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Triangle of Death - No known reason

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by WEB211, May 3, 2011.

  1. WEB211

    WEB211 Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Nicholasville, Kentucky
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    About 10 minutes into my morning commute, the engine revved with no acceleration (as if it went out of gear). The check engine light came on and as I coasted to the side of the road the red triangle came on. I had it towed to the local Toyota Dealer. From looking at the codes it appeared to him that the 12volt battery feel below 11 volts and began shutting systems down. He asked if I had left anything on, whether it had been sitting for weeks or if I had just started it. Negative on all three. They couldn't explain why it coded on me as the battery checked out okay. They gave it back and it runs like normal. 2007 with 126,000 miles on it. Any ideas?

    Pictured car is 2010 I had leased, not current car.
     
    #1 WEB211, May 3, 2011
  2. direstraits71

    direstraits71 Member

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    Vehicle:
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    If you read the 12 volt battery threads you'll see that the dealer testing of the 12 volt battery is highly suspect. Without a load test, the condition of the battery can't be reliably determined. Most threads conclude that if your battery is old and exhibits mysterious symptoms you should replace it. A weak 12 volt battery can cause a variety of symptoms including loss of mileage.

    Search 12 volt battery test for lots of references. Also: http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/73400-weird-stuff-happening-mpgs-dropping-test-battery.html
     
    #2 direstraits71, May 3, 2011
  3. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    North Yorkshire, UK
    Vehicle:
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    Model:
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    Even if it proves not to be the 12v, it will soon need replacing and is a fairly cheap to replace.
     
    #3 GrumpyCabbie, May 3, 2011
  4. WEB211

    WEB211 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2010
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    Location:
    Nicholasville, Kentucky
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Looks like the 12V battery is good as I ran the recommended test and it showed:

    12.5 initially
    12.1 or 12.2 with a load
    14.1 when in Ready mode
     
    #4 WEB211, May 3, 2011
  5. direstraits71

    direstraits71 Member

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    That's good. I hope its not an intermittent short or a loose wire somewhere. Seems suspicious that the 12 volts would drop to 11 volts when you're running. Post the codes they found if you can. Its a good idea to get a printout of the codes whenever you can so the geniuses on the site can help more! Guess you'll have to just keep monitoring to see if it happens again. Post again if it occurs again.
     
    #5 direstraits71, May 3, 2011
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