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HELP! The dreaded Red Triangle of Death!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by BellBoy, Sep 20, 2015.

  1. BellBoy

    BellBoy Member

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    Driving down the road just now and I get the red triangle! Got the check engine light and also saw the red circle with ! and VSC.

    I got off the highway and started taking side streets home as I wasn't too far. I started going up a hill and the ABS light came on with a high pitched tone. Halfway up the hill I lose power steering and brakes (assuming that I lost ignition power).

    I also got the car with ! In the middle of it that I now know means take it to the dealer immediately.

    Any idea from those lights on what might be happening? Thanks.
     
    #1 BellBoy, Sep 20, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2015
  2. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    How many miles on her?
    You want to make sure the 12v batt is OK. if so, maybe the HV batt is bad but the symptoms sounds like it maybe something else such as the inverter. You need to get the failure codes to diagnose.
     
    #2 wjtracy, Sep 20, 2015
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    There weren't many details in your post for a really good educated guess. I would say if you have under 150k miles, most hybrid related repairs would be done at no charge from the dealer.
     
    #3 JC91006, Sep 20, 2015
  4. BellBoy

    BellBoy Member

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    Yeah, sorry but my tow showed up and I wanted to get the post up.

    106k miles. She started up when the tow guy wanted to move her-I didn't think it would. He thought it might have been a broken serpentine belt, but it was intact. He was able to drive her up on the flatbed.
     
    #4 BellBoy, Sep 20, 2015
  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    My idea is that the inverter coolant pump failed, the DC/DC converter in the inverter overheated and the voltage on the 12V bus sagged. That caused the various warning lights to appear.

    After the car had been parked for a while, the inverter cooled down so that when the tow truck driver tried to make the car READY, it was able to start and be driven onto the flatbed.
     
    #5 Patrick Wong, Sep 20, 2015
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the tow guy made a misdiagnosis? now i've heard everything.:mad:
     
    #6 bisco, Sep 20, 2015
  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    So if you haven't done your pump recall, that could be your cause of failure
     
    #7 JC91006, Sep 20, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2015
  8. BellBoy

    BellBoy Member

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    So I got a prelim diagnosis this morning. The 12v battery needs to be replaced.

    The codes came back with the errors in the traction system's computer (about $2k to replace). He's going to replace the battery, reset the system, drive her for a bit and retest for those codes. He said sometimes the 12v system can cause irroneous codes to be generated.

    Fingers crossed it's only the battery. He also mentioned that there could be additional issues with the ABS system that might show up after the computer is replaced (if needed). Gulp.
     
    #8 BellBoy, Sep 21, 2015
  9. IMkenNY

    IMkenNY Im just being nosy

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    I 2nd Patricks theory.

    Even if the inverter pump had been replaced through recall we are starting to see some of those replacements fail as well. (some may be due to dishonest shops never replacing the original pump)
     
    #9 IMkenNY, Sep 21, 2015
  10. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    ...keep in mind the CARB warranty covers some major items for 10-yrs from first date of purchase (in a CARB state) and up to 150k miles. So you are under 150k miles but you are getting close to 10-yrs depending on orig purchase date.
     
    #10 wjtracy, Sep 21, 2015
  11. BellBoy

    BellBoy Member

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    Not familiar with CARB. My 10-year anniversary is in March '16.

    So far so good with the 12v battery change. The tech drove it for about 15 miles and it didn't recur, but they said there's a chance it could happen again if the battery doesn't fully fix the problem. They found a few other things, one of which I decided to have them fix: the drive belt was cracked. I had them replace it.

    Other things: she's burning a bit of oil as I still have a couple of thousand miles before my next oil change and it was about a quart low. Also the struts and strut towers should probably be replaced soon to avoid issues later. They're making noise on turns and bumps and I've noticed that the ride is rougher recently. That might be close to $1500. Driving in LA probably caused it as the potholes are pretty bad here.

    Other than that I think I dodged a bullet by not having to replace a computer. I got out for under $500. I know I could have avoided the dealer cost for the battery by replacing it myself, but given the circumstances of having to tow it to the dealer I think I did ok. Also helps to have a friend as a service advisor at the dealer. ;)
     
    #11 BellBoy, Sep 23, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2015
  12. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Did you verify the inverter coolant pump is working?
     
    #12 JimN, Sep 23, 2015
  13. BellBoy

    BellBoy Member

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    Didn't know to ask. They ran the codes after resetting the system and test driving it and no problem codes showed up.
     
    #13 BellBoy, Sep 24, 2015
  14. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Jim- That's a pretty easy visual right? You just have to look at it.
     
    #14 wjtracy, Sep 24, 2015
  15. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Power the car up & look for turbulence in the tank. If there isn't any you'll be able to drive until the inverter gets too hot and the computers shut the car down. If you see ripples then you are good to go.
     
    #15 JimN, Sep 24, 2015
    wjtracy likes this.
  16. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    But don’t drive for that long. There is small chance that something breaks before computer turns it off.
     
    #16 valde3, Sep 25, 2015
  17. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    I would not drive a car with a failed coolant pump but in Finland you'd be able to drive further than you will in Virginia, especially in the winter.
     
    #17 JimN, Sep 26, 2015
  18. BellBoy

    BellBoy Member

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    So far nothing has happened, so it looks like it might have only just been the 12v system.
     
    #18 BellBoy, Sep 29, 2015
  19. BellBoy

    BellBoy Member

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    Well...guess one of the issues turned out to be the inverter pump after all. Driving yesterday and the RTOD and check engine pop up again. I turn around and make it back home.

    I was able to make the 4-5 mile drive to the dealer this morning. Just heard from the dealer and it's the pump. Gonna hit me for about $500. Ugh. Hope this is the end of it for awhile.
     
    #19 BellBoy, Oct 22, 2015
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