Inverter coolant changed - now ABS failed.

A few days ago, I took my 2005 Prius to the Toyota dealer to have the inverter coolant changed, long overdue maintenance. They did their usual walkaround check, and didn't find a problem. I had never been to this particular dealership before (the only reason I went this time was logistics - their shop is within walking distance of my work), but there were a few red flags that makes me suspect their quality of work may not be perfect. For one, they did the usual checklist-inspection and missed some very obvious problems, such as a broken taillight. They also quoted me a price dramatically higher than other dealers in town. When I mentioned that another dealer quoted me $160 for the same job they were asking $250 for, they magically pulled a special promotion out of their hat.

They also took care of a recall item (some steering mechanism issue) while the car was in.

When I took the car home, within 6 hours and 70 miles of picking it up, the brake, (!), ABS and VSC lights came on solid. Brakes are working fine, thankfully, but the ABS does not kick in. I can do the reset routine (put the car into READY, tap the brake pedal eight times, then turn the car off). This will turn off the lights, but they come back on as soon as I tap the brake.

I already checked the four ABS fuses, and they seem good.

Is there any other DYI troubleshooting I can try before taking it back to the dealer?

Also, the timing of the problem is suspicious. Are there any ABS components near the inverter coolant system or the steering mechanism that could have gotten damaged? Or is this unlikely, and the timing was mere coincidence? My Prius is pretty high in miles, so problems are expected from time to time.

Since I haven't established trust with the dealer, I'd rather walk in knowing as much as I can, rather than either being at their mercy, or - possibly falsely - accusing them of having caused the problem.

 

Thanks for the tips! It seems to me that the lights do indicate a real problem; the ABS is not kicking in, after all.

Would the reset methods just reset the lights, or also reset the ABS and bring it back to work?

I had read about the voltage issue before, but because the ABS isn't working, didn't think that was the problem. Would that possibly also cause the ABS to fail?

In that case, the problem is likely my traction battery, rather than the 12V battery. I already knew that it was dying a slow death. It is spending a *lot* of time at a single bar (no dashboard lights or codes from the battery, though, so the Prius still thinks the battery is good), and I drive up a 4000 ft mountain every day. When the problem first appeared, I had just reached the peak of the mountain. That may well have depleted the 12V battery, too.

 

Unfortunately, I'm at twice that mileage :-( Also, if I remember right, the CA warranty for the battery is actually 150,000 miles or 10 years, which means that for a 2005 Prius, it's over either way.

 

The 12V battery seems good; I just measured the voltage at 12.48V

 

I already checked the DTC codes; there are none. Or are there some DTC codes my reader would ignore? I have a low-end $40 reader.

 

Nope, no turbulence that I could see. It's kind of hard to tell because I'm not sure exactly what to look for, but it looked perfectly smooth (I did take off the cap, of course). When the ICE kicks in, of course the little ripple waves that you would expect from vibration, but I don't think that is what you were talking about.

 

Thanks for the tip! I'll order one of the Mini VCIs soon. 32-bit laptops are getting rare, but after some Googling, it looks like the newer versions also work on 64 bit.

 

I was able to read the blink codes with the jumper method. So, yes,it works in Gen II. The codes I read are 35 for the (!) light, 42 for ABS and 45 for VSC. Haven't found a list of the meaning of these codes yet.

 

As for the inverter coolant: it is hard to say because when off, the coolant level is right at the seam of the tank. When I turn the engine on, it looks like the *rear* level is slightly higher.

 

Thank you so much. I had wondered why northwichita was asking about the inverter coolant, what the connection to the ABS might be. Thanks for explaining it!

That said, a couple questions:

- After I clear the ABS codes, with a cold engine they come back immediately as soon as I tap the brake. At that point, the inverter wouldn't have had time to overheat yet, would it?
- When it's pumping air, doesn't the coolant pump produce a whirring sound, similar to how a slipping V belt would sound (on cars that have them)? *Before* I took the car for the inverter coolant change, I did hear that sound once or twice a few weeks ago (which was the reminder I needed to finally get the inverter coolant changed in the first place), but I did not hear that sound after I got the car back.
- Wouldn't the DC/DC converter shutting down also cause DTC codes from the ECU, or some other symptoms?