Red Triangle of Death and Engine not starting, but no OBDII error code.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Straha, Sep 9, 2025 at 6:27 PM.

  1. Straha

    Straha Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2021
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    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I have a 2008 Prius, about 190k miles on it. No warnings ahead of time and nothing that made me concerned. One day I hopped in and the car just wasn't working. Inverter pump was replaced about two years ago, and I've kept it in pretty good condition.

    My car's battery is activating but the engine will not go on (I can't shift out of park), and the Red Triangle of Death is a glow. Googling/Prius forums suggested that this could be a bunch of things with the common three being a weak 12V battery, a busted inverter, or the High Voltage battery being kaput.

    I tried to jump start the car, no luck. Most advice then said scan to get the error code and then clear it to start the car. I used an old OBDII reader I borrowed, got no codes. Thought it was because it was out of date so I bought a new OBDII reader (the Ancel AD310) but still get no joy.

    Anyone have advice?
     
    #1 Straha, Sep 9, 2025 at 6:27 PM
  2. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
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    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    The Ancel AD310 is a basic OBDII reader that will read a couple of ECUs and is inadequate for a Prius. A Gen II Prius has 14 to 16 ECUs, and you need to be able to read all of them to get an idea of what's wrong.

    This thread, Gen2 OBD2 app review, provides a review of a few on the market and should inform a decision on what is suitable for the Prius. Read the first post and then skip forward to post #37 for a summary.
     
    #2 dolj, Sep 10, 2025 at 6:05 AM
    Brian1954 likes this.
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