ABS Light, Slip Indicator Light, Brake System Light all stuck on w/ no OBD2 codes??

Hi everyone, my question/situation is involving my 3rd Gen 2012 Prius (170,xxx miles and no major parts replaced. Continuous maintenance, tune ups, and oil changes frequently done).

Yesterday out of nowhere, my ABS light, Brake light, and Slip Control light, all came on at once while I was driving through a parking lot. There were only mellow speed bumps and I was going under 15 mph at the time. Prior to that, I had only been driving around town running a few errands and my fiance would stay in the car and keep it running while i'd run in each place.

After all of those lights came on, the brakes feel really stiff and I have to really press down to come to a full stop. It almost feels like there's no regenerative braking working, and the regen meter on the HUD display barely moves. Also, there's a continuous whirring or machine like sound that keeps going and then stopping over and over when the car is on now.

The only recent work that's been done on the car was a brake pad change about 8 months ago. And aside from that, the only thing I know of that needed to be done was an oil change according to the Maintenance required message.

The brake fluid reservoir is above the middle line and all of the other car fluids seem to be where they should be from what I can see.

I tried disconnecting the negative battery terminal for about a minute and then reconnected, and the lights I mentioned are all still on.

I also disconnected an OBDLink OBD2 reader that I always have connected, after reading a post from another forum member, mentioning how that was causing similar issues. Before disconnecting the OBD2 reader I tried scanning for any errors with 3 different apps and none brought up any error codes or could sense any issues.

Disconnecting the OBD2 reader didn't seem to make a difference but I haven't had the opportunity to test drive it around the block. I drove it home and haven't taken it out of the parking lot since, because the brakes are really stiff and idk if it's okay to drive like that lol.

I researched the issues i'm having on this forum and I am really interested in trying the procedure to get the codes that might be able to help me diagnose this issue. But I couldn't figure out what to search to bring up the procedure and all of my searches came up short. I'm afraid I don't have much knowledge or experience when it comes to car stuff. I'm trying my best here but I don't know much so any help would be really appreciated.

I'm really hoping it isn't a major issue because i'm getting married next month and I'm already working my nice person off to cover it lol. I drive for a delivery service so I use my car for work. I really can't afford to not have it running but I don't have a ton of money to invest in fixing it if it's a major issue so I hope it's not something crazy expensive that needs to be fixed or replaced!

I don't know a ton about car stuff and I'm going off of what I've researched so far! If anyone has any info that could help, any advice, or anything like that, it would be really really appreciated!

 

First off, thanks for the reply! I have seen your posts on this forum quite a bit and seeing as you're one of the gurus of this forum, I am really glad to receive your help and guidance in this situation.

Also, thanks so much for the links to the posts where I can read more about the blink code procedure!! My previous searches kept coming up with results having to do with hazards going off and other stuff of that nature, rather than the procedure I was looking into. So having somewhere to start my search makes all the difference.

I am extremely interested in this procedure and I found a few diagrams but they are a bit confusing. I found a diagram that I thought might have to do with the procedure, but it showed 2 different wires and they weren't connected to each other so I was pretty confused lol. But after reading more thoroughly about the procedure, it seems like its as simple as taking a wire and connecting one end to terminal 4 and the other to terminal 13. I hope its that simple because I plan on trying this today or tomorrow morning, to get the codes that will help me diagnose the issue further.

I'll post on here with my findings right after I do the procedure

 

@bisco I think its the same as when I open the drivers door. The sound is definitely either the same, or really similar.

Unfortunately, my car is over the 150k mile warranty, I believe. I'm pinching pennies like crazy since i'm getting married next month. So it's looking like i'll have to do the blink code reading procedure and hopefully it will be either an easy fix, or at least something minor that won't cost too much to fix lol.

(I tried to quote your original reply, as well as reply to it, and I get an error message saying there's a possibly dangerous link embedded in your quote and it won't let me post a reply with your original reply in it. Otherwise I would have included it like a normal reply. Sorry about that man!)

(By the time I went to reply to @bisco , I was unable to edit and add this all to my last post. I apologize for the double posting!)

 

Hi everyone, I wanted to post an update.

After my last post, I drove my car and after a mile or two, the lights turned off. They stayed at first, so I thought the issue was fixed and I thought maybe disconnecting the OBD2 reader I had connected before, had fixed the problem. After that time driving it, I didn't drive it again until today.

Today, during my first full day driving it again for work, the light combo on the dash lit up again and it hasn't turned off in a few miles. The lights turned back on after about 20 to 30 miles of city driving.

Also, something I noticed about the lights coming on, is that they seem to only come on when I'm accelerating and they haven't come on from pressing down the brakes from what I've noticed so far.

I haven't done the blink procedure yet because I initially thought the issue was fixed. I'll be doing the code blink procedure tonight or tomorrow and I'll hopefully be getting the codes to figure out what's wrong with the car.

@ChapmanF for the blink procedure, do I just take a normal wire and connect one side to terminal 4, and the other to terminal 13 and that's it? I looked up a few diagrams and they showed two wires that didn't connect and a ground connection and other stuff so I wasn't sure if it was more complicated than just connecting one side to terminal 4 and one side to terminal 13, but i'm hoping it's as simple as that!

