1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Red Triangle of Death and much more-help!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by pbratt, May 5, 2012.

  1. pbratt

    pbratt Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2008
    32
    3
    0
    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Spouse and I were driving for a fun Saturday in Dallas Texas. After getting on the highway, the red triangle of death, the amber ABS and the VSC lights came on, and little exclamation point came on on millage/audio screen, while battery power went down from high blue to one blue bar. Pulled car over to parking lot, and put in park. After putting it in park, the car would not go out of neutral, but the power still worked.

    Bought car to dealer thanks to a helpful towing company, and have a loaner for the weekend. I really hope this isn't my Hybrid battery, and other posts on Prius Chat makes me think it isn't. But, in the 7 years that I have had this 2004 prius, I've done a lot of tender loving care for the car, and currently have 124K on the car. In 2011 I replaced the inverter water pump, and in Feb 2012 I replaced the engine water pump. Earlier this month I replaced the original 12V battery before another long-hot Texas summer began. Do folks have any thoughts? The dealer was pretty sure it wasn't the hybrid battery, but thought it was the inverter or engine water pumps. If it was one of these two pumps, how long is toyota's work covered on these two items? I had the first replaced 13,000 miles ago, the second, 2,000 miles ago.
     
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,471
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    It is unlikely that an engine coolant pump failure would cause the warning lights that appeared. It is possible that an inverter coolant pump failure would cause those lights.

    Typically the warranty on Toyota dealer repairs is one year, unlimited miles on parts and labor.

    If it turns out that the inverter coolant pump is the problem and that was replaced more than one year ago, I would suggest that you pay the dealer service invoice, then apply to the Toyota Customer Experience Center for reimbursement on the grounds that pump is a known weak point and subject of a recent LSC.
     
    2 people like this.
  3. pbratt

    pbratt Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2008
    32
    3
    0
    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Thanks for the advice Patrick. Any sense that you have that this sort of thing would be a hybrid battery failure? I'm not looking forward to the potential of paying $3,000 for fixing it.
     
  4. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2005
    12,544
    2,123
    1
    Location:
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    1 person likes this.
  5. andyman68

    andyman68 Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2005
    131
    0
    0
    Location:
    Columbia Missouri
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I had a similar issue today with my 2006, 116K. I had to drive about 18 miles on a short trip. When I left home I thought the car seemed a bit sluggish but didn't think too much of it. About half way there a bunch of lights on the dash come on and the top of the display in the console screen had a pretty red picture of a car and the top was blank. The lights on the dash were VSC, something orange with an exclamation point, an outline of a car, and a big red triangle with an exclamation point. I don't think the ABS light came on though. The car was going 70 mph and nothing really seemed too out of the ordinary other than a little sluggish.

    I made it to my destination just fine and noticed the hybrid battery was
    completely full green which I actually though kind of odd since i was running
    the air. On the way back the lights were still on and I noticed the
    sluggishness on the Interstate even though I could get up to 70 mph but it just
    didn't seem to have the normal power.

    I checked the hybrid battery on the display and it was in the purple zone down to the last bar. Not out of the ordinary on a hot day but out of the ordinary when going 70 mph plus it was fully green on the trip there with the air on. I shut off the air conditioner and it charged a bit and get to 3 blue bars but then it it went back to two purple bars.

    Once I got into town and off the Interstate I was actually near the dealer. It
    went down to 1 purple bar so I pulled in and checked it in since I wasn't sure I would make it all the way home. The service guy said often several of the lights come on when there are other issues. I am hoping nothing too expensive.

    Does anyone have any idea was is going on?
     
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,471
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    If you see the traction battery SOC per the MFD move up and down at a very fast rate, that is indicative that the traction battery has a problem. If you report the logged DTC then we can comment further.
     
    1 person likes this.
  7. pbratt

    pbratt Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2008
    32
    3
    0
    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Got a call back from the dealer this morning. HV battery and water pumps are just fine. Badly clogged throttle plate body and air sensor were the culprit. Hopefully this solves the problem.
     
  8. uart

    uart Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2009
    4,215
    1,200
    0
    Location:
    Australia
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Make sure you're not overfilling the oil, as this can exacerbate this problem.
     
  9. pbratt

    pbratt Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2008
    32
    3
    0
    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Given that it is the dealers who are doing this, I'll certainly have to remind them of this:(
     
  10. HaroldW

    HaroldW Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2012
    716
    95
    0
    Location:
    Grand Forks BC Canada
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    does not hurt to look at the dip stick on occasion! h
     
  11. tv4fish

    tv4fish Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2011
    202
    46
    0
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I would take that as very good news
    -- now Guys, Is that common for those 2 conditions to cause all those "messages"??
     
  12. andyman68

    andyman68 Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2005
    131
    0
    0
    Location:
    Columbia Missouri
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Got a call from the service department and they say the codes say failed traction battery and cost is around $3000. They didn't give me the report at this point.

     
  13. pbratt

    pbratt Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2008
    32
    3
    0
    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    My codes were P0A0F and P3190.
     
  14. pbratt

    pbratt Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2008
    32
    3
    0
    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    One week update: I've really noticed a jump in my millage since I had my throttle body cleaned; I'm no averaging 46 mpg as opposed to 41. Good times.
     
  15. HaroldW

    HaroldW Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2012
    716
    95
    0
    Location:
    Grand Forks BC Canada
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    That is a good improvement. What brand of gas do you normally purchase? H
     
  16. pbratt

    pbratt Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2008
    32
    3
    0
    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    regular-am still going to the same gas station as I normally stop at:)