Water Pump + 12V battery : related problem?

[Dsears3]

Last week, my 2006 Prius (with 45,000 miles) got the Red Triangle of Death AND the orange engine shape at EXACTLY the same second.
No other problems, no advance noises nor concerns. I stopped within a half mile to a safe place, looked in my manual which said 1) refer to the MFD and 2) get it to a service ASAP.
My MFD (I have a Package 4 if that means anything) noted nothing (I checked every screen + choice.)
I got it towed to Toyota service which said:
1) Water Pump not functioning -covered under the warranty
and
2) the smaller 12V battery was dead- NOT covered - $220- because that was considered Wear and Tear.

FYI: I had bought the Additional Warranty when I first got the car.

My question(s) are this
1) Where/how would I have found a diagnosis or more info on my MFD?
but more importantly:
2) What are the chances that this battery AND the water pump would BOTH go bad -at exactly the same second- and not be related?

The latter is important to me because this was a really unexpected expense- and wear and tear might be believeable if I had any advance warning on the battery- like dimming lights, slower start???But then I don't completely understand the entire connection between the hybrid and mechanical systems.

So go easy on me, guys, and try to explain this with non-technical terms-and maybe not too condescending a tone, OK?

[qbee42]

The two failures sound unrelated, so the chances of both going at the same time are very slim. Perhaps the pump has been failing for a while, and the dealer found it when you went in for service.

The 12V battery dieing is not unusual. They are not very big, and don't last forever. Obviously you didn't have an option this time, but next time replace it yourself and save a few bucks.

A week 12V battery should not cause trouble while driving. Once the Prius is started, 12V power is supplied by a DC to DC converter, so you should be able to remove the 12V battery and keep driving. If the battery failed shorted that would be a different story.

Tom

[Flying White Dutchman]

your 12 volt battery also got warranty
i got mine replaced under warranty because it was dead after2 years.

[Dsears3]

Thanks for the reply...yikes , a $200 battery going dead after just 2 years?
If that is normal, and like this time gives no adfvance warning at all, it'll be hard to be pro-active and buy one and change it myself at a convenient time...I mean this was as sudden as can be.
I will hope it happens in my driveway -and not like this time: in the fast lane at rush hour!

One more thing: if they just stumbled on the water pump problem while on the diagnostic machine, were both symbols (the Red Triangle AND the engine icon) just for the battery only? or for the water pump?

Technical climber? Where?
Use to free climb in Arizona many years ago, and rapel in the islands...miss it in flat Florida...
I digress...

[Dsears3]

Originally Posted by Flying White Dutchman

your 12 volt battery also got warranty
i got mine replaced under warranty because it was dead after2 years.

The dealership's service manager said "no"; kept repeating Wear and Tear, not related problem, that I was lucky it lasted 2 years, and that Florida heat, yada, yada.
Meanwhile I've never had my much less expensive previous car's batteries go bad that fast.(and most of the miles are looong miles Florida to Maine a few times)

Did they give you any documentation? or do you have any advice how I can proceed since I've already paid the hostage fee to get my car back, since they apparently must place the claim with the "Additional Warranty" company?

[Flying White Dutchman]

tested it one´s because i already told them something was wrong
told me nothing was wrong
then it dead! and it got replaced!
my prev. car did mpre then 6 to 8 years on 1 battery

i now keep a small solar panel connected to keep the from discharging to fast

[Dsears3]

• Originally Posted by Flying White Dutchman

  tested it one´s because i already told them something was wrong

Originally Posted by Flying White Dutchman

told me nothing was wrong
then it dead! and it got replaced!
my prev. car did mpre then 6 to 8 years on 1 battery

i now keep a small solar panel connected to keep the from discharging to fast

What was the "something" that "was wrong"?
I didn't have any warnings at all!
Was it your original Prius battery; they did say if it was NOT the original, it would be coverred under a pro-rated replacement battery warranty

[galaxee]

the 12v battery should be covered under the 3/36 warranty. since your mileage is outside of that, despite the time portion of the warranty it's not covered.

there aren't any lights that come on to indicate a bad 12v battery, and as mentioned before if the car is running a dead 12v will not stop it. but you would get a diagnostic code for the failure in the water pump. did they say which one they replaced?

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by Dsears3

<snip>
Technical climber? Where?
Use to free climb in Arizona many years ago, and rapel in the islands...miss it in flat Florida...
I digress...

Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Canada, and mostly Kentucky. We also ice climb in Canada.

Tom

[Rokeby]

Dsears3,

The ScanGauge can help prevent being totally surprised by a dying or just
died 12 V battery.

Sure, most folks think of the SG as a tool to maximize your FE/MPGs. It is
all of that, and much more. In your case, it would also have given you the
ability to see some basic failure codes logged on the failures you
encountered.

More to the point, with the SG, you can check the 12V battery's resting
voltage. With a SG installed, you can check the voltage each morning before
you start the car. Even with the car turned off the SG can retrieve 12V
battery voltage. I have read in posts here that it should be in the 12.4 to
12.7 range.

If it is lower after sitting overnight, it time to consider a replacement. I've
also read here that it may take only as little as 10.5V to boot the CPU(s) to
get the big HV battery to supply 12V through the DC converter. But it''s
probable that you'd be experiencing other strange occurrences before that.

At $160US, the ScanGuage should be a first mod. It will pay for itself in fuel
savings, and be a great help in cases like this.

Standard Disclaimer: Other than owning, loving, and using my SG daily, I
have no connections with the manufacturer what so ever.