Can i still drive to dealer withRed triangle, vsc light, check engine light, icon on screen

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by McNuilty, Nov 18, 2017.

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  1. McNuilty

    McNuilty Junior Member

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    Hello,

    Past few weeks I noticed how the battery on screen shown with cold starts and immediate driving that the battery drained very quickly and charged quick as well. I was already concerned about the health of the battery pack.

    Now today i drove the car to the petrol station (about 2 miles), filled with gas, then drove for few hundred meters and got the red triangle, vsc light, check engine light and a red car sign on screen with a (!) in it.

    When i drove the car to the gas station i already noticed how the battery drained very quickly to one bar of "juice" and then when arrived at the petrol station it had all bars in the battery on the screen. Found this odd already.

    So after I got the red triangle and other signs i checked all fluids, seemed okay, checked the 12v battery on screen, was 12v with car off.
    Then drove the car home , about 15 miles. all seemed fine, but cruise control didnt work, car still drove fully on battery at times as it usually does. Mileage is great, about 20/21 km on 1liter. Warninglights are still on.

    Now I wanna take the car to the dealer on monday, near my work. Its a 30 miles trip to work and I'm wondering if i can drive the car that far, or if i can do other tricks to find what the problem is.
    Is there a way to reset the warning lights? Should I try this?

    Info about the car;
    from 2006, 255.000 km (170k miles)
    recent mantaince: changed spark plugs, engine oil, transmission fluid(1st time change), all filters. Did this myself, about 3000 miles ago. about 15000 miles ago the coolant pump (engine ) was changed. Tried to find movement in the coolant of the battery but couldnt find any, or see any coolant when opening the cap. Level is fine though. 15000 miles ago both coolants were changed. 5000 miles ago i went back to the dealer because the level of the battery coolant was low, they added some and said there was probably some air in the system after they changed the coolant.. Said that wasnt a problem and how it shouldnt of done any damage.

    Any ideas what the problem might be?

    Hope anyone can help!
     
    #1 McNuilty, Nov 18, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2017
  2. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    It sounds like you have a failed hybrid battery. The car will try to protect it by only using the gasoline engine and performance will be poor. The OBD (trouble) code will tell you exactly what is wrong.

    Warning: the dealer repair estimate will be very high.
     
    #2 fotomoto, Nov 18, 2017
  3. McNuilty

    McNuilty Junior Member

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    Here a picture of the warning lights... Excuse me for the quality!
     

    Attached Files:

    #3 McNuilty, Nov 18, 2017
  4. McNuilty

    McNuilty Junior Member

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    Thank you for your reply.

    I was thinking the same but I am also concerned I have no movement in the coolant near the radiator. I am supposed to see movement when take the cap off right? Also I have no drop in mileage and the car still drives fully on the battery / shuts off engine at times, as it usually does. Just am concerned about if I can still drive it like that and ignore the warning lights, for another 40 minutes.

    Saw a thread about disconnecting the 12v to reset warning lights, worth a try?
     
    #4 McNuilty, Nov 18, 2017
  5. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Oh, OK you might have a failed inverter pump (common issue). There should be turbulence in the coolant tank with the car in ON mode.

    Yes, disconnecting the 12v can clear the lights but that could also clear the trouble codes which you need.
     
    #5 fotomoto, Nov 18, 2017
  6. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    How inconvenient and safe will it be if you are stranded along your route? I would have the car towed to the dealer.
     
    #6 JimN, Nov 18, 2017
  7. McNuilty

    McNuilty Junior Member

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    Not worried about that as the car drives fine, other than not working cruise control...

    More worried about any damage that might be done to the car while driving with the warning lights...
     
    #7 McNuilty, Nov 18, 2017
  8. Dxta

    Dxta Senior Member

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    You probably have a failed inverter pump.
    If you know the dealership isn't far from your location, there isn't any problem driving the car. It would take you there.

    Ensure when you decide to set out, that you go early in the morning, in order to avoid traffic gridlocks.

    Not going early, would exercebate the problem. High temperature problem would suffice, and that might damage the inverter, or cause you to be stranded on the way.


    Dxta
     
    #8 Dxta, Nov 18, 2017
  9. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I reads to me like you're looking at the ICE (engine) coolant reservoir and not the inverter coolant reservoir. There would not be any movement in the ICE coolant reservoir.

    And, not to put too fine a point on it, but the battery doesn't use coolant. It is air cooled with a fan. Given the age of your car, there's a good chance that it is a failed battery, but if you've never cleaned the battery fan, it could be clogged and that would also cause similar alarms as would a failed inverter pump. Getting the codes read by the dealer, as @fotomoto said in post #2 will tell the story.

