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Yellow break light, Master system light, malfunction light, and Hybrid system light on

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by jbp18, Oct 30, 2015.

  1. jbp18

    jbp18 New Member

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    I'm just going to start off saying I know next to nothing about cars, so sorry if I make this difficult.
    OK. I have a 2006 prius I got used and in good condition about 3-4 years ago. I never had any problems until a cop pulled me over and it turned out my parents had decided not to notify me they hadn't renewed my registration and my insurance they've been paying had ran out. I've since learned my lesson on keeping up with the dates.

    I "luckily" got to go home with just some tickets. It sat about 2-3 months until I could get the money to line everything out. I ran it at least once a week but apparently that wasn't enough? Now that everything's up to date I started driving it and the yellow circle with the (!) in it is on. The Master system light, the check malfunction light, and the hybrid system light is on.

    It seems like it applies the brake when I'm driving constantly now. It stalls when I first try to speed up. And the fan? on the passenger side of the back seat is always running for some reason. I tested my battery volt and it's at 9.2.

    I took it to an autoshop today in town. I live in WV in the backwoods. :| And they wouldn't hook it up to check for codes and referred me to a dealer about 30 min. away... I've never had any problems with this car before. :(

    I'm supposed to be taking a 6-10 hour trip to family soon, so I'm really hoping I can get this fixed and without going bankrupt because I'm 20 working a crappy minimum wage in a mostly failing attempt to survive our god awful economy. I'm doomed if the car craps out on me.
    Any advice or anything?
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Your 12v battery needs to be changed. Change that first and see if the car improves. The reading around 9volts will cause all kinds of problems.

    The battery at a dealer will be around $200 if you install it yourself, add $100 if they install it
     
  3. jbp18

    jbp18 New Member

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    I thought that might be the case. I'm hoping it is at least. Is there anywhere I could get it for cheaper?
     
  4. hchu1

    hchu1 Active Member

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  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1. Too late now, but if you had known the car would sit for 3 months without being used, it would have been best to disconnect the 12V battery. Running the car once a week, probably for 30 minutes or less, is insufficient. You would have had to leave the car READY for several hours each time.
    2. Since the 12V battery is obviously dead, start by replacing that. During the process of replacing the battery, any existing diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) will be erased.
    3. Expect that your car has some other problem besides the dead battery, and get ready to spend more money on repairs.
    4. If you want to avoid the local Toyota dealer, get Mini VCI so that you can retrieve the DTC to see what is wrong with your car, assuming that problems remain after you've replaced the 12V battery.

    Good luck.
     
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    as a temporary measure, you can try and charge up the 12v to a higher voltage, then see what other problems still occur. It sounds like your HV battery may be having issues as well, and that can cost you $3000+ for new and around $1500 for remanufactured (Dorman)
     
  7. jbp18

    jbp18 New Member

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    I did actually for a little while, but I live in an apartment complex on the street where it's not safe enough to leave out for long and I work too much to take it to family and let it sit to charge anytime soon. Oh great. If that's it then I'm just plain screwed. :( I'm not even going to bother hoping I can do that.
     
  8. jbp18

    jbp18 New Member

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    Thanks a lot! How long have you been using it? And it is it easy enough to install? I have an uncle who's not exactly a mechanic but does a lot of work on his cars and boats who told me he'd do it if he could.
     
  9. jbp18

    jbp18 New Member

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    Oh man. I should've looked into this. :( But thanks good to know.
     
  10. strawbrad

    strawbrad http://minnesotahybridbatteries.com

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    As others have said get a Mini VCI cable, They are less than $25 on Ebay or Amazon. Buying from a US based seller will cost a couple of bucks more but save you a ton of shipping time.

    The fan running all the time means your high voltage, traction, hybrid, (the big expensive one) battery is overheating. Overheating is caused by one or more failed battery module.

    The cheap solution is to learn how to replace the battery module yourself. The trick is to not kill yourself in the process.

    Brad
     
  11. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Your problems aren't a result of the traffic stop & the car sitting for 2-3 months. It sounds like your traction battery is failing. If you are in a CARB state the warranty is 10 years/150000 miles. car-part.com shows 2 used batteries in White-Hall, WV. The least expensive one is $650.
     
  12. jbp18

    jbp18 New Member

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    Alright. I'll try that.

    Oh I'm not touching it lol, but my uncle is pretty good with cars. He's done a lot of work and I'm hoping to get him to do this. The fan didn't come on until I hit a massive pot hole. Gotta love WV. >:C
     
  13. jbp18

    jbp18 New Member

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    I'm honestly not sure. I'll look into it though. Thank you.
     
  14. strawbrad

    strawbrad http://minnesotahybridbatteries.com

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    The car sitting for 2 to 3 months is exactly what killed the traction battery. Or you could call it the last straw that broke the camels back. When battery cells degrade and lose capacity they also develop high rates of self discharge. Daily driving can prop up cells that are self discharging. Take that crutch away and the bad cell discharges to the point of setting off a code. JC91006 managed to get his battery replaced under warranty by letting his car sit unused.

    Brad
     
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the 12 volt battery is easy to replace. you can get one at an auto parts store, batteries plus store, or online for optima. did your parents transport any pets? it could be that your cooling fan is just dirty. all the best!(y)
     
  16. jbp18

    jbp18 New Member

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    I wasn't having any fan problems until I hit a big dirt pothole-ish thing on my street. Pretty normal occurrence in boondocks WV, so I'm reaaalllllyyyy hoping it's just something like that. And I have a yorkie who rides with me a lot plus sometimes my parent's pitt, but I don't see them getting it dirty. I can only hope I guess. Thanks!
     
  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    The thing I don't like about higher mileage Prius cars are the HV battery failures and the oil burning (could be engine problems later) which causes Catalytic Converter failures. And as you move higher up in the mileage department, you are then facing transaxle failures.

    Many people think the prius can go 200k - 300k without problems, I think that's a number that's very optimistic. Many will start facing really expensive problems when they get to that high of mileage and you'll have to think really hard before fixing the (expensive) problems.....cause one comes right after another.

    I luckily had my HV battery replaced under warranty at 149k but my catalytic converter just gave out at 153k, which is out of warranty. I have another 05 Prius that needed a transaxle at 150k. All are fairly expensive to replace........and all under 200k miles. So think carefully before you start tackling expensive problems at higher mileage, it may just be the start of an expensive venture with the prius.
     
  18. jbp18

    jbp18 New Member

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    That could be the case then as I'm at 179,000 miles. I don't know what else to do though. It could be expensive to fix it, but there's no way I could afford another car and I really need my car.
     
  19. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    There are lots of tutorials on here that can show you how to repair most parts in the Prius, but you would need to have some general knowledge and tools to do it.

    This might be an expensive venture you're heading down, but if you have no other choice, you would just have to take your chances and start repairing the car, one problem at a time.

    start with replacing the 12v battery first, then cross your fingers and hope that cures most your problems.
     
    #19 JC91006, Nov 1, 2015
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2015
  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if you hit a pothole, maybe it's just a loose connection.