Check engine light!

[prberg]

Hey gang,
I was driving today on a normal city street (as a sidenote, it was raining) and as I turned a corner I got a face full of warning lights. I got the 'Check Engine light' , the Big Red '!'. And on the MFD it said 'Problem'. I called toyota's roadside assistance line (I'm only at 20k) and since the car seemed to still be driveable and I was only a few minutes from the dealer they told me to drive it in. They said if it got worse to stop immediatly.
So I got to the dealer ok, and the service manager stareted to take down my info. He came back to the office and said 'so the light went out eh?". Sure enough.. the light wasn't on anymore. Why does the problem always dissaper as soon as you get to the service dept?? So he said he would keep it and check it out but if he gave me a loaner then I would have to pay for it (unless they found something major, that would justify the loaner car). I said I didn't really want to pay anything since I was under warranty so he said I could bring it back tomorrow and they would take a look at the codes.

Well sorry for the long story.. I guess I was just wondering if I should bring it back to the dealership if the light doesn't come back on. If they 'check the codes' and don't find any major problems will they charge me for the labor? What might cause those lights to go on.. and then turn off again? I had tried to turn the car on and off a few times to 'reset' the light but it didn't work for me. Only after I got to the dealership did it go off. I'm just wondering if it might be something serious or something I don't need to worry about.

thanks alot,

Peter B

[mspencer]

From what I've heard here, if you specifically ask them to check the codes, they could charge you for that. If you say "the lights came on, and I was told to drive it in" and let them infer the rest, I don't think they can charge you.

[rick57]

At only 20k,you should still be under warranty, I believe. Just tell them the "Check Engine Light " came on. The "Check Engine Light" is letting you know a part of the emission system is out of specs/defective and should still be covered. Even tho the light went out, there will still be a trouble code/codes. Being a 2nd generation Prius, I think that they will find a P3191 code among others. This is common and there is a TSB on it. It has to do with the ECU thinking the engine didn't start even if it did or thinks it ran out of gas. They correction is a reflash of the ECU (computer). Then you will be good to go! Get it checked out and let us know,ok? :wink:

[sparkymarvin]

The same thing happened to me at just under twenty thousand miles. I just ignored it and it never happened again. Also I didn't find any codes (maybe it was before I had the SSC-40 done?).

You should probably take advice from rick57 though. He's the MasterTech.

I'm just a kid who works at the airport.

[prberg]

Thanks guys. I already had the SSC#: 40D (Prius OBD) service done a few months ago. Not sure if that had anything to do with it. But since it's still under warranty I might as well have them check it out. I will let you know what they find. Guess it can't be too serious if the check engine light isn't flashing anymore.

[KTPhil]

50,000 emissions warrantee should cover checking the check engine light, no questions asked. I believe Cali law requires this, if not federal.

What dealer is this; I'll make sure I don't go there (I'm in LA area).

Did you get the extra warrantee? It covers a loaner car if it takes overnight.

[mark_hamrick]

Had the same thing happen last week. Took Flo in the next day. They had to do a TSB which basically reset the computer...I can find the exact TSB on the paperwork if anyone is curious,

Flo is at almost 12000 and she is feelin fine!
Mark

[phxprius]

I had the same thing happen about 6+ weeks ago while I was turning. I too was by the dealer and pulled in. The light show stayed on and everyone saw it at the dealership. They took in the back. I checked up on them in about 30 mins and they replied that there was an update to the software and they were about half way through a new upload of software.

No problems since...

[prberg]

Well it's good to hear that others have had this problem and no serious problems because of it.

I just got back from the dealer. The service manager said 'the computer had a glitch, and we re-programmed it.' Not very specific. He wasn't there when I picked it up so I couldn't ask him any questions. Here's what my paperwork says:

Found codes 'P3191' (engine does not start) and 'P0A0F' (engine failed to start). It says they re-programmed the engine ECU. Rick was right about the 3191 code. Can someone explain what those codes really mean and what it means when they say they 're-programmed' the ECU?

thanks alot,

Peter B

[rick57]

The trouble codes are a way for the tech to zero in on the system that is causing the problem. After hooking up the scan tool and retrieving the code, the tech can go to the repair manual (or in my case now,the PC) and look up the code. Then you would follow the flow chart on that code, hopefully leading you to the cause. In the case of your codes, it is just a software update, just like your virus program would do. The update is loaded in the scan tool from the pc and then transfered to the vehicles computer. When Toyota sees the beginning of a trend,it releases a Technical Service Bulletin to let all the techs know about it and save time trying to diagnosis a problem that others have had.