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2008 red triangle, vsc, check engine

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Jcrew6311, Apr 29, 2020.

  1. Jcrew6311

    Jcrew6311 Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Mesa,az
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Hi everyone, before I go much further into this, I'll start by saying I want to keep this Prius going as long as possible and accept the reality that a big one time purchase repair, even a few, is still a cheaper option than a new or new used car, so I'm willing to spend if I have to. I've read plenty of posts on here and have an idea of what it might be but will get codes tested tomorrow.

    173k miles, live in Mesa, AZ. About a week ago red triangle, vsc, and check engine light came on. Changed oil (4,800 miles since last), lights still on. Went to Auto zone, checked codes but nothing came up. For no real reason, I decided to reset the codes. They stayed off for about a week then just came back yesterday. Both times they came on was when I was driving at or just above 75mph. The rest of my driving since then has just been 50mph or below.

    I guess what I'm wondering is, if I find a code that reads it's time for a new hybrid battery, should I just go straight to the Toyota dealership and let them fix it up? I'm sure it will be expensive, but surely if repaired by the actual dealership themselves I could expect to drive this thing til say 250-275k? I don't want to let this thing drag out. I have the financial ability to pay for the repair, but I'd like to "sort of" have a peace of mind driving knowing it's been fixed well.

    Please let me know what else you need, or any recommendations. I'm all ears as I need this fixed sooner than later.
     
    #1 Jcrew6311, Apr 29, 2020
  2. Jcrew6311

    Jcrew6311 Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
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    Touring
    Does it normally take this long to get approved??
     
    #2 Jcrew6311, Apr 29, 2020
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    approved for what?
     
    #3 bisco, Apr 29, 2020
    SFO likes this.
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you can't go wrong with a dealer install, and another 10 years or a50k should be expected. but i would shop around, it's not a fixed price. expect to pay anywhere from 2-3k.
     
    #4 bisco, Apr 29, 2020
  5. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    If you plan on keeping the vehicle for any length of time, be sure to check the engine oil often and keep it at the appropriate level.

    Many here use a hybrid compatible OBD2 scanner to diagnose vehicle issues, some prefer a "mini-vci cable" with a copy or techstream (requires a windows device with USB, or an emulator), and others may use a bluetooth/wifi OBD2 adapter and an app like Dr Prius.

    Please have the codes (DTCs) scanned (or buy one for yourself), then post the DTCs here for additional assistance.
     
    #5 SFO, Apr 29, 2020
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    A hybrid battery failure usually has more lights than the triangle and check engine light. I would suspect maybe you just have a less expensive problem on your hands (like a inverter pump failure). To easily check that, open the cap to the inverter pump reservoir (the pink fluid that's slightly to the right center when you pop open the hood). With the car in READY mode, when you look at the fluid in the reservoir, it should have some rapid swirling motion. If there is no movement or it's very slow, then the pump has failed or is failing.

    This repair will cost about $500 at the dealer, or about $100 if you do it yourself. If you get an independent like "phoenixhybridbatteries.com" to do it, it'll probably run about half of what the dealer will charge.
     
    #6 JC91006, Apr 29, 2020
    SFO likes this.
  7. Jcrew6311

    Jcrew6311 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2019
    31
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    Location:
    Mesa,az
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Sorry, I made the post at 1:20am this morning (couldn't sleep, the red triangle kept me up!! Lol) and it didn't even get posted until 5:03pm. Seemed like a super long time to just get approved. This doesn't seem like the type of message board where posts would need to wait for approval, probably not a lot of wild teens visiting the Prius chat.

    Anyway, code was P0A93. I bought an inverter pump and coolant, replaced pump and put new coolant in. Triangle and engine light didn't go away until I disconnected the 12v battery. So, I guess we will see?
     
    #7 Jcrew6311, Apr 29, 2020
    SFO and bisco like this.
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