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Help! How bad are all these warning lights?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Cdgreg, Jul 15, 2016.

  1. Cdgreg

    Cdgreg Member

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    Started my '07 this morning and after about 10 feet of driving forward all these lights came on. It also said PROBLEM across the digital AC/Consumption display before Problem disappeared and that right box showed up in the top left corner. The giant red ! triangle is solid, NOT flashing.

    May not be related at all, but last night when I started my car to come home from work the gas pedal felt non-responsive as if it was trying to use battery power but it wasn't there. I turned the car off, back on, let it idle for 30 seconds before driving and I drove home without a problem.

    I do all recommended maintenance and have the car serviced routinely every 5,000 miles. Earliest the dealership said they can troubleshoot is Tuesday.

    Any ideas what I am in for, and the estimated cost to fix?

    Thanks!

    1.JPG 2.JPG
     
    #1 Cdgreg, Jul 15, 2016
  2. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    1) How old is the 12v battery?
    2) What does this mean, "gas pedal felt non-responsive as if it was trying to use battery power but it wasn't there."? Have you felt this before?
     
    #2 kenoarto, Jul 15, 2016
  3. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    #3 wjtracy, Jul 15, 2016
  4. Cdgreg

    Cdgreg Member

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    1. I have had the car for 130,000 and never replaced the 12v, maybe original.
    2. You know how when you press the pedal and it is battery power only and it takes a second to slingshot the car forward. It felt like I pressed the pedal, it was battery only, but the slingshot effect only occurred at like 5% of the normal slingshot power. Almost felt like it "slipped" but I thought maybe I went R>D too fast backing out of my parking spot and then driving forward. Never felt it before.

    I will check that out, I am in NY.

    Thanks x2
     
    #4 Cdgreg, Jul 15, 2016
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2016
  5. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    NY you probably should have 10-yr 150k warranty, assuming car was orig reg in a CARB state. So you are probably OK for any major prob.

    ...could be 12v
     
    #5 wjtracy, Jul 15, 2016
  6. aaroncv3

    aaroncv3 Member

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    I had the red triangle, "Problem" on the display, only electric propulsion (no ICE) once. Also a red triangle while in Park.

    I believe a new 12V accessory caused it. I recently bought a Qualcomm-certified QuickCharge 3.0 phone charger by Aukey from Amazon.

    QC 3.0 draws a variable amount of power (at variable voltages). Both times (and not since elimination) I got the red triangle, the phone was connected and charging.
     
    #6 aaroncv3, Jul 15, 2016
  7. Cdgreg

    Cdgreg Member

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    I haven't youtubed to see how easy of a 12v battery swap this is, but if you were me, would you swap the 12v and see if that fixes it, or just bring her in to be checked out in the current state?
     
    #7 Cdgreg, Jul 15, 2016
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  8. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Well, there is a 12v diagnostic you can search here...but yes at that batt age I would probably just make the replacement call. we used to like the Optima Yellow Top Prius replacement, but not sure if it is quite so poplar now. OEM would be OK. They can last a long time but any accidental discharge would weaken it.
     
    #8 wjtracy, Jul 15, 2016
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  9. aaroncv3

    aaroncv3 Member

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    #9 aaroncv3, Jul 15, 2016
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  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    My vote would be for getting the diagnostic trouble codes read as step number 1, and letting the codes guide what to do next.

    Playing with the battery as step 1 will have a side effect you may or may not want: the codes telling you what's wrong with your car will be lost. If there is a hard fault and they come back right away, you don't lose much time from that. If they were the kind that only set based on intermittent detection over several drive cycles, then you could set back the solution of the problem by days or weeks. (No, that doesn't necessarily mean the problem is gone during that time, whatever it may be.)

    -Chap
     
    #10 ChapmanF, Jul 15, 2016
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  11. aaroncv3

    aaroncv3 Member

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    I don't believe using the built-in diagnostic screen to check 12V clears any codes whatsoever, actually. Removing the 12V may clear codes, however.

    Will someone confirm this?
     
