Intermittent red triangle on startup

Yeah...that darned 12v battery is vital and when low it makes the whole car act like a crazy mess. Maybe when the dealer did the recall work last week the door was left open long enough to drain the last margin of the aux battery.

I just replaced my 12v yesterday and can relax now.

 

If you have an iPad or iPhone use the video function to grab an intermittent for the Toyota shop. If you must borrow a device then arrange to email the video or photo to the shop.When you walk in and play these on the 2012 iPad the HD screen makes it easy to see even the smallest of details with a simple pinch. A video also documents any unusual sounds for the technicians.

I do not have a Prius but three of my neighbors do.

 

Need some help here in relation to this issue.
I too am having the red triangle on startup then goes out straight away.
Its been cold the last few nights (Winter here in Melb Australia) Under 8 degrees celcius.
I noticed this light last night and again this morning. If the car is driven warmed up the problem doesnt occur.
If it sits for a while the light will come on and go out again.
Is this the 12 volt battery on the way out. I have booked the vehicle to go into the dealership early next week hopefully it holds out till then.
I am assuming the battery is still the original vehicle was built on the 12/2007.
Anything else to check or look out for?
Edit
Just to add to the above i tried the on of headlight sequence and unable to get into this mode.
I have been able to in the past.
When vehicle is set to accesories and once i turn the headlights on i get the red triangle and the MFD screen resets with the Toyota emblem. Everything basically dims down and the mfd reboots.
I can still start the vehicle it goes into ready mode but the headlights are a bright once in ready and quite dim when i turn the vehicle off.
I will purchase a replacement battery tomorrow morning and hopefully thats all it is.


Regards

 

Final update hopefully.
Today the wife took the car into Toyota requesting a replacement battery even though i had it booked in for Tue. Dealership offered to look at it which was great. They determined the aux battery (small one) is on its last legs hence the issues we are having above. All good so we thought.
Anyway the wife went into the spare parts dept and asked to purchase one.
None in stock further checks in their database there are none in Australia dealer advises 4-6week wait. Has to be ordered from Japan.
Well what a suprise that was i wasn't impressed.
Great service initially but of all things a battery Australia wide not availiable is on the rediculous side.
My preference was to go genuine but we had no choice in the end.
I noticed some people here are using optima batteries google search came in handy i found a distributor here in Melbourne and rang them.
Distributor just got some in for the Prius. I went and picked one up from the otherside of town after work. (85kms there and back in my thirsty V8)
Now just need to install it.
Regards

 

Installed the optima yellow top battery. All good but i cant believe where they put it from factory.
What a pain installing it. You have to remove the air duct and everything around it to get it out and back in.
Well its done now havent seen the red triangle appear since so it looks like its good to go.

 

Love this site! Exactly my symptom, 12v battery measures just under 10v on meter. New battery to follow once I locate one - now to find a thread that has pictures of how to replace. . . .

Thanks to all contributors!

 

There is a link in my signature file that details how to DIY the battery. Very easy if you are mechanically inclined. I went with the OEM Toyota Battery that I bought from the dealer. Other's here have went with the Yellow Top and Exide Brand. I don't know if the Gen III (2010) is different from the Gen II as far as battery swap is concerned. Main thing is to unhook the negative FIRST and then reconnect it LAST. Everything else is pretty standard. Move things to get to the battery.

 

Thanks for the link! Optima on the way from Amazon for less than $160 - should be here in a few days.

 

Remember that the link is for a Gen II, Gen III may be different. Look at everything before you do anything. Make drawings, take pictures etc. Use common sense and you should have no problems.

When you get your new battery, check the voltage with a digital volt meter. If it does not read 13 volts or higher it is NOT fully charged. I would suggest you fully charge the battery BEFORE you install it. That will help you with longevity of your new battery.

Best of luck to you!

 

Thanks for the additional tips - this is for a Gen II (2008) and I've watched a couple of YouTube videos (and have been in there to check the voltage), so I think it will all work out. Will post again - post install (with photos, hopefully).

 

Oh, Ok. I understand. I saw you have 2010 in your profile, that is why I said what I did. You should have no problems if you follow the instructions I posted in post #8 in the link. You might want to mark which screw is what as some of them have different lengths, but I simply laid them out in a fashion whereas it made sense to me. It is really easy, if you are mechanically inclined. I recall a lady changed hers out here on PC (Julia 2001).

Make sure that the battery is fully charged, especially if it is a Yellow Top. Lot's of reports here on PC about Yellow Top's sitting on shelves for a while before being installed. A new AGM type battery fully charged should read 13.1 volts. If your new battery reads anything less than 12.9, it is NOT fully charged. Those measurements are with a digital volt meter being read at the post's BEFORE installation.

Don't forget the tape or grease trick on the top bolt of the vent duct. It is hard to see and almost impossible to get your hand in there to get the screw started.

No need to backup with a 12 volt battery unless you are worried about losing memory for radio presets and auto window up. To reset the auto window, run it down half way, then run it back up and hold the button up for a few seconds. That will reinitiate the auto window for the drivers window. Also, expect to have to push the power button twice when you disconnect and reconnect the 12 volt. It takes a couple of tries to get everything back up. If you do hook up a battery to save settings, be careful that the loose leads don't short out on anything. You don't want to blow the big fuses. That is why I did not try to save settings. I had no problem when I swapped ours out, and did not try to save anything.

 

OK, the new battery arrived this morning on the FedEx truck, and is now installed. We actually have two prii - the 2008 (his) and 2010 (hers) - and five years on the '08 battery seems pretty good to me.

I used a little masking tape to hold the screw on the vent tube - worked great!

Using some YouTube videos and dorunron's instructions and tips, all went very smoothly. I'm going to try to upload a few pix of the process. . . . Don't know why this text didn't come with the pix ???