subzero tempratures and the warning light

Turtle warning light? You probably mean triangle of death with exclamation mark warning light?

If it is the second, check if something stupid is not happening. Like your doors still being open while trying to drive away.

 

The turtle light is telling you that the traction battery cannot deliver much power. If you see no other warning lights appear, then this hopefully is a temporary problem due to the cold weather. It is OK to drive the car as long as you don't stress it via full-throttle acceleration.

You can try driving home, as long as you have a cellphone available to call for towing help in case you get stranded. Suggest you keep your speed moderate as long as the turtle light remains on.

I had the turtle light come on once when driving my 2001 on steep mountain roads heading to Lake Arrowhead (southern CA). However the car continued to function, I just slowed down until the light went off.

Good luck.

 

If it just the Turtle warning light (without the triangle light), you can still drive but your prius will have very low power. The turtle light is just a warning for the battery have very low output due to the very low temperature and/or there are not much power left in the battery. Once your car warm up the turtle light will be gone. (I do have it on my 01 once, I left my car park outside for overnight and it was -23C (-35C with windchill factor). The turtle light stay on after I start my prius and it gone after 10 minute of warm up+driving.)

 

The "turtle" indicator light is unique to the Classic (01-03), something we don't have on the Iconic (04-09).

It just tells you power is limited until warm-up is complete, so don't attempt heavy acceleration. No service is needed.

During my 3 years of 2001 ownership in Minnesota, I never saw the turtle... even on the horribly cold Christmas when the daytime temp only got up to -13°F.
.

 

.. i'm surprised you classic owners haven't changed your battery air intake to the inside... (shrug)

i assume it's impossible to garage the car at any time?

 

That's because it is already that way.

The vent on the outside is in addition to the internal vent near the back window. So, one could block the external one.
.

 

Relax, the turtle just means the traction battery is cold and the car will be pokey until it warms up. Don't try any split second rushes into freeway traffic until you get used to it. The battery will warm itself by pulling air from the passenger compartment. You don't have to tell it anything, it knows to do this. Which dealer is this that wants you to have Chelonaphobia (the fear of turtles)?

 

Also, the one on the outside is a gozouta. The air path is from the intake above the rear seats, ducted to the passenger end of the battery and below it, emerging from the driver end and above.

-Chap

 

I've seen it once on ours, when it was @-15F. Once the car was warmed up we shut it off and started it back up again, and it was gone...never to be seen again.

We also try to make sure that the main battery is as close to full as possible when it's parked in subzero conditions, because sometimes it uses a lot of main battery to start the car. We have just assumed that the car's ECU sensed main battery voltage level was too low after starting at that temperature.

Haven't seen it since...:cheer2:

 

This could be the only time it is a good idea to allow the car to warm the engine before driving and have the heater on to warm your battery during warm-up.

 

I got the turtle light this morning for the first time (2001 with 110,000 miles). It is -13 here in Ohio. I drove the car for about 10 minutes to work and the light went out. I had the car parked outside last night instead of in the garage. I will be looking for the light tonight when I leave work. At least now I know what it is.

 

my "turtle" light went on today, about 45 minutes after I had been driving it. I will be calling the dealership and asking about this matter. I am assuming I will need a new battery, right?

 

That is not a good assumption if you don't have any warning lights on besides the turtle. The turtle light usually means that the battery was overheated, too cold, or deeply discharged, and you need to slow down. This can happen if you are climbing a steep hill. Once the turtle light goes off, you can resume normal driving.