1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Need help interpreting codes - Red triangle, check engine, VSC, and exclamation mark

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by David Eades, Jul 23, 2024 at 4:48 PM.

  1. David Eades

    David Eades New Member

    Joined:
    Yesterday
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hello all,

    I am hoping for some insight into my Prius problems I am having. I started the car after a week of it sitting and it lit up with red triangle, engine light, exclamation mark, and VSC light. I turned it to IG ON and there was slight turbulence in the inverter coolant.
    These are the codes it has. I’m also attaching a picture of DrPrius readings.
    P0420
    P1116
    P1121
    P0A80
    P3011
    P3000

    Thank you for your help!
     

    Attached Files:

  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    24,057
    15,674
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Your hybrid battery needs attention (the P0A80, P3011, and P3000).

    The outlet temperature sensor and/or control valve for the engine-coolant thermos under the left front fender need attention (the P1116 and P1121).

    The catalytic converter needs attention (the P0420).
     
    dolj and Brian1954 like this.
  3. David Eades

    David Eades New Member

    Joined:
    Yesterday
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The battery is the culprit for the sudden appearance of all the lights except the check engine light. I’m hoping for some insight on what the problem with the battery is
     
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    9,181
    1,610
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    What you'll generally do here to get those answers is what a mechanic will do You're going to be pulling the trims out of the rear of your car that the rear shade pulls out drops into and what have you those two side panels The carpeted piece that runs across the top of your battery it basically pulls off You've got a few 10 mm screws with chrome hooks on them or Chrome d-rings rather. That all gets removed those panels can be thrown on the floor placed on the hood thrown in the backseat whatever you do with them then you're staring at your battery it's got stickers all over it mentions Panasonic skull and crossbones whatever. You need to know how to remove theorange service plug that needs to be removed. Then you should look at a video and see what it takes to remove the battery You will need 12 mm flat wrenches 12 mm socket 8-in extension 10 and 12 sockets and what have you You need an 8 mm socket and all of that then you should watch a video on how the battery is removed from where you're standing from where we are right now too long to be talking about all that when they're thousands of videos then when you get the battery out if you're smart you put it on a piece of plywood that traverses the tailgate lock all the way to the edge of the hybrid battery case and you can turn the battery sideways on that piece of wood pulled the piece of wood out and your battery is balanced on that piece of wood you using your leverage not your brute strength the muscle this 84 lb battery around once you take the top cover off the battery it might be pretty apparent to a lot of people but the problem is You're going to want to look at the orange bus bar strips of plastic under the black plastic covers you're looking for frosted nuts touch them it feels like there's build up on them look at a new nut look at the old one You see the difference The copper bus bars which were once copper may now all be black or have that copper white blue patina once was copper color. This buildup is not very conducive to transmitting electricity then if you shine your flashlight under the end caps of the modules you can see the silver under tray You're looking for white puddles that are dried up that's essentially battery acid or battery liquid that will make a connection to the frame of the car through that white crap The battery isolation issue means that 211 volt DC HV battery voltage is leaking over to the frame of the car The frame of the car is for your 12 volt negative ground of your regular electrical system I imagine that voltage leaking over from the HV battery would wreak havoc on computers and things in the car hence you get a triangle in this code
     
  5. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2021
    828
    312
    0
    Location:
    South Central PA, USA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Your hybrid battery is worn out and needs to be replaced. That will take care of the P0A80, P3011, and P3000 trouble codes. The other trouble codes should also be addressed after replacing the battery.
     
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    24,057
    15,674
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    The P0A80 is specific. The battery has worn out to the point that the modules that make it up are no longer close enough in capacity to function together as a useful battery. You can tell which two modules include the worst offender(s) from the P3011 code, but usually there won't be very much time bought by just replacing those; the whole battery has been wearing out, so individual module replacements can become a game of whac-a-mole, and biting the bullet and replacing the battery tends to lead to the best outcomes.
     
    Brian1954 and Tombukt2 like this.