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Few warning lights came on but no difference in driving?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Takaaaa, Nov 4, 2010.

  1. Takaaaa

    Takaaaa New Member

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    So I was looking threw to see if others had problems like this and seems like everyone has different pattern of lights so here is my problem

    So I was driving and suddenly three warning lights came on. The Master warning light (Red triangle with !), Check Engine Light and the Hybrid System warning light (Car with !).
    My AC works fine and I was able to shut it off and start it back up with no problem. I also did see a difference in driving.

    Any Idea what it might be?
     
  2. MJFrog

    MJFrog Active Member

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    How old is your 12v battery? If original--consider replacing it.
     
  3. Takaaaa

    Takaaaa New Member

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    I believe its original. Ok ill think about changing to an Optima or something.
     
  4. kohnen

    kohnen Grumpy, Cranky Senior Member

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    Possibly inverter coolant pump.

    It likely isn't a problem with your 12V battery because when you're driving, the 12V battery isn't used - the inverter supplies all the 12V power.

    You have an '05 (so it's an older Prius) and these pumps are a known weak point.

    Good Luck!
     
  5. Takaaaa

    Takaaaa New Member

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    Ok so a big turn of events happened yesterday. So I was still driving fine then parked my car, when I came back to turn it on I noticed all the warning lights were gone. I was very happy. So happy that I didnt wonder why it did that.
    I drove a few blocks more and parked (but didnt turn it off), just sitting and listening to music. then I noticed smoke coming from the engine. I quickly shut off the car and opened the hood. I noticed it was coming from the right, bottom, corner. Coming out of my grill and fog light area. But when it stopped I went to turn on my car again, i pressed it once and everything was ok but when I pressed it again to start the engine it just flashed and shut off...
    I let it rest and tried it again, but still nothing. So I got it towed to Toyota where it is waiting to be looked at. The soonest appointment was nov22...

    By the story, does anyone know what it might be? serious? My car has 54k miles, is it covered under warranty?

    Thanks
     
  6. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    So a whole bunch of warning lights come on but you just keep driving. Then something major craps out. Geez, what are the chances of that happening!
     
  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    What does "right, bottom, corner" mean?

    Did this smoke come from behind the driver's side headlight assembly, which is where the inverter coolant pump is located? If so, then the pump motor had a short which caused the plastic to melt and this smoke to form. This should be covered by the 5 year / 60K mile powertrain warranty.

    If the smoke came from some other area, please try to describe the location more precisely.
     
  8. Takaaaa

    Takaaaa New Member

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    Yes it looked like it was coming from behind the driver's headlight.
    I bought the car used (not from toyota) the original warranty carries over right?
     
  9. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Yes, as long as the car does not have a salvage title.
     
  10. Takaaaa

    Takaaaa New Member

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    Ahhh ok ok. Thank you for the help. I was worried that it might have been something not covered by warranty. Now I just have to wait for them to get to my car.

    Thanks again Patrick
     
  11. Takaaaa

    Takaaaa New Member

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    So my car has been at Toyota for few weeks now and I got a call from them saying they are going to start working on it. Of course I was very happy. But then they told me that they had to change the 12v too since it was totally dead and couldn't put the car in neutral to push it and couldn't be moved. So they charged me a extra $350.
    My question is is there no way to push the car unless the 12v is charged?
    Also I can put in a brand new Optima for $180 which I think is better than any Toyota battery. But they told me if I did it myself it would void the warranty. Is that true?
     
  12. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    It is true that if there is no 12V power then the car cannot be easily moved. Since your car's battery was 5 years old I can well believe that it died and needed to be replaced.

    Unfortunately, since you did not replace the 12V battery earlier as a "preventive" move, you now are at the mercy of the Servco Pacific service dept's rapacious pricing policy. By the way, continental US MSRP on the Toyota 12V battery is $139. However some mainland Toyota dealers are not ashamed to charge a similar price net of installation ($300 or more), as you face.

    Regarding the question of warranty: if you correctly installed the 12V battery then there would be no failure and hence no warranty issue. If you botch the battery installation then naturally you would not expect Servco Pacific to cover that repair w/o charge.

    If your car should have an electronics failure in the future and there is any way that the tech can attribute that failure to the customer-installed battery, then you'll be on your own.
     
  13. Takaaaa

    Takaaaa New Member

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    Ok I think I understand. So if they told me they had to replace the 12v, it wouldn't have been possible for me to ask for the car back and install it myself?
    I understand that it needed a new battery to push and work on it but I was shocked to find out that they didn't ask what I wanted to do, but just installed it and added $350 to my bill. haha

    Oh the guy said the problem was a blown fuse. I didnt know they could smoke that much.
     
