New 2001 Prius Owner, please help.. :)

Well, if you would have asked several years ago while I was driving a 2001 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 (a beast of a car) if I would ever drive a prius, I would have laughed at you! Gas prices tend to influence our purchasing cars. I was originally looking for a 35mpg i4 car (civic, corolla, etc). Stumbled on this little one owner prius, and decided to get it. One owner, and only 86,000 miles. Ran good, and getting over 40mpg is insane! I have put about 600 miles on it already. I have been practicing driving carefully to maximize fuel economy.

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On the way home last night, I am driving 25-+mph on the electric only, just crest the hill before our house and the red/orange triangle comes on!! Gag! I pull out the code reader, no codes. No check engine light either. I get home stop the car, nothing seems out of the ordinary.

When I try to start the car it takes at least three tries to get the READY status to start the car up. On the display it has a little red car with exclamation point on top of it. No other indicators are lit. Not sure what to do, I checked the aux battery after a 1 hour drive it is displaying 12.5 volts still connected to the system. I checked the Battery ECU under the passenger foot well, all very clean and dry. This car is immaculate, the inside looks brand new, no dust, nothing. Even under the carpet, there is no dust.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! I have owned many cars, and have always worked on them. I have been working in the computer field for about 19 years. But hybrids are new to me, and I figured I would have this figured out, just cannot do it alone..

I have tried to search PriusChat, but the website is super slow!! I am barely able to post this message, and we have 50MB fiber circuit here!

Thank you so much for your time! Josh

 

Thank you both for the replies. I just got the yellow top optima battery installed. Still have the Triangle.. The car runs and drives fine, I am getting about 42mpg, which seems normal since I have only had it for about 1000 miles. No difference in driving though. I do have to turn the key on then off then on again to start it.

Right after I installed the new battery I got a P3191 code, which the battery company said might happen. I cleared it and it hasn't been back.

Back when the triangle first appeared, I tried to start the car and turned the key back and forth back and forth a bunch (about 50 or more quickly) of times and I finally got a P3100 code. I cleared it about 120 miles ago. It has never reappeared. Now I am back to the triangle again, and I have no Idea what to do next.

Who can read the other codes besides going to the dealer? They always seem to be out there to get you, and your arms, legs, etc. Thank you again so much! Oh, in diagnostic mode I am getting a 13.3-5v running, and 12.4-5v off with nothing running. Same voltage on the battery meter. Have a great day!
Josh

 

Oh, and were do I find the date code on the old battery? I found one 131208W on a white sticker on top of the battery. It looks brand new. Anyway, hope this helps.

 

Well, from what I found it is the 13th of Dec, 2008 on the battery. So a little over 4yrs old. Oh well, I sure wish the triangle would go away!!

 

Ok, just tried a few things, connected known good battery to the prius aux battery. Same Triangle but no more engine codes. A few other things I tried:
1. Voltage sitting with battery maintainer connected key on Assc: 14.8v
2. Turning Key to ON and battery maintainer connected, not starting: 12.5V (I Checked all fluids, the Inverter coolant was at full and has a nice swirly thing going on, good curculation)
3. All coolant levels are full, and looking great!
4. We have been getting HUGE down pours here in Texas. It has been dry for a long time, and now we are having tons of fog, rain and moisture. Just wanted you guys to know. I did for the fun of it, clear codes in the diagnostic area again. Everything was listed in OK.

Still lost. Thank you for your help.

 

Thank you for your replies. I actually got around 49.3 mpg last fill up. So far everything is still working. I think this weekend I may pull the HV battery and inspect the batteries. Thanks again, I will keep you guys posted.

 

Ok, I called the dealer here. They are going to charge $95 for the Diagnostic Fee. I was also looking around for scanguage 2 as well. Do you know the best place to purchase them? The best deals I have found are $159 on ebay and amazon. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

 

Well, I was on the way home yesterday, and I got the power loss that everyone talks about. I had it floored and was only going about 37 mph. No Check engine lights or anything. Just the nice triangle. I pulled over, and turned it off, then back on again, and everything worked great again. The only time I have had issues, is when I try to get the best milage by only using electric power. I was just wondering about the gas/electric pedal. Is there issues with it not working? I noticed a few threads about a guy on here that rebuilds them. What exactly happens if it isn't working correctly? It seems that the car functions great with cruise control engaged. Just a thought.

 

Thank you Chapmanf, I decided to disect the throttle assembly myself. I pulled it out, cleaned it with electrical cleaner. I also adjusted the "fingers" and put it all back together. It is pretty funny just realizing that the trottle is just a "volume knob". Anyway, also added dielectric grease (super small amounts) to all the connections to resist futher build up. It has been acting much better on the trottle responce. Tryed to clear the triangle by pulling the battery cable and also using code reader to erase unexistant codes. It still Bings after it is done and instantly causes the triangle to pop on again. I am going to have to save up a little while to get the scanguage in my budget or the visit to the dealer. I just keep hoping the triangle will just disappear. So far no luck.

Only thing I did notice when I first start the car the engine sounds like it goes a little fast, then slow, a little faster then slower only on initial startup. It feels like the electric motor is pushing the car forward even though it is in park. Very odd, it started doing this the day the Triangle popped up.

Also I hear a relay clicking under the stearing column when this is happening, click...click, click...click.. random clicking in out. I cannot seem to find the relay, just a little odd. Thank you guys again for your patience.