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  1. dbailey

    dbailey Junior Member

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    Friends - slowing down on a fairly steep downhill last night to pull into our neighborhood, the parking brake, (!), ABS, and VSC lights came on and remained on. No noticeable change in braking and no other noises. I left it in the driveway today, and I tried to read the codes by jumping pins 4 and 13. But the ABS, (!), and VSC lights flash so fast and apparently so randomly that I can’t decipher how to read them, if the flashes are codes. I also looked at the front brake pads (through the hubcap) and they look no existant, so I’m picking up pads on my way home, too. Could these lights come on just because it needs pads? And how likely does it need rear shoes, and/or drums and rotors? This is a 2007 with 248k miles. I have almost the whole vehicle history on Toyota’s website and I see nothing on there about brakes ever. In addition, it sounds like the brake actuator is cycling about every 8 seconds at idle, and even when the car is off but key fob is nearby.
     
  2. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Doubtful brake pads alone will solve the problem. I would certainly check the brake fluid level. Frequent cycling of the brake actuator pump is not great. As critical as brakes are, I would recommend a Toyota diagnostic.

    But if you want to find the codes yourself, a starting point is a bluetooth obd2 reader and an app like Torque (android only), Dr Prius, Car Scanner, etc.

     
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    It can seem pretty cacophonous (cacophotous?) when they are blinking out their separate codes all at the same time. You have to force yourself to focus on just one at a time, until you've jotted down all the codes that one is blinking (you'll know when the one you jotted first comes around again), then repeat that for the next, and the next.
     
  4. dbailey

    dbailey Junior Member

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    Location:
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    2007 Prius
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    II
    thank you!! That was what I needed. here are the codes:
    (!) = 41, 57, 69
    ABS = 42
    VSC = 45
     
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Good work, Have you picked your favorite way to access the repair manual (more info)?

    With a PDF version, I'll usually do a search for the blink code, with a slash in front, like /41 (it works because the blink codes usually correspond to some full DTC that a scan tool would show you, something like C1234, and they are listed in the manual in a form like C1234/41, so that search gets you right there. I just made up C1234 right now.)

    The search will take you into the middle of some table of codes, and it is important to back up to the top of the table to see if you landed in the one for ABS, VSC, or ECB ( ((!)) ), because sometimes they overlap and what the 'same' code means in the wrong table isn't what you need.

    You also sometimes find a blink code that just isn't listed in the proper table; the blink codes don't seem to get as much love from the editors as the full DTCs do. But ideally you'll find some or all of yours.