubricate. Spare tire well: There could be water hidden under the spare tire. Remove the spare tire and dry the well. There may be a drain in the well, but if that drain is sealed with rust prooffing compound, do not disturb and remove the water by other means.

I have one of those GMs (Cobalt, vintage 2005) that had a recall notice recently, about the ignition key, that the engine might stop unexpectedly, which could cause major problems. Story was that it has caused some deaths. The news here was that one lost power steering (which is true - but I have strong arms) and power brakes ... which isn't precisely true. My can(1), with a standard transmission, often gets turned off when approaching stop lights that have just turned yellow, half a block away, or when going downhill, if I don't have another vehicle behind, ready to crawl up my tailpipe. I have two to three pushes on the power brakes before the residual power goes off and I have to push hard to get action. I received notice some time ago that I should have nothing hanging from the key, as that tended to initiate the trouble sooner. Haven't taken it in for replacement of the ignition switch, yet. Story was that the part 's cost was 57 cents. ole joyful 1. Keyboard trouble, again, it appears - that was supposed to be "car", darn it! o j