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Check Hybrid System warning

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by urbanmojo, Oct 19, 2015.

  1. urbanmojo

    urbanmojo New Member

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    Hi:

    We bought a used Toyota Prius 2012 with about 35,000 km in early August 2015. We shipped it overseas, and we just tried to start it on October 18th. It gives the "Check Hybrid System" error when we try to start it. All the lights and instruments work o.k.

    I've read this car be a problem if the car is parked a long time, which it was as it was mostly in a shipping container. The country where it is now (Lebanon) has Toyotas and Toyota dealers but they don't sell hybrids, so I'm worried that a) the warranty is not valid and b) they don't have the equipment to recharge it.

    Any ideas of what we can do before calling the local dealer?
     
    #1 urbanmojo, Oct 19, 2015
  2. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    I assume that the vehicle was driven by its own means into the container?
     
    #2 mrbigh, Oct 19, 2015
  3. urbanmojo

    urbanmojo New Member

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    Not sure, the shipping company took care of that. I am trying to get more information from them...
     
    #3 urbanmojo, Oct 19, 2015
  4. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    I assume that you took an insurance policy for the shipped contents .....
     
    #4 mrbigh, Oct 19, 2015
  5. urbanmojo

    urbanmojo New Member

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    Yes. What likely happened?
     
    #5 urbanmojo, Oct 19, 2015
  6. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    The Check Hybrid System error is just about the most generic error message the Prius can give, it can be caused by even an unexpected ground detected.

    Short of getting an OBDII code reader and pulling the error codes, it's all guess work.

    If it's a minor problem, you should be able to clear the error message by cycling the Prius through several Power On/Off attempts (maybe up to 10). So press brake pedal, press Power button if button LED goes to green, if error message appears, take foot off brake pedal, press Start again to shut down. Repeat.
     
    #6 xliderider, Oct 19, 2015
  7. urbanmojo

    urbanmojo New Member

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    OK, going to try that. If that doesn't work, should I try jump starting the 12V, even though the electrical seems to be working? (could be weak?)
     
    #7 urbanmojo, Oct 19, 2015
  8. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Do you have a voltmeter? If you do, take a reading of the 12v auxiliary battery at the terminals with everything off.

    If you decide to try to jump it, make sure you get the polarity right when hooking up the donor battery. Also, the donor car should not be running, it's not necessary.
     
    #8 xliderider, Oct 19, 2015
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