Gen 2 Prius all dash lights turned on while driving then car shut off

Hey guys, I’m recently a new 2009 Prius owner and seen all the common issues on the Prius and what it will bring, from the speedometer not coming on while driving to the traction light kicking on while driving 60+ mph because of different tire sizes and now I’m enduring this problem.


I was driving on the highway when I got a check engine light with a “problem” prompt onto the center dash followed by a car icon with a red exclamation mark, then the lights on the dash (even the red triangle was lit) turned on and stayed on, followed by a continuous beep sound that would never turn off. The Prius kept driving for a quarter-mile until the car would kick itself into neutral, at first I managed to put it back in to drive and kept driving, short period later The car did not want to accelerate and kick the self back to neutral until I had to forcibly pull over. The dash lights would still be on but wouldn’t let me turn the vehicle on, eventually all the power was cut off but I press the yellow button on top of the battery located in the rear and everything turned back on. It wouldn’t be long until It would repeat the same process. What couldy be causing this issue anybody? I greatly appreciate it

 

Thank you for this info! I will troubleshoot and diagnose the issue and will update you tomorrow or sometime this week to share my discovery!

 

Yes here is some screen shots from a video I took of what the dash was doing when driving

 

I’m not sure what you’re asking brotha, but I can give you new details. This morning I tried to diagnose it with a obdII scanner, no codes pop up because it doesn’t give me time to scan, the car makes a click once in the rear where the battery is located an all the power turns off. I’m assuming the yellow button/box acts like a breaker and turns everything off. Could it be because of a weak battery?

 

I understood your sentence now! So it appears to me that the button was installed by the previous owner, looking at other battery installation videos for Prius’s. None show the box with a yellow button on top.

More details on the Prius, I reconnected the battery after 3 days and the Prius started right up! (One note, the AC was getting warm when I had the first incident of all the lights on the dash lit and then the car would kick itself to neutral then power would shut off) I decided to test drive it after checking all the fuses, I don’t know where the AM 2 fuse is located but I check all the fuses inside the cabin of the car. Car drove fine but the only issues I had was the tpms light was flashing due to me installing new tires and AC got warm over time and I drove it home.

 

I’m guessing the previous owner did the switch on it. If I had more info, I would definitely share with you! I had to change out my old battery for a refurbished one, sadly it was the bigger terminal battery so they guy changed the terminal size and made it work. I’ve always wondered, I should of bought an original one, but they’re close to $300 which is outrageous!

So update on the car, I finally got a code out of the car. I was driving it today, all the lights came on the dash and AC got warm. As soon as I got home, I plugged the scanner and read P0A93. I’m assuming it’s the inverter pump? I would love to hear from ya!

 

Where did the switch come from?? And should I delete it or keep it? Also, I replied to the other guy and said that I drove the car today, lights on the dash came on and AC got warm. Plugged the scanner and P0A93 code came on. Inverter pump maybe?

 

It looked like it was replaced from previous owner, there was an old inverter pump in the hatch and the box had a “Made in china” stamp and no visible Toyota markings, so what I think happened is it failed due to installing a cheap part like you said and possible failed again. I will buy one from Toyota and will update to see if it fixes the issue!

 

Replaced the inverter pump and no issues! That was definitely the issue, thank you prius forums!!! Also, I tried fixing the cluster by adding a bigger capacitor, I took the dashboard apart and it still doesn’t work. It pops up sometimes when I do the light off lights on and pressing the brake method but I would love to have it working at all times. Any recommendations? Also, if I buy a new one from Toyota, will the mileage display a different number or do I have to program it to the car? I seen someone say you had to re-program a new cluster for the Prius if replaced but haven’t seen any other on that topic.

 

No way $1k for that work? Wow that’s a hefty price, does it shut off after getting the pump replaced?