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Red Triangle, VSC, CEL, red car with exclaimation, and (!) all lit up

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by PriusFan06, Apr 5, 2015.

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  1. PriusFan06

    PriusFan06 Member

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    Dear PriusChat Members,

    Before I posted this I did do research in the Gen II Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting forum. I noticed a few members had a few of the issues that I have but no one had the same (indicator alerts) issue that I have.

    My 2006 Prius has about 72,XXX miles. I noticed that driving my Prius was abnormal in the past 2-3 days. Abnormal meaning at a complete stop the engine would continue running. Sometimes at a stop, the engine sounds like it is revving. Then today I noticed that right when I start the car the air starts blowing in the rear passenger side AC vent. I also noticed that car has has not been as powerful as before and my hybrid battery status bars were acting up. At times it'll show the battery is full with all bars then all of a sudden it would drop off 2 to 4 bars and then it'll bump back up to full next second. This morning I went to visit my in laws that live about 12 miles away. On my way back when I drove like 30 secs from their house the following lights came up: Red Triangle with Exclamation Mark, yellow exclamation indicator light inside a circle, VSC, check engine light, and on the MFD it looks like a car with a knife (or exclamation) stabbed in between it.

    I just started the engine again and noticed that the Maintenance light blinked 4 times.

    I'm already freaking out and don't know what to do. I know to take it to my local mechanic. I'll do that next week. Can't do it this week as my mechanic is on vacation. I'm very close to my mechanic (like family) and he told me they were off to a cruise today and will be back in one week.

    I bought this Prius used and had it for about a year and added about 30k miles. I drive a lot for my work.

    Here are my questions after reading my owners manual.

    1. What is the warranty on the hybrid battery? 10yrs/100,000 miles?

    2. Based on my description do you think the issue is the hybrid battery or the 12V battery in the trunk? I checked the battery in the trunk and it is Toyota branded? Can the original battery on this car still be installed on this car? I have no ways of contacting the original owner to see when she last replaced it.

    3. Although the manuals says not to drive it and to take it to a Toyota dealership is it safe for me to drive to work. my one way commute is approx 6 miles taking city streets.

    Thanks. I'm still freaked out with all these indicator lights. 20150405_092631.jpg 20150405_092638.jpg
     
    #1 PriusFan06, Apr 5, 2015
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like your hybrid battery. good news is, if it's been registered in cali since new, the warranty is 10/150. sounds like you're golden.(y) yes, i think you can drive it. when they test it at the dealer, they probably find one or two cells that deviate from the others, and you'll get a whole new (remanufactured?) battery.
     
    #2 bisco, Apr 5, 2015
  3. jdbertron

    jdbertron Junior Member

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    I have the exact same symptoms. Can someone elaborate on this. Could it be something else ?
     
    #3 jdbertron, Apr 9, 2015
  4. PriusFan06

    PriusFan06 Member

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    So my friend came over a few days ago and we plugged in his OBD reader and I got the following codes: P0A80,P3014,P0A80,P3014,C1259, and C1310. I did some research on the codes and it looks like it is my HV hybrid battery. We deleted the codes and after driving it for 6 miles the same codes came back on again. So I called Toyota and they said if it is the HV battery then it will be under warranty. I get off work soon so I will be dropping it off a few days for their hybrid specialist technician (that's what they told me). I'm always afraid to bring my cars into a dealership. But I really have no choice here. Wish me luck.
     
    #4 PriusFan06, Apr 10, 2015
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Oh how I wish my 06 would crap out before my warranty runs out......
     
    #5 JC91006, Apr 10, 2015
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    elaborate how? if it's your hybrid battery, have it replaced under warranty like PriusFan06.
     
    #6 bisco, Apr 10, 2015
  7. exstudent

    exstudent Senior Member

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    1) Get the codes read somehow:
    Some auto parts stores and repair shops offer this.
    Ideally get miniVCI w/ Techstream (Amazon/eBay).
    Link w/ info on miniVCI & Techstream: TundraTalk.net - Toyota Tundra Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Offical TechStream software thread( settings and such).​
    2) Report what codes were pulled.
    3) I don't think Colorado signed onto CARB, so the HV Battery follows Federal Warranty of 8years/100,000 miles from FIRST Service Date (meaning the clock and odometer starts ticking when the car was first purchased by very first owner). Its possible Colorado may have adopted CARB but w/o the longer warranty requirement like Washington State (IMO: worthless-CARB).
     
    #7 exstudent, Apr 10, 2015
    Last edited: Apr 10, 2015
  8. Rocket Man

    Rocket Man Junior Member

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    3) Colorado never signed in to CARB requirements.
     
