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General, ABS & VSC Warning Light - ON - What Causes?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Fred14, Dec 8, 2015.

  1. Fred14

    Fred14 Junior Member

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    Last week I bought a 2006 Prius. Two days later I heard a noise brought it to a Toyota deader and they replaced the right front wheel bearing. The noise stopped. Then about 40 miles later on an interstate the General, ABS, and VSC yellow warning lights came on. I to it back to the dealer (the lights went off when I got off the interstate) and they cleaned an external connection and but said there could be some grease inside and the light could come back on but it was safe to drive. I proceeded and the light came back on. The lights stayed on while driving it about 1,000 miles home. Then in the morning after the lights came on after driving it about 15 miles, I again to it to a Toyota dealer and paid 90+ dollars to diagnose the lights and a little to fix it, Ten 5 miles down the road the lights came on again. I drove back to the dealer and they said something like: "There is a lot of rust on the rotor etc. that probably was loosened when the wheel being was replaced and that is interfering with the speed sensor. And that the knuckle has swelled. I asked what it would take to fix it and that I was not interested more diagnostic fees. They suggested to drive it some and bring it in and they would lock at it again and advise how to fix it efficiently.

    Has anyone had experiences with these warning lights or suggstions as to how to fix them efficiently?
     
  2. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    how old is the 12v battery?
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome! was this two separate dealers? if the first dealer got grease on it, shouldn't they have fixed it for free?

    how many miles on her?
     
  4. Fred14

    Fred14 Junior Member

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    I have uncovered the battery enough to see it is a Toyota battery but can see a manufacture date. I am working on getting the battery out to see. I bought it used it was serviced at Toyota every 5,000 miles except one. The service record had not mention of a new 12V battery. How does one check to see if Ok?
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    pop the hood tonight, but don't open it. in the morning, before opening any doors, open the hood. in the fuse box is a red plastic cover that flips open. this is the front 12 volt jump point. measure the voltage there with a digital multi meter.
     
  6. Fred14

    Fred14 Junior Member

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    how many miles on her?[/QUOTE]

    2 separate dealers one in New Mexico. on a Friday afternoon and the other in Arizona. It has 108,000 miles.
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    ask both dealers what they got for trouble codes, and see my post above for testing the 12 volt. it certainly seems like your problem is in the wheel bearing sensor area.
     
  8. Dion Kraft

    Dion Kraft Member

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    Was this car you bought a 'AS IS' agreement? There were no warranty implied whatsoever? Some dealers give you at least some days or miles to change your mind but it would be for a car same price or higher as an exchange.
     
  9. Fred14

    Fred14 Junior Member

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    I bought it as is from a private party.
     
  10. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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  11. Fred14

    Fred14 Junior Member

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    This morning I looked at the battery. It is a Toyota 84 month Battery. On top center of it is a Round green sticker that reads K13. I presume the K stands for November and the 13 stands for 2013. December 18th, 2013 a the dealer installed a new hy-bred battery. Do you think a new starter battery was also installed?
    A voltage reading was 12.39V. Is that good or not so good?
     
  12. Fred14

    Fred14 Junior Member

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    Also, I did not see any vent tube. Where should it be? Never took it all the way out as the battery vent duct is in the way. Could not feel it on any side. Should I get one and install it?
     
  13. bisco

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    12.4 is borderline if you tested it the way i said to, and probably not the cause of your problem.
     
  14. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    Assume nothing. What method did you use to test the battery? volt meter or computer?
     
  15. Fred14

    Fred14 Junior Member

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    Hi thanks for your help. How I measured it:
    1st as you said pop hood next morning with multi meter 12.60V high number, but reading jumping all over place I think because could not make a good ground.
    2nd from battery terminals with multi meter 12.39V
    3rd after charging with battery minder 2012-AGM 13.18V again with multi meter.

    How does one measure voltage of the starter battery or any battery with a computer?

    Fred

    Own it for only 2 weeks, to new to tell if MPG is decreasing. Although maybe it seems to vary from 37 to 44+ on the highway.
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you need a mini vci from amazon and an old windows laptop.
     
  17. Fred14

    Fred14 Junior Member

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    Bisco
    I am game, But which one do I buy and what software and / or on line services do I need. I assume this will also give me all the error code. Will It also give me what they mean. I have a 2006 Prius.

    Fred
     
  18. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    All Mini-VCIs are basically the same. So it doesn’t really matter which one you buy. Software will come in a disc with the reader and you only need the (32bit) XP laptop with it. It will give you short description for code which is enough many times. For longer description and fault finding charts for the code you can describe to online Toyota repair manual in Toyota web site.
     
  19. Fred14

    Fred14 Junior Member

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    Thanks all for your insights. What it turned out to be was a broken tooth on the ring the wheel speed sensor picks up. As such the the Toyota dealer in Texas who changed the wheel bearing picked up the cost of the repair. Three cheers for the Toyota dealer. Fred
     
    valde3 and bisco like this.
  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats fred! glad you got it taken care of. thanks for letting us know.(y)