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2013 Prius V hybrid system warning light and airbag light came on after hitting a pot pothole

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Raleighguy, Apr 16, 2019.

  1. Raleighguy

    Raleighguy New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius v wagon
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    V
    Yesterday my wife's 2013 Prius V hybrid system warning light and airbag light came on immediately after hitting a pothole. The same two lights came on about two months ago. At the time my wife mentioned that she thinks she may have hit a pothole. So now I'm really thinking the pothole could be the cause. When this occurred two months ago, I took the car to a local Toyota dealer (Leith Toyota) but they couldn't find the problem. The lights were off when I left the dealer. I can't remember if the dealer turned off the lights or if the lights turned off by them self. Anybody have an idea as to what may be causing this problem? Thanks.
     
  2. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Its helpful to know what symptoms occurred in addition to the lights. Did it stall? Did it lose power? Etc. Probably a bad connection somewhere is dropping out a circuit or two. If the trouble lights are on there should be trouble codes to read which might focus the search. Do not clear the codes with a reader or disconnect the 12v battery to cause the codes to clear before someone with the right tool can scan the system. Even then, sometimes it takes a real diagnostic expert that can follow schematics and is knowledgeable enough to probe and isolate systems in order to find an occasional problem which may not still be active. There are a few ace troubleshooting techs but they may not be at your dealer or the tech you got may have quickly looked and cleared the codes thinking it was an one time random event. Again, the trouble codes are a big clue and sometimes a visual inspection by the right guy leads to a solution.
     
  3. Raleighguy

    Raleighguy New Member

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    No symptoms. The car continues to drive normally. And everything sounds normal. She just hit a pothole, the car beeped and the hybrid system warning light and airbag light came on simultaneously.
     
  4. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    Intermittents are the most difficult to diagnose.
     
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  5. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    More than likely the problem will be back.
     
  6. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    We had an intermittent VSC and a couple of other random indicators that I traced to road salt/water intrusion into a wheel speed sensor connector. Cleaned up, dielectric lubed, and reinstalled, it hasn’t made a squawk since.