Master light+vsc+yellow ((!))+intermittent check engine light

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by alison, Jul 29, 2011.

  1. alison

    alison New Member

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    I have a 2005 Prius with almost 219000 (!) on it. It runs great, but about three months ago the check engine light started coming on and turning off by itself. I had a scan done on it and they mentioned possibly a bad O2 sensor. Today, I was on the highway and the master light (big red triangle with ! in it), the VSC, and the yellow ((!)) brake light came on. I pulled over, shut the car off and turned it back on. The master light and check engine light was still on. The VSC and yellow ((!)) light came back on a few miles down the road. I pulled off the highway and took it to a mechanic who scanned it again and said that there were several codes that came up including a large exhaust leak. The mechanic said it sounds like a hose to him, but when he checked under the hood it didn't look like anything was wrong. Any ideas?
     
    #1 alison, Jul 29, 2011
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    It would help if you could post the DTC logged by your car.

    Do you notice any driveability symptoms (besides the warning lights)?
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Jul 29, 2011
  3. alison

    alison New Member

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    The car drives fine; I haven't noticed any changes in driveability. I have bottomed out a couple times (scraped the bottom of my car on the sidewalk) in the town where my new job is. I'm not sure what the "DTC" is.
     
    #3 alison, Jul 29, 2011
  4. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Have you taken the car in for the inverter cooling pump recall, or else had it fixed at any time in the past three years?
     
    #4 seilerts, Jul 29, 2011
  5. alison

    alison New Member

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    nope, I bought it about a year ago and put about 75,000 miles on it ( I used to drive from CT to NY everyday) and I haven't really had anything done to it except for religiously changing the oil and bought a new set of tires. Also, the brakes were replaced when I first bought the car.
     
    #5 alison, Jul 29, 2011
  6. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Any chance you got a list of all the codes? The IC pump is P0A93. It is a free repair at Toyota.
     
    #6 seilerts, Jul 29, 2011
  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    "codes" = "DTC" = diagnostic trouble codes

    Perhaps one of your car's problems is that the exhaust system was damaged due to the bottoming out that you mentioned. That would explain the check engine light as one job performed by the engine ECU is to monitor the health of the catalytic converter based upon readings provided by the air/fuel ratio sensor upstream from the catalytic converter, as well as the oxygen sensor located downstream.

    However that would not explain the VSC and ((!)) warning lights appearing. If the inverter was overheating due to the inverter coolant pump not working, then those lights would appear.

    I suggest you visit your local Toyota dealer so that the DTC can be read and a diagnosis provided to you. Good luck.
     
    #7 Patrick Wong, Jul 29, 2011
  8. alison

    alison New Member

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    Am I right in reading that the inverter coolant pump was recalled and may be replaced at no cost to me?
     
    #8 alison, Jul 29, 2011
  9. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    #9 Patrick Wong, Jul 29, 2011
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