URGENT: Stranded with ! PS Battery Engine All on 2001 Prius

I'm stranded in snowy UT (from CA) we took our Prius out here and don't know what to do. 2 (150 miles) hours into our road trip on the screen the PS, Main Battery Symbol, and red car ! displays came up, and on the dashboard the red ! triangle and check engine lights went on. Within a minute it slowed down and wouldn't go. After 5 minutes off we turned the car on again and while all the warning lights were able to drive it to the Dealership 5 miles away, and it was off for about 15 minutes before they ran diagnostics. When they turned it on, all the warning lights were off and he couldn't detect any problems. We drove it another 500 miles (8 hours) before the warning lights went on again, and the car did the same slow/stop as before. We waited 10 minutes, the lights didn't shut off, but we were 15 miles from my parents' so we drove it home.

It doesn't sound like the hybrid battery is dead, when we stopped at lights the engine would switch to hybrid battery like normal (silent). We changed the oil 2 days before this happened, and replaced the serpentine belt 2 weeks before (to prepare for the trip). We're practically snowed in so I don't want to drive it from dealership to different shops without getting killed, I'm just wondering if anyone had experienced this before and what they did. I'd read in a couple forums this had happened right after people changed the oil, someone else said it was the electric pump. If it's just a computer problem I'd rather drive it the 650 miles home to SoCal because there are hybrid mechanic specialists everywhere and if it is the hybrid battery we could get it cheaper at home than in Utah, where hardly anyone owns a prius and there are no hybrid mechanics.

 

p.s. it has 110K miles on it

 

Thank you! For the last few months the blue thermometer coolant light would turn on when I first started the prius, and then turn off after 2-3 minutes. I took it into the mechanic who said that's normal and suggested I replace the serpentine belt. But he wasn't a prius specialist is it normal for that blue light to be on? This might not have anything to do with it, it's just something I remembered now.

 

Very helpful, thank you! Since I drove it 500 miles after the first time my display lit up like a christmas tree, I'm worried I already fried the inverter, but I'm going out there now.

 

I popped the hood and when I turned it on the red fluid didn't move at all as I looked at it with the cap off. It looked like it was in between low and full. I put a skrewdriver on the inverter pump and it DID vibrate, but not very strongly. How much should the red fluid be sloshing? And is it possible for the fluid not to move while the pump is vibrating?

I also checked the oil level and it was right on the full dot (not significantly above it, but certainly not below).

 

OK, just came back from checking again. I honestly can't tell (it's dark) about the red fluid levels, it's possible it moved and the levels are higher in the rear but I can't say conclusively. Is it a dramatic difference between off and on? I DO know that the inverter pump is vibrating though. Also, all the display lights except the check engine light turned OFF and stayed off this time I turned the key. This is the 4th time I've turned it on, and I've read on other posts that 4th time's a charm. But yesterday all the lights turned off for 500 miles, this time the check engine is still on. But the display screen is normal, no triangle of death.

It sounds like if the oil was that high the overfilled oil certainly needs to be cleaned/fixed, right?

Lastly, do you know what things would look/sound like if either the hybrid or 12V batteries were dead or dying?

Thank you for your help everyone, I didn't sleep at all last night and now I'm starting to feel hopeful I'll make it back alive.

 

Wow, thanks--don't worry about the pic though I think I found one.

On this trip it was 37 mpgs for 500 miles. I was going to a higher altitude (LA to SLC), but I think I remember getting better. I usually get 40-41 highway, 38-39 in town.

By hybrid battery monitor, is that something you can see on the display screen? I'll get a voltometer for the 12V.

By misfire, do you mean the same things I'm reporting (triangle of death, PS, Battery light, engine light) happened on yours before you drained and cleaned it?

 

It's great, thanks! Dark here too.