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Red Death Triangle, Engine check, VSC, Red Exclamation Mark Car, How bad? Houston

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Brandonholohibrido, May 10, 2016.

  1. Brandonholohibrido

    Brandonholohibrido Junior Member

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    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    Hi guys, I bought my Prius 2007 a year ago, it had 220,000 miles, now it has around 250,000 miles.
    At the beggining I had to replace the 12V battery so I bought a Super Start. Everything worked fine after that, changed the air filter, now the A/C started to fail, I had to refill it, but sometimes it doesn't turn on when I turn on the car, also I had the engine checked with the Oxygen sensors codes to be replaced, but the light disappeared after a while, so I didn't pay attention to that.
    Around 3 to 4 months ago, the dashboard didn't turn, so I was not able to see the speedometer while driving, and I couldn't turn it off until I kinda reset it and waited for a while, ( most of the times this happened on rainy days).
    Last week while I was driving I had all these lights on: Red death triangle, Engine check, VSC, red exclamation Mark car, and I kinda freaked out, but the car drives fine, although I've been noticing that the car has been getting very low mileage, I used to have around 50mpg with Techtron (exxon injector cleaner) and 48 normally, now I get around 41mpg.
    I took it to Autozone and the guy did the check and I had this:
    P0A93 Inverter A cooling system performance
    C1300 Malfunction in Engine control unit.
    Plus the oxygen sensors.

    I haven't done the maintenance of the cooling fluid ever, so my guess is that i have to do it and maybe the P0A93 will go, but I don't know about the C1300, maybe by just replacing the sensors?

    I am in Houston, is there any good Samaritan, that could give me a hand? maybe a shop, I am willing to assist in the fix if its at home as well and still pay.
     
  2. S Keith

    S Keith Senior Member

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    The combination meter failure is an extended warranty item up to 9 years. Get thee to the dealership ASAP.

    Others more knowledgeable about the other codes may chime in.

    Lastly, the best thing you can do for yourself is get a MiniVCI so you can do some real troubleshooting. Other code reading options in my sig.
     
  3. S Keith

    S Keith Senior Member

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    The combination meter failure is an extended warranty item up to 9 years. Get thee to the dealership ASAP.

    Others more knowledgeable about the other codes may chime in.

    Lastly, the best thing you can do for yourself is get a MiniVCI so you can do some real troubleshooting. Other code reading options in my sig.
     
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The car was designed to go 180k miles before the components slowly start to fail. I think at 250k miles, many components are already failing. Unless you fix the items yourself, it'll start costing a lot of money to start replacing the failed parts now.
     
  5. Brandonholohibrido

    Brandonholohibrido Junior Member

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    I just called Toyota, and told me that the car was bought in October 2006, so it will have to be out of my pocket, 120 dlls + taxes to diagnose, plus parts and everything + my organs.

    Is there any shop in Houston ?
     
  6. S Keith

    S Keith Senior Member

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    Sorry to hear it. Not sure of any shops in your area.

    The best out-of-warranty option is eBay where folks offer to repair bad ones. IIRC, $120 + down time.
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome! try hometown hybrids. they are a member here. very knowledgable and reasonable. all the best!(y)
     
  8. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    You could try resetting the codes and see how quickly they come back. Also take the cap off the inverter's coolant tank and see if there's pump flow. Wouldn't hurt to check the 12 V battery voltage even though it's a year old.
     
  9. Brandonholohibrido

    Brandonholohibrido Junior Member

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    I actually did reset the Red exclamation mark car, and it came back very soon. The coolant tank has some like dry fluid on the edges and the slip. I checked the 12V battery, 12.2 off, 11.8 start, 14.2 ign-on.
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    12.2 is weak, but i'm not sure it's your problem.
     
  11. Brandonholohibrido

    Brandonholohibrido Junior Member

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    I just turned on the prius for a while, drove it a little bit( from the street to the garage) I checked the coolant tank and no movement at all, the fluid stays stills, is on low by the way, thats why I think it need to be replaced and everything.
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if there's no movement with the car on, you need a new pump. check with a dealer to see if you fall under the recall.
     
  13. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    Sounds like you need to replace the inverter coolant pump. This is a common failure. My threads here on the subject.
     
  14. Brandonholohibrido

    Brandonholohibrido Junior Member

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    What about the oxygen sensors?
     
  15. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Just for giggles, register your car with the Toyota owners Web site -- google it -- it is actually set up and run by Toyota. You will need your VIN. Once you do, you can see what work has been done on your car by any/all Toyota dealers -- supposedly. Also, sometimes, there will be other service notes from places as diverse as Pep Boys.
     
  16. Brandonholohibrido

    Brandonholohibrido Junior Member

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    Yup, I actually did earlier, to verify that the combo meter failure warranty wasn't available anymore, Do you know by chance if there is a way to still get the warranty? you know its 9 years, and they told me I don't qualify because it was bought in 2006, and I think I still should get it, it is 2007, give me a break.
     
  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you have to start somewhere.
     
  18. Brandonholohibrido

    Brandonholohibrido Junior Member

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    So you would say the water pump might be the cause of the oxygen sensors to activate? because honetly the car looks like new from the bottom, and I think they even installed an universal catalytic converter before I bought it, and I heard that those make the oxygen sensors failure to activate. What do you think?
     
  19. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    water pump and oxygen sensors are not even remotely related...............apples and oranges
     
  20. Brandonholohibrido

    Brandonholohibrido Junior Member

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    I've been getting those codes activating for a while, but then they clear out by their own, I just really want to get my millage up again, You would say that the water pump is just esencial right?