Dashboard lit up this morning

[mchlmrtz]

Hey everyone. I have a 2005 Prius and haven't had any problems with it until this morning. My wife was on her way to work and a bunch of warning icons popped up. Any idea what might have happened? Everything was fine when I parked the car last night. My wife said that she had to get off the freeway because the gas engine shut off.

[Patrick Wong]

I suggest that you immediately visit your Toyota dealer so that the DTC (diagnostic trouble codes) can be retrieved. Has your car had the latest firmware updates downloaded for the engine and hybrid vehicle ECUs?

If those ECUs are up to date, another popular failure mode is that the inverter cooling pump fails. This causes the DC to DC converter to shut down and the hybrid system warning icon to turn on. When the 12V bus voltage drops down, then various brake warning lights will appear.

[mchlmrtz]

Thanks Patrick. I hope it's nothing too serious. We've only got 43,000 miles on the Prius so far. I'll be taking it in first thing in the morning

[CharlesJ]

Originally Posted by mchlmrtz

Thanks Patrick. I hope it's nothing too serious. We've only got 43,000 miles on the Prius so far. I'll be taking it in first thing in the morning

Of course you will let us know what happened, what they found, right?

[firepa63]

It's quite possible that your 12v battery is on it's last legs. A low 12v will display some strange things at times.

[mchlmrtz]

Well. It's sitting at the dealership right now. I had to have it towed tonight after my Wife tried to drive it home after work. She only made it about a mile. After you press the power button, the engine would turn on and shut right back off. I'll know more in the morning when I call the service department up.

[mchlmrtz]

Originally Posted by firepa63

It's quite possible that your 12v battery is on it's last legs. A low 12v will display some strange things at times.

I hope that's all it is.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by mchlmrtz

... I had to have it towed tonight after my Wife tried to drive it home after work. She only made it about a mile. After you press the power button, the engine would turn on and shut right back off. ...

Thanks for the update. If the car was sitting around all day, then had a problem after driving only one mile, then a failed inverter coolant pump is probably not the issue. I don't think the 12V battery is the problem either, if the car could be started and subsequently shut down by itself.

I'm very interested to hear what your service writer has to say about your car. Please ask what the DTC are, and post.

[mchlmrtz]

Originally Posted by Patrick Wong

Thanks for the update. If the car was sitting around all day, then had a problem after driving only one mile, then a failed inverter coolant pump is probably not the issue. I don't think the 12V battery is the problem either, if the car could be started and subsequently shut down by itself.

I'm very interested to hear what your service writer has to say about your car. Please ask what the DTC are, and post.

I am still waiting to hear from the dealer. I should have been a little more clear on the issue. My wife started having problems half way to work yesterday. The warning lights came on and the gas engine shut down. She made it to work though. After work, she made it about a mile and couldn't go any further. When I drove out to her, I tried starting the car. Everything turned on, the gas engine came to life for about 3 seconds then shut down. everything else was still on though. I just couldn't move the car. I think the main battery had drained also. I'll update everyone as soon as I can.

[Patrick Wong]

This sounds like your car had run out of fuel, but I see that the fuel gauge reads full.

I am wondering if your fuel pump has a problem, or maybe the fuse or relay feeding 12V power to that pump failed.