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2013 Prius - Brake dash lights on! TRACTION + BRAKE + ABS + ((!))

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by TobyTobiTobe, Dec 23, 2016.

  1. TobyTobiTobe

    TobyTobiTobe New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    2013 Prius (2?). 115,000 Miles. (Purchased with roughly 100,000 miles late October 2016).


    Driving (normal) today and noticed the following lights turn on:

    • TRACTION
    • BRAKE
    • ABS
    • ((!))

    All came on at once. All are solid (not blinking).

    Car is still driving great. Brakes work fine, although a little stiff (ABS is off).



    CHECKED SO FAR:

    • Brake Fluid: Level, no apparent leaks
    • Brake Pads: Nothing unusual
    • Fuses: No issues
    • Tire Pressure: No issues
    • 12v Battery: Healthy, disconnect and reconnected
    • OBDii: No codes — tried with my cheap one and also an advanced one from garage-mechanic



    VARIABLES:

    • I drive in San Francisco, the most transmission-friendly city on earth.
    • It rained earlier in the day
    • Last oil change 2 weeks prior at Midas (they also did a brief inspection, which supposedly included brakes. Only thing mentioned was to replace Cabin Air Filter, which I rejected, along with a tire rotation).



    MY SITUATION:

    I'm on a super-tight budget... Used all my savings to buy the car (to Uber/Lyft) and move to SF just 2 months ago — the cost of parking alone has nearly crippled me. I don't trust the Toyota dealership or their prices, and will not go until I've ruled out every possibility with 3rd party mechanics.



    MY STRATEGY (and really my only option):

    To deduce possible issues, in order of cost.


    Any and all help is greatly appreciated, and I'd like to thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read this. It really means a lot to me.


    P.S. I'm posting this on the evening of Friday, Dec 23. If anyone in SF has a(n affordable Prius) mechanic to recommend, let me know...especially if they're open Saturday, Xmas Eve.

    I also ask that we keep the comments/replies strictly relevant so that any Prius owners with the same issue after me can find the fix in a clear, timely manner — I will be following up once I've reached a solution.

    THANKS AGAIN, Happy Holidays!
     

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  2. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    Sounds like a bad wheel bearing,you need techstream software to find out which one
     
  3. TobyTobiTobe

    TobyTobiTobe New Member

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    Hey Tankyuong, thanks for the quick reply. Much appreciated!

    Techstream? Is that Toyota's in-house software? Are they the only ones who have it, or can other mechanics get access?

    What makes it sound like a bad wheel bearing? Here's what I forgot to mention in the original post: I've found dozens of threads with the same issue, but nearly all ended up having different solutions.

    Thanks again,


    Tobias
     
  4. maurices

    maurices Member

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    I had a similar issue this week in my 2013, but I only have 41,000 miles on it. The ICE would not start. Virtually all of the dash lights except the fuel economy center section stayed on. Replaced the 12v battery, good to go!
     
  5. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Welcome to Prius Chat (y)!

    When the lights came on at once, what was the car doing (hit a pothole, drive through standing water, just start out from a light or from a parking space after sitting for awhile, open stretch of road at xx speed,etc.)?

    You say the 12v is healthy, what were the readings off of the multimeter (at rest, under load, after a drive)?

    Checked electrical connections to ensure no loose ones?

    Keep us posted(y)!
     
    amos likes this.
  6. ILuvMyPriusToo

    ILuvMyPriusToo Senior Member

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    Wondering if one of the wheel rotation sensors (part of the ABS system) is not functioning properly.

    If there are warning lights, there will be DTC codes but as was pointed out Techstream software (a mini-VCI cable can be purchased with software from Ebay to connect to the OBDII port) may be needed to read them.

    If you are in SF there are lots of good hybrid mechanics around - Luscious Garage being one of them.

    Good luck and let us know the cause of your car's problem.
     
  7. Sam Spade

    Sam Spade Senior Member

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    Possible I guess but I think there are other things ahead of that on the "likely" list.
    Wheel speed sensors are the most likely cause.

    The good news is that you have "standard" brakes with the ABS off.
    The bad news is that you might need a LOT of brake work on a car with 100K miles.
    An independent shop is a good place to start.
    But given your financial situation be SURE to ask up front what the diagnosis will cost you AND that they won't do anything to it that will require repairs before it's drivable again (hold it hostage to a big repair bill). Get both of those things in writing.
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Do the brakes feel "off", ie: they work, but feel a little different? I know our 2010 has had several instances where the lights came on, coupled with "Check Hybrid Sytem" notice, and a noticeable difference in brake "feel". They work, but seem to have reverted to some default mode, not quite as responsive.

