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

Prius Help ASAP

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by PriusStress, Jun 26, 2022.

  1. PriusStress

    PriusStress New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2022
    4
    1
    0
    Location:
    Orange County, NY
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    All,

    Thank u in advance.

    i purchased a 2007 Prius with 150,000 miles last fall. One month after I got the triangle of death, VSC indicator, my green car on screen went to red with exclamation point, and rear battery fan went on. No check engine lights. I had a reconditioned battery installed by an after market company with a life time guarantee. Problems solved.

    Till last week. Same issues no fan went on. I was towed home. For the few days before this the green / blue battery indicator in stop and go traffic went to 2 blue bars and upon driving went green. My mechanic said I needed a new auxiliary battery. Interestingly when I drove there indicator lights were on. I turned the car off when I got there. When we turned it on the lights were out. So they checked the vehicle, no engine codes, and replaced the auxiliary battery.

    Everything was fine. I drove to work Friday night (75 miles). On my way home 85 miles into a 90 mile drive, the red triangle of death came on, the VCS light, and a circle with exclamation came on on dash. On the monitor the red car with exclamation came on. The battery indicator goes down and goes up again to almost all blue and sometimes green. The battery cooling fan in rear is on again as last fall. I also have 2 check engine codes: C1259 and C1310.

    is this dangerous to drive? Will it die on me? Is it possibly just the hybrid battery is failing? I assume the battery company will give me a hard time about replacing the battery with those codes but I am not sure. Is this worth fixing?

    Please offer input for a man with ZERO mechanical knowledge. What is my best course of action? I am not looking to pour money into this vehicle though it is my commuter car as it is old with high mileage (165,000 now).

    I am bringing it to my mechanic in am for an initial look.

    Help!
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,861
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    you need to find a mechanic with tech stream code reader or a dealer. that will give you the correct codes and sub codes.
    then post them here for evaluation. the generic codes tell you there is a problem, but not what the problem is.
    the battery company should have tech stream, and will replace it if you get a battery code.
     
  3. PriusStress

    PriusStress New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2022
    4
    1
    0
    Location:
    Orange County, NY
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thank you. My mechanic can give me a betrer reading. The dealer will keep it there for an extended period and I don’t have that type of time.

    With what I described, could it just be that the replacement battery is faulty or is it more likely to be something else based on expert opinion here?

    i wonder if the aftermarket battery place will simply say fix the error codes and then we will look? I hate throwing money out for a wild goose chase if I don’t have to.

    More thoughts please.
     
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    7,787
    1,348
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    This is what you do you call your battery guy you explain to him what's happened and you make arrangements for him to get to the car I guess he came to you you went to him go back to him He should make it right before you where are you located.. so you don't own a voltmeter or anything like that it's an electronic tool you need to get by AutoZone and make sure that with the car off you're sitting at around 12 volts and then with the car ready you should be sitting at 13 5 or above you need to see if that is the case and then get with your battery guy The HV guy and see what he has to say he'll check the mess probably for free because he initially put your battery in so he'll check it you may have a couple of dead cells he'll just swap out the whole pack and you'll be on your way even if there's a minor fee whatever I just went through all this with the same codes and all kinds of nonsense for months dropped in a brand new Toyota $1,400 battery and it seems to be ready to go another 20 My original battery was original that lasted right 20 years I would expect the same from a new one with the same driving conditions and all that Priuses do not do well sitting if it's going to sit rent somebody to drive it every so often
     
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,064
    14,969
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    When the Master Warning Light comes on (sometimes called the red triangle of death, but calling it that does more to excite people than it does to solve problems), it means there are hybrid-vehicle trouble codes that need to be read. Eventually, to escape the cycle of guesswork and parts replacement, somebody ought to read those.

    That's also corroborated by the C1259 and C1310 codes you have. To be specific, those aren't engine codes, they're brake codes, and those two exact brake codes are only set by the brake ECU for one reason: they are set when there are hybrid-vehicle codes that need to be read.

    So any time somebody hooks up a scan tool and it shows C1259 and C1310 but not the other codes, what that means is that scan tool isn't able to show the hybrid-vehicle codes, and somebody needs to use one that is.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,861
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    the dealer only needs an hour if your mech doesn't have tech stream
     
  7. PriusStress

    PriusStress New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2022
    4
    1
    0
    Location:
    Orange County, NY
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thank you.

    If the issue were something brake related would that cause the fan in back to go on again?

    i drove about 20 miles today. The battery indicator goes to 1 or 2 bars when it sits and goes to green again when driving.

    Thank you again.



     
    bisco likes this.
  8. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2020
    3,203
    1,337
    0
    Location:
    NJ-USA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    No, it is not brake related- it is the brake ecu stating that the hybrid control ecu or the HV battery ecu has codes and that someone (equipped with a capable scantool) should retrieve them.

    I would not be surprised if there was a problem with the HV battery, but until then it's just a guess.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  9. PriusStress

    PriusStress New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2022
    4
    1
    0
    Location:
    Orange County, NY
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
  10. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,490
    14,095
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    It's already been said several times, but I'll add my two cents worth as well. You have hybrid system codes that need to be read with a Prius literate code reader as @ChapmanF has said. The brake codes you have are only indications that there's a problem in the hybrid system. A competent code reader will show something like a P0A80 and other codes that give more detail. This is to be expected with rebuilt hybrid batteries. They rarely last very long. But I would not spend one dime on any work till I had the trouble codes and knew what to spend it on.
     
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,861
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    no, the brakes would not affect the cooling fan. if the battery icon keeps bouncing up and down, that's usually a bad hybrid battery.
    normal behavior is when it stays a little above middle, fluctuating a bit up and down as it stores or uses electricity, and sometimes all green (full) in certain conditions, and sometimes 2 purple (empty) in certain conditions.
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  12. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,064
    14,969
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Already answered a couple times, but just again, nobody suggested a brake problem.

    Only that there are two brake codes, the exact two that are set to tell you when there are hybrid-system codes elsewhere.
     
    jerrymildred likes this.