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Red triangle on bumpy situations (GEN 1)

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by Marcelo J Aliberti, Jul 16, 2023.

  1. Marcelo J Aliberti

    Marcelo J Aliberti New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2022
    14
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    Location:
    Portland, TX US
    Vehicle:
    2002 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I have a Prius Gen 1 2002, which is running very well, BUT on some occasions, the red triangle appears when I hit a hole, some kind of road imperfections, or the height difference entering or exiting a bridge on the highway.

    I could identify two different situations. 1) If the hit is not so big, the red triangle appears, the steering wheel remains normal, and IF NO OTHER HIT OCCURS, everything goes to normal after a couple of minutes and the red triangle disappears. If a second hit occurs BEFORE the red triangle disappears, the steering wheel loose power, so, it is no more electric-assisted, and the red triangle remains forever until you stop the vehicle, take the ignition off and restart it. 2) If the hit is hard enough OR it is a rainy day, the red triangle appears, you lose the steering power, and it will remain in this condition until you take the ignition off and on.

    I read that this failure is caused by a connector or connectors that are below the car. My question is:

    Doses anybody knows FOR SURE what connectors are, where they are and what is the disassembly procedure to reach them? If somebody has pics of the connectors and their location it would be highly appreciated.

    Thank you very much
     
    #1 Marcelo J Aliberti, Jul 16, 2023
  2. Bruce Berquist

    Bruce Berquist Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2021
    87
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    Location:
    South Tamworth, NH
    Vehicle:
    2003 Prius
    Model:
    I
    I can tell you that it is definitely a connection or a steering clockspring issue.
    I also have a Gen1 but haven't had reason to look at those connections and parts, so I am not able to give you more detail.
    Google up Steering power connections and clockspring for 2001 -2003 Prius. I'm sure there is good information there.
     
    #2 Bruce Berquist, Jul 16, 2023
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,845
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    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Clockspring would surprise me. (The clockspring is involved in getting certain circuits, like the airbag, horn, and cruise control, to the rotating steering wheel but, as might not be obvious, it's not involved with anything to do with steering itself.) The connectors to the power steering rack sound more likely.

    The rack is mounted on the top of the suspension subframe that is mounted beneath the body. Both connectors are on the rear-facing side of the rack (IIRC), and they are the devil to get to. Slightly lowering the subframe might help, but that's quite a job. Looking in the repair manual under steering gear replacement will at least show (a superset of) the steps involved.

    Toyota Service Information and Where To Find It | PriusChat
     
    #3 ChapmanF, Jul 16, 2023
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