    In your shoes? I would at least get a diagnostic done at a dealership, should not exceed $100. Depending on what codes they find with Techstream, it may be under warranty. Anyway, go from there.
     
  9. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    There's an outstanding indie garage in San Francisco called Luscious Garage. They are the best Prius mechanics in the nation. Their prices are also great. Take it there.
     
  10. amos

    amos Active Member

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    i am having same problem now all lights of brake systems are on , abs, traction control, skid control and emergency brake. lights came on when my car was at the dealer to check the vibration i had last week, @Raytheeagle , my car is at the dealership again, they told me i need to replace the whole ecu over $4000. could this be a minor thing like others suggested here? like cheap obd scanner i probably have ? or speed sensor? , my abs is not working now and i get a beep every time i hit a hump probably coming from traction control. any ideas? need help
     
  11. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Do you have Techstream or know someone who does?

    If you are experiencing drivability issues, there are issues. What codes did the dealer pull to come up with the ECU replacement?

    Keep us posted (y).
     
    amos likes this.
  12. amos

    amos Active Member

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    dealer did not replace anything yet, codes are b1585, c1345, c1451.
    now , the regenerative not working and no abs or traction at all, takes a long time for battery to charge and it seems to be mostly on the 2nd bar.
    i went back to the dealer and left the car there, told them its their fault. i really did not have this issue when i came in to the dealer at saturday morning, im sure they messed with the wire harness that goes to the traction ecu or created some short circuit. they will call toyota HQ tomorow
     
  13. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Well the c1345 is related to the skid ECU, so it sounds reasonable:(. One option is to source off of eBay and replace.

    For c1451, here’s a good read:

    How do you reset ABS light & yellow ((!)) ?

    I’d see about the brake bleeding invalid mode, then reset the battery and see if c1345 returns;).

    Keep us posted (y).
     
  14. amos

    amos Active Member

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    i dot have that scanner . dealer tried several times to reset but no success, other codes came at 2nd attempt of reset, for them it is obvious they didnt do anything wrong, but they could have damaged a wire or the ecu themself. im not letting them convince me its my fault. anyways after reading today of some other members posts, tthis issue could be many other things and not only the ecu.
     
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  15. robomoto

    robomoto Member

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    I had these same 3 lights come on in my car intermittently, causing loss of regen braking. The first few times I turned off the car then back on and it went away for a while. Then it came on all the time.

    I think I solved mine without spending any money. What I did was after reading this thread, I cleaned and tightened all my wheel speed sensors. For the fronts, I unscrewed the sensors from the hub, cleaned it with a rag and put them back in. They weren't dirty, just a bit dusty. For the rears, I didn't have the right pliers to take the electrical connector off from the hubs' speed sensors so I just wiggled the connection a bunch of times because I could sense some play in there, and pushed them back in tight. I think the problem was dirt, freezing water and grime got inside the connector in this freezing weather messed up the proper electrical contact inside of there.

    This seems to have made the lights go away. I've driven it for about 5 hours without the lights after this. If these lights happen to you, you should try this first. Just try to clean your speed sensors and wiggle them back in tight to ensure a proper connection.
     
  16. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    It is easy to get the trouble codes when these three lights come on, which is how you find out why the brake ECU has put those three lights on. It's approximately useless to base anything on just "had the same 3 lights" because those are the only 3 lights the brake ECU has to alert you to problems with, and it uses them for pretty much all one or two hundred reportable issues.

    If you don't have a scan tool, you can still get the trouble codes using nothing more than a short piece of wire, and counting the blinks of the lights. There are a lot of posts here on PriusChat on how to do that.

    If you retrieve the trouble codes and the ones you get are about wheel speed sensors, then that would give you a good reason to at those sensors, as robomoto has done here.

    If you retrieve the codes and the ones you get are about something else, then you would probably skip fiddling with the wheel sensors so you could spend your time checking out whatever issue is really being reported.
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  17. KristiNYinTN

    KristiNYinTN New Member

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    I have a simar issue. The front, driver side sash guard was cracked though and we removed it. I am now on a road trip, drove 700 miles. This am was on a freeway that was under construction and grated, just had rained and all three warning lights came on for the first time. I pulled off the road, turned off And on the car and started driving again and they turned off for they remainder of the trip (about 150 miles). Until about 12 hours later, after the car was off for as long and they came back on. Was it on a curvy road. Drove for about 25 minutes, and finally turned off. What is going on????
     
  18. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    Lights out your good
     
  19. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Post #16 in this thread was made for such questions.
     
  20. vallesj

    vallesj Junior Member

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    Any solution found? Just experienced same behavior twice. After 10 minutes it's gone both times. My Bluetooth OBD2 did not give any code.
    Prius 2013, almost 100k miles.