179,975 Miles & Warning Lights Today?

Hi John,

Well, the hybrid vehicle warning icon appeared in the MFD, along with the check engine light. If you don't notice any driveability issues, it's hard to say what the problem is. When your dealer tech retrieves the DTC please post them, if you would like further comment.

 

179,750 miles in 5 years.....WOW!
How do you rack that much up?
I think you have gotten our monies worth out of the car!!

I hope to be so fortunate!!!

 

First guess would be the Inverter Coolant Pump. It is the subject of a TSB and has caused problems in 2004-2005 Prii. There is a redesigned unit available as a replacement. Check for turbulence in the Inverter coolant tank when the car is on. If none, its the pump.

I replaced mine at 150,000 miles in my 2004 preemptively.

JeffD

 

Hi Jeff,

Yes, I also thought of the inverter coolant pump but did not suggest that since the OP did not report that the skid control ECU was having a fit (VSC, ABS, and BRAKE warning lights were not on). It certainly does not hurt to verify that the pump is running.

 

When my pump failed those warning lights didn't appear, so it's still a possibility. Drive it slowly to a dealer ASAP.

 

I'm not the DIY type of person but I'm considering having this done preemptively as well. I have 120k on my '04. Anyone know what a fair price for labor and parts would be on this job?

 

Hi John,

It's great to hear that you identified the problem and successfully replaced the pump.

Here's the info to clear the skid control ECU DTC:

1. Find the OBD-II connector under the dashboard, near the steering column.
2. Note that one side of it is wider than the other. Envision the wide side on the bottom. The pin numbering starts with 1 on the bottom right and moves to 8 on the bottom left. Then pin number 9 is on the top right and moves to 16 on the top left.
3. With the car IG-OFF, connect pins 4 and 13 with a paper clip or other suitable jumper wire. Make the car READY.
4. Look at the Brake Control, ABS, and VSC lights. They may be flashing two-digit codes, if so record which light is flashing and what the code is.
5. To clear the codes, make the car IG-OFF, then make READY again with the jumper still in place. Press the brake pedal at least 8x within 5 seconds.

New York - hmmm - I wouldn't be surprised if you were quoted $400.

 

Glad to hear that your Prius is all fixed up.
Good thing it wasn't anything major!

 

I had the same lights go on yesterday, with the addition of the VSC light and antilock break light. The AC also stopped working. When I shut the car down and turned it back on again, only the check engine light and red triangle stayed on. The car is at the dealer and they will work on it on Monday. I have included pictures of what the dash looked like before I turned it off. My car has about 72,000 miles on it and is a 2004 model.

http://mrkash.com/images/prius1.jpg

http://mrkash.com/images/prius2.jpg

 

Hi John,

I suggest that you first disconnect the negative 12V battery cable where it connects to the body for 5 minutes. Then reconnect and see if you still have warning lights on. Since you don't have any skid control warning lights on (ABS, VSC, or Brake Control), this simpler procedure may be sufficient to get rid of the master warning triangle and the hybrid vehicle icon in the MFD.

If that doesn't work, then try the OBD-II jumper procedure that I identified in my post #9.

Yes, if your car has some other problem that remains, then don't worry, the DTC will eventually be logged and warning lights will come on. At that point you can take your car to the dealer, to have the DTC read.

Hi Jeff,

The inverter coolant pump is the likely failed part on your car.

 

I read up on the inverter cooler pump and is sure does sound like that is what went out.
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/36513-inverter-coolant-pump-takes-dive-12.html

 

The folks at PriusChat were right again. My problem was indeed the inverter coolant pump. It is being fixed now. The service manager told me the AC going out was unrelated, but I am having a hard time buying that one. He said they had never serviced the AC and it was low on freon.

 

Hello from South OC :rockon:

Same thing happened to my 04, both pumps went out on me. One around 110 and the other around 120,000. Glad you got it fixed

 

Hi Patrick... It seems that I need your help!

After two hours of driving today, I headed up a very steep hill (hey, I have no idea what might have caused it!) and I got all the crazy lights
Brake (!) VSC ABS

I immediately found this thread... checked my coolant pump (I can hear it, and I can see the tank being stirred). Next I did the jumper trick and read the codes:
45 VSC
42 ABS
49 (!) (wasn't aware that this one even gave a code!)

I'm not at home, so have no clue what any of those mean, or what the problem might be... but the deal is - after trying to clear the codes (when do I start pumping the brakes, anyway?) nothing has changed. Codes are still there. Everything seems to be working fine. As I'm away from home this does have me a bit concerned, however.

Thanks for all your help!

 

Hi Darell,

The first two blink codes aren't documented in the repair manual.

49 (!): Have someone depress your brake pedal and see if the brake lights work. (If necessary, backup to a reflective surface like a storefront glass window so you can see the rear of the car through your rearview mirror.)

To clear the codes, you are supposed to connect terminals 4 and 13 of the DLC3 connector with a jumper wire, make the Prius READY, then depress the brake pedal at least 8x within a 5-second period. Then remove the jumper wire.

If the warning lights remain, then it would be a good idea for the vehicle to be checked out by the nearest Toyota dealer. Good luck.

 

Patrick - thanks for the quick response. I tried the code-clearing, but didn't remove the jumper until after shutting off..... My steps:
Ig-off
jumper pins 4 and 13
Ig-on
press brake pedal 8x in five seconds (does it matter when I start?)
Ig-off. Remove jumper.

Next ig-on, the lights are all on still. Maybe I should remove the jumper while still ig-on after the brake presses?

The brakes lights work fine. In fact everything seems to be working just fine, which is why I'd like to clear the lights and see if they come back. I'll take it to the dealer when I'm near one!

If not the inverter coolant pump... and not the brake lights - I don't suppose we have any clue what else these lights could mean?