    The car should protect itself, but it may shut down and strand you if it gets too bad. I would try to take a route with no hills or high speed driving. Happy hunting. I hope it's an easy fix. If it is the HV battery, there are other options besides a new one, but I'm not sure what's available in your area.
     
    #9 jerrymildred, Nov 18, 2017
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  10. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Exactly what I was thinking too.

    Here is a pic of the inverter coolant reservoir:

    Prius Gen II Inverter Reservoir.jpg

    No issue with the former in the Netherlands, and avoiding high speed is easy too. The Netherlands is probably one of the best countries in which to run a Prius (or hybrid) due to its level topography.
     
    #10 dolj, Nov 18, 2017
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  11. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    If you have an inverter cooling problem leave very early in the morning when the temperature is low. When the inverter becomes "too hot" you'll have no power but enough momentum to get to the side of the road. Wait until it cools down then continue on your trip.

    The wildly fluctuating state of charge displayed on your screen is not a symptom of inverter cooling issues. It is a symptom of a dying battery. Maybe it dies in front of your house but maybe not on this trip.

    To answer the question: No, I don't believe you'll do any more damage by driving the car.
     
    #11 JimN, Nov 18, 2017
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  12. McNuilty

    McNuilty Junior Member

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    Cheers, i was indeed looking at the wrong reservoir. Will check the other one later on.

    New/fixing the battery is going to be expensive as there are not many options other than going to the dealer to have it fixed, in the netherlands.

    Now I'm wondering if it's worth getting fixed. If the battery failed, are there other components that are likely to fail in the near future because of the age of the car and the mileage? I just got this car about 1.5 years ago and love it but don't wanna pay crazy money for repairs, as I simply don't have that.
     
    #12 McNuilty, Nov 19, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2017
  13. McNuilty

    McNuilty Junior Member

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    kk Gonna drive it first thing tomorrow morning, its nearly freezing here so don't think its going to be a problem. And indeed no steep hills here!
     
    #13 McNuilty, Nov 19, 2017
  14. McNuilty

    McNuilty Junior Member

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    Found online some used battery packs for about 600 euro, around 100k miles on it. They are battery packs from wrecked prius.

    Is it difficult to swap the battery and is it a DIY job? Is it worth swapping the battery with a battery that has 100k miles? Can I fit any battery pack from any prius from 2006 - 2009?
     
    #14 McNuilty, Nov 19, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2017
  15. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    It is not hard at all to swap the battery. Hardest part is that it's kind of heavy and there isn't room to be able to lift safely. I laid a sheet of plywood over the cables and the spare tire and slid the battery out to where I cold get it because no one was available to help me.

    600 euros sounds pretty reasonable if the battery is in good shape, but I would look for something a little newer. A battery from a wreck is probably the next best thing to a new one. If you do that, I would highly recommend you get one of @jeff652's Prolong grid chargers to get all the cells in balance. That won't make it new, but it will make it much better. IIRC, he ships all over the world. Prolong Grid Charger Product Guides – Hybrid Automotive
     
    #15 jerrymildred, Nov 19, 2017
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  16. McNuilty

    McNuilty Junior Member

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    Cheers, def going to look into that. Is it worth a try to try to revive my current battery with a Prolong grid charger?
     
    #16 McNuilty, Nov 19, 2017
  17. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Hard to be sure if it will come back. It depends on if it just radically out of balance or a cell has failed. I think I would give it a try and hope to not be too disappointed if it doesn’t work. @jeff652 can tell you more.
     
    #17 jerrymildred, Nov 19, 2017
  18. McNuilty

    McNuilty Junior Member

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    Just got called by the dealer, three codes and need new battery, 1900 euro including placing it.

    The codes: P3000
    P0A7F
    P0A80

    and they want 100 euro for reading the codes... Which imo shouldn't of taken longer than 30 mins.
     
    #18 McNuilty, Nov 20, 2017
  19. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    1900 Euros is a good price for dealer installation of a new battery compared to service prices quoted at US dealers - closer to USD3,000 +.
     
    #19 Patrick Wong, Nov 20, 2017
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  20. McNuilty

    McNuilty Junior Member

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    Yeah I know, but not worth it compared to other options. This car is worth around 3500 with working battery...

    I wanna try to change single cells. Doesn't seem too difficult.
     
    #20 McNuilty, Nov 20, 2017
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