master warning light "problem"?

Loose battery connection?

 

test the battery just for kicks, are all your recalls completed?

 

Have you checked the engine oil level recently?

 

I bet dollars to donuts you are very low on engine oil, like Patrick suggested. At your mileage, you should be checking and topping off (if necessary) weekly.

 

I am having problems navigating this new chat room, not sure how to add participants to a new conversation. I am sorry for adding to this thread with a new, but hopefully related issue.

Has anyone had - or heard about - problems with warning lights following a hybrid battery replacement?

I had multiple warning lights, including the red triangle and the car silhouette with a light through it, and was told I needed a hybrid battery replacement. Within two weeks of the refurbished battery replacement at the dealership, lights came back on. Dealer installed another refurbished battery - at no charge. Two weeks later it all happened again. This time I had the car towed and was told the tow truck left the car in the wrong place so they needed to start the car and move it and that this wiped all the computer messages. Car appears to be fine, apparently mechanics can no longer diagnose a problem with computer messages. A week later, same lights and I drove directly to the dealership. Now I am told it is not the hybrid battery, but that I need a new transmission. Warning lights were again reset and I am driving my car (week 2) presumably waiting for the transmission to go bad again. I have difficulty conceiving of a transmission problem that goes bad but is OK after resetting the warning light. I suspect it is a problem with the electrical systems, a sensor, or the computer.

2006 Prius 135,000 miles regular maintenance.

Also, does anyone know what the dealer is doing to 'reset' my car so they can drive it, when the warning lights result in a drive train shutdown - if I turn off the car with the suite of warning lights I am getting, I can turn the car on but it will not go into gear, until I tow it into the dealership and they do something..

 

1. You need Mini VCI so that you can be self-sufficient with regards to accessing the diagnostic trouble codes (DTC).
2. In the meantime, ask the service writer to document the DTC logged by your car.
3. One example of a transaxle fault which would cause a powertrain shutdown is a high voltage ground fault caused by a failure in the stator winding insulation of either MG1 or MG2 (the two motor generators within the transaxle.) That will prevent the car from becoming READY until the DTC is cleared. However, if a high voltage ground fault exists, any component in contact with the high voltage potentially could be the cause of the fault. This is why it is important to know what the DTC are.