Warning Lights

The Maint Required light just means that you are due an oil change. This comes on every 5k miles.

The Red Triangle is normally a fault message and requires a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) to trigger. The dealer can hook up a computer and read the DTC and tell you what it means. It will depend on the DTC as to whether it is major surgery or not.

If it is something major you may want to post the DTC's on here and get second opinions from the experts on here before you commit.

 

You can turn off the maintenance reminder light yourself (just don't forget to do the oil change).

From user FBear:

"Press start button until car turns the ignition on
Make sure the odometer displays "ODO" NOT TRIP
Press and hold the ODO trip reset button in
press start button until car turns off
press start button until car turns back to ON
Hold the ODO button in until all the flashing lines on the odometer go away and the mileage returns and the maint reset light stops flashing
Your'e done."

Some things as simple as the driver's door not being completely closed while in gear can cause the red triangle to light up.

Can a weak 12v battery cause the triangle to illuminate while driving, or just at start-up?

Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/reset-maintenance-light-on-dash.33649/#ixzz2vCtGfkaO
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welcome to priuschat! how many miles on her? is it the original 12 volt battery?

 

time for a new battery.

 

Soooo whens the last time you checked the ICE oil level?

 

You should immediately find out the problem with your Prius when the red triangle blinks or stays on. This is an immediate attention grabber from you car. There's a reason why it's there, to tell you something is wrong and it would require you to address it.

By driving it a few weeks with this light coming on, you could have already done major damage to your car. I would first suggest you check the oil level on your car and make sure there is oil in the car. If the oil level on the dipstick is low and you can't see any oil on the dipstick, you should add oil before driving it again.

The maintenance light is just a reminder to do your scheduled maintenance (oil change etc) and can be ignored for a brief period of time, but the red triangle cannot be ignored.

 

My first guess would be, the car is low on oil.

 

Driving with the triangle light coming on could cause damage depending on what the fault is. At our facility this most commonly comes on when the 12volt battery is failing/no longer holding a charge. However, there could be many other items causing this. I would have this checked out asap by a repair facility that you trust and is knowledgeable in Prius diagnosis and repair. sounds like you need to get the oil changed anyways so two birds with one stone! BTW... the 5K service on the prius should include a tire rotation for longest life out of your tires.

 

The great thing about the Prius is you can easily check your battery yourself, from the drivers seat!

Read and post back your results:
Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat

 

Did the facility that changed your oil and tire rotation attempt to read the DTC codes on the car that will explain the red triangle? I think it would be crazy for a repair shop to change the oil without first finding out why that red triangle is on in the first place.

 

Where are you located?

It's hard to guess why the car is showing the red triangle, that is something a code reader can do. The car's computers log a diagnostic code that will pinpoint the problem without guess work.

I would suggest you bring it to a proper Toyota dealership or a shop that's capable and can figure out why that triangle is on.