Check Engine / Triangle of Death / Exclamation Point

What happens is the error indicator lights will 'clear' after the 3d restart. However, the error codes are still in the ECUs and can be retrieved by a Prius-aware, OBD scanner. The 12V disconnect, restart, clears the stored codes.

Bob Wilson

 

<$50 and "good" are mutually exclusive with regards to scanning Prius DTC.

 

The best scanner you can get for <$50 is the android torque app. It is NOT a Prius aware scanner but, it is easily as good as any other and the lowest price. There have been numerous updates/xgauges made specifically for the Prius and are easily available. The only thing you need (besides the app and an android phone) for this is a bluetooth adapter for the OBD II port. I bought one off Ebay for $37 (ELM 327). It is really pretty good for the price.

 

I agree, if you only have $50 buy Torque for $5 from Google Play (Android app store) and a $20 or less Bluetooth ELM 327 adaptor from Amazon/Ebay. If you don' t have an Android device, Target is selling Virgin Mobile Kyocera Rise smartphones for $30 this week...no contract and no phone service purchase is required. We bought a few Kyocera Rises for $30 each and they work great with Torque (and as a wifi web device)...only complaint is small screen size but for $30 final cost who cares....you can leave one in the car just for Torque.

 

So I think this happened to me. I started my car and I put the car in D before the car started. Car started out like normal but when I was driving, I wasn't able to accelerate past 35 mph. I pulled over and all the lights came on and only the battery was running. I couldn't drive the car. If my Prius is in the out of has mode, what can I do to fix it? I tried starting it up several times but nothing. Please help.

 

Well, is the car actually out of fuel? What does the fuel gauge read?

You have to add 3 gallons of fuel or more at one time, for the fuel gauge to register an increase.

If the car is not actually out of fuel, then disconnect the negative battery cable where it bolts to the body for a few minutes, then reconnect. You will need a 10 mm socket wrench to do this.

 

This no longer is true, now that Mini VCI is readily available on amazon.com

 

You don't need any tools to unhook the 12V battery to reset computers so you can do it yourself anytime/anywhere. While working on cars it's generally best procedure to unhook negative/ground wire first, but that requires tools on the Prius.

You can unhook the Positive wire on Prius without any tools, and this is fine for "system resetting" purposes.

BTW, the Gen1 (2001-2003) process is very similar to the Gen2 process below; the heavy wire has a black connector tab and battery is on drivers side.

For Gen2 (2004-2009), remove battery cover in trunk near right rear taillight. Remove the RED plastic cover over Positive terminal block (the one towards front of car). There is a heavy black cable on the left with a white connector. The release tab is at the bottom of the white connector. Press the release tab and slide the cable forwards (towards front of car). It may be tight/sticky but it will move with a little effort. DON'T WORRY ABOUT touching the wires and/or wearing gloves while working with the 12V battery, you cannot get electrocuted from 12V.

You only need to move the heavy wire forward about 1/2 inch then wait 5-10 seconds. While disconnected the dome light etc should go off.
Then guide the cable back into normal position, you should feel/hear "a satisfying click" when it is reconnected. Now try starting the car. Usually on the 2nd try the car will READY up. You may need to start 4-5 times for error lights to go off. If they don't go off, you'll need the car scanned with a code reader.

 

When you say you "tried starting it up several times", how did the car drive when you did that? Did it drive normally but have all the check engine and other lights on? If so, the lights will eventually go out (usually after 5 on/off cycles of the ignition switch).