    #11 aaroncv3, Jul 15, 2016
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  12. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    You claim to have done all maintenance, but how long do you think a 12v battery should last...forever? You need a new battery fer damned sure.
     
    #12 kenoarto, Jul 15, 2016
  13. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Right, just measuring the voltage non-invasively won't clear any codes.

    It's just that what usually happens next is a post "ok, I saw xx.x volts" and somebody else posts "OMG xx.x replace your battery now!!!1" and the original poster then does that, ending up with a lighter wallet and a trail gone cold to finding the problem the codes were about.

    As a person who inadvertently deep-discharged my Gen 1 battery more times than I like to recall, I'll certainly concede it gets hard to start the car when the voltage drops below about 8 V during power-up, but even in those extreme cases, I can't say I've seen the car throw codes that don't mean what the codes mean. So as long as your battery is adequate to power up the car to read codes, if it were my car, I would read them, and assume they mean what they mean.

    -Chap
     
    #13 ChapmanF, Jul 16, 2016
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  14. aaroncv3

    aaroncv3 Member

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    I see. The thread I linked says the range should be between 12.0 and 12.8, but 11.9 doesn't mean I need a new 12V, necessarily. There are other factors in the charge. Further, don't ignore the diagnostic codes. check those first, before you risk losing them.

    That makes good sense.
     
    #14 aaroncv3, Jul 16, 2016
  15. Cdgreg

    Cdgreg Member

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    Thanks for the feedback everyone, I appreciate it.

    Good point, I had assumed that Toyota was checking my battery every 5,000 miles when I did the oil change/tire rotation through the multi point inspection and if it had to be replaced they would have told me. If my assumption is incorrect, then I have learned my lesson on that!
     
    #15 Cdgreg, Jul 16, 2016
  16. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I would say that assumption is incorrect. However, your car's problems likely extend beyond a weak 12V battery.

    It is hard to say what is the problem, and the cost of repair without knowing what the logged DTC are. If you wish to DIY you could get Mini VCI.
     
    #16 Patrick Wong, Jul 16, 2016
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  17. Cdgreg

    Cdgreg Member

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    For anyone curious:

    It turns out the issue is one of the cells within the hybrid battery failed. Dealership quoted me about $3,100 to replace the hybrid battery. When I asked, they gave me Toyota headquarter's number who I then contacted and requested goodwill assistance. Within an hour Toyota called me back and lowered the total cost of the job from $3,100 to $2,800 and offered me $2,000 in goodwill credit bringing my total cost to about $812. I thanked them profusely and moved ahead with the repair. As if this were not enough, they even thanked me repeatedly for being a loyal customer and said numerous times how much they appreciate us as buyers.

    If anyone is curious on the goodwill support, I have had my '07 for about 4 years, and bought it used with 30,000 from a Toyota dealership and now have 163,000 on it. We bought a Prius V new 2 years ago and traded it in for a used Rav4. I have had all service/maintenance work done at the dealership. It was actually sort of spooky, they were able to tell me my full Toyota past, including all 3 vehicles straight from the cell phone # I called from.

    Couldn't be more impressed with Toyota, I will definitely be a customer for life.
     
    #17 Cdgreg, Jul 18, 2016
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  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    great news, congrats! and thanks for getting back to us.(y) if you have a chance, please post this in the 'warranty assistance' thread, by wj tracy.
     
    #18 bisco, Jul 18, 2016
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  19. Cdgreg

    Cdgreg Member

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    Done, thanks! I have learned from this thread to not assume the dealership is doing a thorough inspection of all routinely replaceable parts at each oil change and to more closely monitor my own maintenance intervals. I'll be replacing the 12v that has 130,000+ miles on it once this is all taken care of and creating a more detailed maintenance schedule. Hopefully I can take this old gal to 300k now.
     
    #19 Cdgreg, Jul 18, 2016
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  20. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Great...I mistakenly thought the vehicle was at 130000 miles so that's why I did not mention asking for GW assist...glad you did...hope they have my 84 Camry in the system when the time comes, and my 83 Cressida wagon.
     
    #20 wjtracy, Jul 18, 2016
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