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Red triangle of death with vsc and tpi. No check engine.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Mavi, Oct 12, 2015.

  1. Mavi

    Mavi Active Member

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    Hi so my 2007 proud of 180k miles which hasn't had any issues up until now just randomly gave me this error, where the red triangle of death, vsc, and tire pressure ((!)) Sign came on. It drives fine and there is no check engine light.

    Anyone know what this is? It doesn't go away by turning car on and off. I changed shocks on my car around 1k miles ago. Don't know if related.

    Thanks.
     
  2. Mavi

    Mavi Active Member

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  3. Beachbummm

    Beachbummm Senior Member

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    12 volt battery is the first thing to test..
    if its good then your traction battery is dying
     
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1. ((!)) is not a tire pressure warning. It is a warning that the brake system has a problem.
    2. Check the inverter coolant reservoir to see if fluid turbulence exists when the Prius is READY. If you do not see this, then the inverter coolant pump has failed. The inverter overheats which depresses voltage on the 12V bus when the DC/DC converter stops working, and that would be the root cause of the skid control ECU warning lights coming on.
    3. If the inverter coolant pump is good, then get Mini VCI so that you can retrieve the DTC logged by the skid control ECU. That will give you a clue about what is wrong with your car's braking system.
     
  5. Mavi

    Mavi Active Member

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    How do you check the coolant reservoir? Do you simply open the cap and look to see if it's gurgling or moving? I changed the brakes around 10k miles ago and had a loose brake around 5k miles ago which was fixed. I wonder if something loose in the brake system could also be a cause of the problem light?

    Also the coolant pump was changed under recall in 2012 at 98k miles. Do these fail that fast with only 3 years/80k miles?
     
    #5 Mavi, Oct 13, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2015
  6. Mavi

    Mavi Active Member

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    Well i took the cap off the coolant reservoir and the pink fluid was moving around slowly but there was turbulence. I also drove the car 20 miles without the issue worsening. I guess next step is getting the mini vci code.
     
  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    You are correct.
     
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  8. Mavi

    Mavi Active Member

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    Which mini vci should I buy on amazon?

    Edit: got the fotga one.
     
    #8 Mavi, Oct 13, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2015
  9. Mavi

    Mavi Active Member

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    Alright so heres the codes I pulled:

    P0A2B Curr and Hist
    B1421 Curr

    B1271 Hist only

    Any idea what these would be repair wise? Is my transaxle suffering? I changed the fluids twice before.
     
  10. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Yes, DTC P0A2B means that temperature sensor #1 in the transaxle has failed. The repair philosophy requires the entire transaxle to be replaced. My suggestion is that you just drive the car as-is for now since the worst that will happen is that the transaxle will eventually fail, in which case you would need to replace it then. There is no point replacing it now for a four-digit price, just because of the sensor.

    DTC B1271 means a problem with the combination meter. If your combination meter (this is the ECU that provides speedometer, fuel gauge, shift selector, and warning lights display) should fail on you in the future, don't be surprised.

    DTC B1421 just relates to the air conditioning solar sensor and can be ignored assuming you do not have a problem with the air conditioning.
     
    #10 Patrick Wong, Oct 15, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2015
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  11. Mavi

    Mavi Active Member

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    The combo meter should have a recall on it still. My brother got his done for free same model year. So I'll give that a try for that.

    As for the transaxle code. Think changing the fluid will help at all? I hear a drum rotationg sort of noise when II take my foot off the pedal and the car starts to auto brake. Think its driveable until failure?
     
  12. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    No.

    Yes. However be aware that your braking system is impaired, given the presence of VSC and ((!)) warning lights.

    What mpg is the car logging?
     
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  13. Mavi

    Mavi Active Member

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    The car has been logging 40 mpg for the last 20k miles. Last tank was the same 40mpg. Its degraded over the last 100k miles. Orig battery. The vsc light and brake light show only randomly. When I turn It off and on it comes and goes
    Honestly brakes seem normal when I drive. Should I have a brake guy take a look at them as see if its a physical malfunction?
     
  14. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The problem with the brakes is not going to be a mechanical issue, rather the regen is probably not what it could be. That is why your mpg is only 40.
     
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  15. Mavi

    Mavi Active Member

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    Well while the vsc codes showed I ran the check and pulled another code a c1310. Which has to do with the HV recharging system. Does that have to do with the transmission?
     
  16. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Yes. DTC C1310 is logged by the skid control ECU and it means that ECU knows the hybrid vehicle ECU reported a problem. The root cause is the transaxle temp sensor failure.
     
  17. Mavi

    Mavi Active Member

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    Update: after 5 months and 10k miles the cars transmission failed and the car would not start up. The car will drive if I reset the 12v but not for long. I replaced the transmission with a used one from 2008 with 90k and now the car is back to normal with no red triangle. Drove it 200 miles and it's back.
     
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  18. silverbell

    silverbell Junior Member

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    Glad that your Prius works fine now. Other than the fact that the car did not start upon having the failed transmission, were there other symptoms leading up to the event?
     
  19. RizwanJaved

    RizwanJaved New Member

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    Hey Mavi, I seem to be having the exact same problem as you described in this post. I am very lost, it would mean the world to me if you replied to this.

    1. My red triangle, vsc, and the (!) are also on and on the highway and while slowing down I hear a noise that kind of sounds like a bad wheel bearing(I’m pretty sure wheel bearing is not the issue.) and I am getting only one code, P0A2B. Since you had to eventually replace your transmission, do you think my problem will be fixed if I also replace the transmission.

    2. In posts here I read a lot about transmission and transaxle failure. For the same of this Prius, are transmission and transaxle pretty much the same thing?

    3. In your update on this thread where you informed us that you replaced your transmission, your final sentence is “drove it 200 miles and it’s back”. In that sentence are you saying that all these lights and issues came back after driving 200 miles on the new transmission?

    I am very worried about the issues so it would mean a lot of you got back to me. Thanks in advance!
     
  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome! the post is 2 years old, so if you don't hear from him, try a private message.

    transmission/transaxle/ecvt all the same thing.

    all the best!(y)