  14. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1. Yes, you should have been consulted before any work chargeable to you was done. However, consider the towing fee from the service center to your home - that would eat into the savings if you DIY installed the 12V battery.

    2. What was the root cause of your car's failure? The blown fuse was a symptom, not the root cause. If the root cause was not identified, expect a repeat occurrence.

    3. If you can identify which fuse had blown, we may be able to give you advice regarding the root cause.
     
  15. Takaaaa

    Takaaaa New Member

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    Lucky my towing is free with AAA~ so I would have been willing to pick it up at toyota, take it to my house, change the battery and take it back down to to toyota. So if they asked me what I wanted to do before they installed the 12v, would taking it back and doing it myself be a option? Since I dont think the battery was the problem.

    I just called him and he said that they dont know the problem but might be from dirt and other stuff. idk~ but he said it was the fuse in the fuse box behind the drivers side headlight. He said it was the "Power Relay". I dont know anything about electrical, as you can tell . LOL
     
  16. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I assume that you have the car back now?

    If true, make the car IG-ON. To do this, start from IG-OFF, then press the POWER button twice, without depressing the brake pedal. Now you should see all of the instrument panel warning lights. (Don't leave the car like this very long, since the 12V battery is drained heavily when the car is in this operating mode.)

    Open the hood and look for the inverter coolant pump located behind the driver's headlight assembly. Listen for the sound of it running. It should sound like an aquarium pump and you should not hear the sound of bubbles.

    Also look at the inverter coolant reservoir mounted next to the inverter. The fluid level at the very rear should be higher than the fluid level elsewhere in the reservoir. If you open the reservoir cap you should see some fluid turbulence. This shows that the inverter pump is running.

    If you don't hear and see evidence that the inverter pump is running, then look at the pump exterior carefully. Do you see any burn marks or evidence of overheating?

    My guess is that the inverter pump has died. Please let me know whether this guess is accurate or not.
     
  17. Takaaaa

    Takaaaa New Member

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    No I dont have the car back yet. I was hoping to just pay $100 for the check up but not its a $500 bill. Im trying to find out online if I could have installed a battery myself so I wouldnt have to pay $350. I would call Toyota and ask but Im sure the can just lie to me.
    If they HAD to install the battery and I had no other option then, I guess I have no choice to pay. But if there are other options then I would like to save money. LOL
     
  18. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1. The part number of the correct 12V battery is 28800-21170. MSRP in the continental US is $138.70. For example, see the Champion Toyota - Houston website and look up that part number:
    http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=searchCatalogOEM&siteid=213747

    2. Call the parts dept of your dealer to find out the over-the-counter price for the battery. Compare that price to $138.70.

    3. Compare the price that you determined in #2 above, vs. $350 to determine the labor charge.

    4. If you are outraged by the outcome of your analysis, then complain to the appropriate dealer staff who might be able to do something about your complaint.

    5. Also I suggest that you complain that the root cause of your problem has not yet been determined, and ask that the tech inspect the inverter coolant pump to see if it is running.

    6. If the pump is still good, then it would be helpful to know the exact name of the fuse that had been replaced. Good luck.
     
  19. dc_soccerdude

    dc_soccerdude New Member

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    Had an identical situation occur last night. Driving down the road, multiple warning lights come on and the car died. We barely had time to pull over to the side of the road as we were going uphill. After dieing the car would power up the radio, dome lights, etc. but beyond that if you tried to crank (brake depressed) or enter IG-ON (twice w/o brake) everything would flash for about 1/2 to 1 second and then die. Had the car towed home and researched the forum last night.

    Went out this morning and the first fuse I pulled (A2) was blown. Checked everything else and it was good. This successfully enabled me to get the car into IG-ON where the warning triangle continues to exist. I debated whether or not to try to crank it before I went to get a code reader but decided to try to check and see if it would run for just a few seconds. Stupid idea, as within 20 seconds of the engine cranking smoke started eminating from the grill and under the plastic cover. Seemed like it was near where you say the pump is located. Before I could get around to shut it off the fuse blew again and all the lights including the fuel gauge and PRNDB were flashing.

    On the way to get new fuse so I can repower and look at code. Will also check pump for any damage or burn marks.

    Thanks for any help or idea you have.
     
  20. dc_soccerdude

    dc_soccerdude New Member

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    Forgot to mention it is a 2005 with 170K+ miles. Update: All indications are it is the inverter pump. Went to read the codes but there are no codes just a big red triangle. The fuse barely lasted long enough to read the codes so I finally just disconnected and removed the pump. Now the car will power up and crank as normal. At least I was able to get it into the garage and out of the cold where the wrecker dumped it last night in the yard. New pump will go in tomorrow and I will post results.