2002 Triangle of Death - Help please!!!

[kirbinster]

No problems with car until my wife started it this morning and the Triangle of Death is on up by the odometer and the display shows three things one looking like a battery. What do I do?
The car seems to run fine, the main battery is at about 3/4full and when you accelerate it shows power going to the battery and when you brake it shows power coming from the battery - but the big triangle is lit up. So now what?

Went outside and banged on all the relays and opened up the air filter housing. The filter looked quite dirty. Started it up again an no more triangle - just a check engine light now. I will get a new airfilter, but what else should I do now?

[tochatihu]

What is your odometer mileage? The stored diagnostic trouble codes are essential for diagnosis - get Mr. Toyota to read them for you. Your description of the battery current flow arrows sounds backwards to me but I no longer remember the details of that display. Darn it.

[kirbinster]

Originally Posted by tochatihu

What is your odometer mileage? The stored diagnostic trouble codes are essential for diagnosis - get Mr. Toyota to read them for you. Your description of the battery current flow arrows sounds backwards to me but I no longer remember the details of that display. Darn it.

Car only has about 45,000 miles on it. You are correct about the flow arrows being backwards, I was so upset when I first noticed it that I wrote them backwards - stupid me.

[edthefox5]

Ok...the three things that seem to be real common as of late are:

#1---You ran it out of fuel and now your running on hybrid pack only.

#2---You have a "I'm about to die 12 volt boot battery" . Thats the little battery in the trunk that boots the car up. Lots of them going dead with the weather going colder.With a 2002 if its the original your overdue. How many times have you had to battery jump the car? Upgrade to an Optima. Google it.

#3---Inverter coolant pump is dead. Real common lately. This is the little pump located right behind the drivers side headlamp assy and circulates the coolant through the inverter. Be careful 'cause if it goes coolant overheats and destroys the inverter. $4000 to $5000 to replace. When in READY mode coolant should always be circulating constantly as evidenced by turbulence in the coolant tank mounted to the inverter. Always circulating no matter what the engine temp.

Short of you supplying us DTC codes we will all be just guessing. I cannot imagine owning an older Prius and not having a Scan Gauge on hand which can pull the OBD codes as easy as pushing a button. Buy one here and have it overnighted before you put your car & wallet at a dealers mercy....
Good luck.

[kirbinster]

#1---Car has never run out of fuel, and right now has about 3/4 tank.

#2---Doubt it is the 12v battery as I replaced that about a year ago.

#3---Inverter coolant pump-- OK I will check that in the morning.


What does a scan gauge cost and how do I get one.

[jdenenberg]

Originally Posted by kirbinster

What does a scan gauge cost and how do I get one.

A ScanGuage costs about $160 and it can be purchased directly from the company (ScanGaugeII - Trip Computers + Digital Gauges + Scan Tool), from Amazon, or here on PriusChat (in the store) as well as many other web sites.

JeffD

[edthefox5]

Originally Posted by kirbinster

#1---Car has never run out of fuel, and right now has about 3/4 tank.

#2---Doubt it is the 12v battery as I replaced that about a year ago.

#3---Inverter coolant pump-- OK I will check that in the morning.


What does a scan gauge cost and how do I get one.

Good! Glad the battery is out of the mix as it has caused some very expensive problems with other posters. A wrong polarity jump can total an out of warranty Prius.

It might be the pump. We have seen alot of them lately.
And check out the Scangauge here at Priusshop:

PriusChat Shop : ScanGauge II Scan Tool + Digital Gauges + Trip Computers [ScanGaugeII] - $159.95

or just click PRIUS SHOP at the top of the page. Its a must have for our cars. You can also use it in other cars to interrogate OBD codes. Very handy.
I recommend buying it here as in doing so you support this great site. And with those codes in hand we can give you a real good idea whats up.

[lancewclark]

we are now an owner of a 1998 prius Mk I (Generation I) and had a triangle symbol with an ! mark in the middle. When the car was put into park the diagnosis screen showed a picture of a car with the ! mark in the centre. This car was imported from Japan into Australia and all diagnostic information is in Japanese. Does anyone know what this symbol might mean.... any help would be appreciated. thanks

[RadaR77]

Recently, my 2002 would not start and I had the battery slow charged. It would start but not stay running, then after a few days it seemed to reset itself and kept running. We drove it around the neighborhood to make sure it didn't die or stall, and it didn't. We drove it sporadically on the highway and it was fine. It sat for 3 days without being started and it was dead again. So we purchased a new 12 volt battery. (the higher amp one) Now it starts and won't stay running again. It's like it's gasping for air. Will it reset itself again or is something else possibly wrong? I'm an electronic idiot, not sure why I bought this car. Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.

[donee]

RadaR77,

Have you ever had the car's throttle body cleaned ? If the computer comanded motor can't open the throttle plate, because of years of gunk, the car will stop running. Another recent comment from another poster said that the head gasket developed leaks around the spark-plug wells. Oil collected in the spark-plug wells, and that caused rough running.