70-mile-an-hour Warning

Low oil level, maybe?

 

First thing is to check the inverter coolant reservoir, next to the inverter, while the car is in Ready mode. You should see turbulence on the surface of the fluid. If you haven't had the inverter coolant pump changed in the safety recall campaign, the dealer will give you a new one free of charge.

Yes, check oil, but that should not affect the VSC system.

Otherwise, you need to get codes read using a Prius specific reader, and list them here.

 

nh7o had some good advice

If you don't have inverter coolant flow, you shouldn't drive it until it is fixed.

That is normally accomplished by using the services of a tow truck.

 

VSC equals Vehicle Stability Control. If it's the instigator, maybe the problem's not related to the main mechanical systems.

Just from the title, are you thinking there's some correlation between the speed and the warning?

 

VERY likely the inverter coolant pump failed and the inverter overheated. Disabling the cruise control is a sure symptom of this.

 

There are pictures in PC, if it isn't convenient for you to do a search where you are, maybe someone will find one for you.

Here's one illustration, lets see of a Gen II owner can verify that it's correct

First thing is to check the inverter coolant reservoir (Receiver tank), next to the inverter, while the car is in Ready mode. You should see turbulence on the surface of the fluid.​

 

The reservoir with the pink fluid next to the inverter. (It's the higher one of the two clear plastic tanks containing pink coolant, the lower one is the radiator expansion tank).

Place the prius in ready mode and wait till the engine stops (so that your observations aren't confused by vibrations), then remove the cap on the top of the reservoir and shine a torch down and look for the turbulence of the circulating fluid. If you see no turbulence then it's definitely not working.

 

Do not drive it. Do not run it. Have it towed.

 

How long has the car been off for Mark? If you're starting from cold and drive very easily then yes I think you can drive a bit, but be very careful. If you can avoid big hills or anything that uses a lot of inverter power, use only gentle acceleration, avoid EV mode and stop every 10 to 15 minutes for a break and let it cool, then give it a try.

 

This is covered by the TSB in the US and I believe towing is included. Either way, bad idea. Would you do this with the engine coolant? Don't do it.

 

I thought your post was worth repeating, so here it is.

 

The safety recalls are for any Gen II, not a factor of mileage. The reason why others are recommending not driving hard is that you are in danger of overheating the inverter, which is a major job to replace, and is not covered by the the safety recall.

 

Prius Water Pump Service Campaign - Owner Letter

You might omit miles driven after the event occurred. There is a date limit, not mileage, so you are covered. Best wishes.

 

+1

Driving it is just stupid. No inverter coolant pump means no inverter cooling. No inverter cooling means all the IGBTs inside will only have ambient air and passive cooling. This is a system that can run up to 260V and up to 120A.

$100 tow ride (free if you have a service like AAA) versus a potential $4000 repair. When the inverter goes, you car doesn't go at all. The car says problem, listen to it!

As already mentioned, safety TSB's are covered on any vehicle even if you have millions of miles. You just have a limited time from being notified to when it is still covered. This particular one should be good until the end of the year. But generally if you bring in a car a decade later, they still cover it. For instance my 1997 Honda had a recall for a CV joint. I brought it in last year on something completely unrelated and they still replaced the whole thing for free. Almost 200K miles and 16 years later, free repair.