    #8 Rocket Man, Apr 11, 2015
  9. jdbertron

    jdbertron Junior Member

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    Thanks everyone. Yeah Colorado isn't a CARB state and my car already has 136k on it. I spent the day making sure it wasn't something else, but there are very few dealers in Denver that are equiped to read all the codes and the closest can't even get me in before Monday. Autozone pulled only one code P0A80. Same with the guys at BigO.
    I took apart the back end assembly to check on the cooling fan and cleaned it, and I also disconnected the 12v for an hour to 'reboot' the system. I'm hoping that's enough to disgnose this.
    After I put the car back together I am basically convinced it's the HV Battery. The warning lights came back. Same symptoms. I started the car in the driveway and observed a while. The battery showed 4-5 bars at first, then the engine came on and idled for a couple of minutes, charging the battery, although the bars went down, then the engine stopped and the bars went up all the way to 'full'. Weird.

    Is there a way to check on each cell's health without taking out the battery and checking voltage on each ?
    Is there a way to get the codes displayed on the console ?
    Is this car safe to drive (it manages 65mph) until I can order a new pack or cell(s) ? [4 days, 200 miles]

    Thanks.
     
    #9 jdbertron, Apr 11, 2015
  10. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1. Get Mini VCI.
    2. No
    3. Hard to say, you need to assess the driveability symptoms the car manifests and decide whether you can tolerate them or not. As a workaround, you can disconnect the 12V battery for a few minutes to reset the DTC and see whether that helps the vehicle driveability on a temporary basis.
     
    #10 Patrick Wong, Apr 11, 2015
  11. jdbertron

    jdbertron Junior Member

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    Thanks Patrick.
     
    #11 jdbertron, Apr 11, 2015
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    all the best!(y)
     
    #12 bisco, Apr 11, 2015
  13. PriusFan06

    PriusFan06 Member

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    OK, so I'm following up on my issue.

    So on Friday I brought my 06 Prius w/ 72,xxx miles to my local Toyota dealership. They told me that I would have to leave it at the shop for at least a day. No problem. They dropped me off at home in their new Sienna.

    Well the following day (yesterday) my service advisor called me and said that it is indeed my HV battery. They said my HV battery had 2 bad cores. They said the HV battery is still under warranty since I live in a CARB state (CA) and it is warranted for 10 yrs or 150k miles. Lucky for me, I was under both of those term limits.

    They also said that my 12V battery is failing too so they asked if I wanted to have it replaced. So I said why not since I dont' want to deal with any battery issues in the next couple of years. they installed a Toyota branded battery with 84 months of warranty. Price was about $180 for the battery. Also during my inspection they noticed that my belt was cracked. So I also got that replaced. So long story short, I paid about $550 w/ tax to replace the battery and belt. I know it's a bit expensive but at least my main issue which was the HV was taken care of.

    I asked my service advisor what is the warranty on the new HV battery and I was told only 1 year. It was not another 10 yrs/150k miles starting today. Is this correct? Let's say if someone did have to pay to replace this HV battery for $2300 (est) they only get 1 yr warranty? This just doesn't seem right to me?

    Well, that's the end of it. I've very happy as I picked up the car this morning. Drove it around and getting high 40s mpg. I do plan to clean my Mass Air Flow sensor today since its nice and sunny her in California!

    Thanks for everyone's help.
     
    #13 PriusFan06, Apr 12, 2015
  14. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    Toyota warrants all of its parts for one year.

    JeffD
     
    #14 jdenenberg, Apr 12, 2015
  15. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Yes, that is correct, a one-year warranty applies. However, do not confuse warranty duration with the expected life of the part.

    Suppose you were to spend $7K on installing a new gasoline engine, it would come with a one year warranty. Toyota is not in business to sell repair parts, they view parts sales as a necessary evil required to sell new vehicles. They would much prefer to sell a new Prius vs. a new traction battery for an old Prius. There is no reason for them to offer an extended warranty on the traction battery, as there is no other source for a new battery.

    One exception to the one year parts warranty duration is on 12V batteries, where Toyota recently put Prius batteries under the 84 month warranty plan - probably because they were tired of losing replacement battery sales to competitive brands.
     
    #15 Patrick Wong, Apr 12, 2015
  16. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    If the car had been a 2008 even if the battery was replaced under guarantee in a CARB state surely the 10 year 150000 mile guarantee (not a further 10/150000) would still stand. Taking the car to 2018 at 150,000 miles. This would negate the new battery 1 year guarantee.

    John (Britprius)
     
    #16 Britprius, Apr 12, 2015
  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    I like the bit about a car symbol with knife stabbing thru it. ;)
     
    #17 Mendel Leisk, Apr 12, 2015
  18. PriusFan06

    PriusFan06 Member

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    John, in my case my Prius is a 06 so that gives me warrant on the replacement HV battery till 2016. So really about 1 year left. =(
     
    #18 PriusFan06, Apr 12, 2015
  19. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    This is correct. If the original warranty has a longer remaining duration than one year, that original warranty would remain in effect.
     
    #19 Patrick Wong, Apr 12, 2015
  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    when you think about it, is there any arena where a warranty replacement is re warranted for the original time?
     
    #20 bisco, Apr 12, 2015
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