I've read a few posts warning against doing it wrong otherwise it could cause irreparable damage or something like that and I hope that's not the case lol.

I use my car for work and I can't really afford to not be working right now since I'm getting married in 5 weeks. So even though the regen braking isn't working, is it still okay to drive the car with those lights on? Or will I do more damage by driving it as it is right now? I noticed that it just feels like there are only the regular brakes working so I'm hoping that with those at least, it'll still be okay to drive for the meantime!

Any and all info helps!

 

Very true, a bad wreck would totally ruin things lol. I appreciate the sensible and sound advice my friend!

I'm pretty embarrassed to admit it but, I honestly don't have the money to take it to a mechanic. And since it's a 2012 and not under warranty, even getting it looked at is a fee that's not cheap for someone in my position. I'm not a very privileged person and I work very hard to make ends meet. I just paid a bunch of vendors for the upcoming wedding and drained my savings to make it happen. I honestly don't have the money to take it somewhere right now unfortunately, and I'd need to be able to work at least a little bit for now to be able to get any money together to be able to get this issue fixed.

I'd love to be able to take it somewhere to get it looked at but I really don't have the money to do it. I might be able to cover the initial diagnostic fee but beyond that, I wouldn't be able to afford getting any other repairs. I'm literally stuck in the position where I have to try and do what I can by myself and hopefully I can get by for now, and keep working for a little while so I can save up a bit to get it looked at when or if the ABS, Anti Slip, and Brake lights turn on again in the future.

The lights turned off again on my way home after my last post so I can't do the code blink procedure. But I'll be calling Toyota in the morning and getting some more advice. I'll also be carrying a wire so I'll be ready to do the code blink procedure if the problem pops up again, and I'm really hoping the problem doesn't persist.

 

The lights came back on today as I was working. (of course! Lol)

I had a wire with me so I was prepared, and I did the blink procedure. The codes that came up were over 2 numbers long so I wasn't sure if the codes could be more than 2 numbers, or if they were just showing multiple codes that come in sets of 2 numbers. But the codes that came up were the following :
Anti Slip light : 43
ABS light : 31 32 41 42
Brake light : solid w/ no flashing
Brake System light ((!)) : 36 69

I have an appointment tomorrow with the Toyota service center. They quoted me almost $300 just for a diagnostic. But they ended up being able to book me for a complementary check of my Brake Booster since there was a recall on those I guess. And I'll let them know the other stuff and hopefully get more info then!

I keep hearing a continuous whirring and slight buzzing sound from under my steering wheel somewhere. And it goes for 2-3 seconds every 10 to 15 seconds when the car is running, regardless of the lights on the dash. And when the lights come on, the whirring sounds is more frequent like every 5 seconds and it's shorter. Could that have anything to do with the Brake Booster?

Also, If anyone could help me out with those codes, it would be much appreciated! @ChapmanF
I'll post an update tomorrow after my appointment, hopefully with a possible diagnosis.

 

I haven't but I would if I knew how! I'll look up how and i'll try to test it tonight or before my appointment tomorrow. The 12v was replaced right when I bought the car less than a year ago, by the Toyota Repair Center in the bay since the guy I bought it from was a tech there and got it serviced religiously. Could the 12v be part of the issue??

Awesome! I'm honestly praying it is because the kind lady on the phone from the Toyota Repair Center near me, said that the Brake Booster or Brake Booster related issues are the only thing they'll be able to fix for free under warranty since apparently the 2012 Prius' had a recall on them or something like that.

The lights keep coming on and off every so often now so I for sure have to get this fixed! I'm hoping that they can diagnose and fix the issue. I'll be crossing my fingers tomorrow!

If they give me a hard time about my mileage (138,xxx miles) then i'll for sure try to have them ask corporate for a goodwill exception! I truly appreciate that advice and I thank you for all of your help so far brother!

 

I thought my mileage was around 170k miles, but I found out my car's only at 138k when checked my odometer while I was on the phone with Toyota today after the dash lights came back on lol. My last car (98 Camry)was around 170,xxx miles when I first got it and I must have assumed this car was around that mileage too! haha
I overestimated the mileage and it's pretty nice to know the mileage hasn't even hit the 150,xxx mile mark yet

I haven't disconnected the 12v or cleared any codes and I'll make sure not to. Weirdly enough, I'm hoping that the dash lights stay on until I get to the Toyota shop tomorrow. The dash lights keep on turning on and off and i'm worried if the lights are off, they won't be able to do anything. If the dash lights end up turning off on my drive to Toyota tomorrow, will the codes still show when they check it out?

I'm hoping it's the Brake Booster or something Brake Booster related. Fingers crossed!

 

Thanks a ton for posting with the info for the codes! I appreciate the help and it's looking like there's a good chance it could be the Brake Booster that's causing some of these codes to fire off!

I just have gotten my previous cars initial odometer reading mixed up for this one, and I was super wrong luckily lol! After looking at my actual odo, I am happy to say that my mileage is just over 138k so, I'm hoping I'm "In Like Flynn"! Or "In Like Flynt" if that one was the better of the two! Lolol (of course, without the negative connotations)

My appointment is coming up in a few hours and I'm hoping for the best!

My only worry is that the lights turn off every now and then, and I want to make sure they don't turn off, just in case they needs to be on for Toyota to take action.

If the dash lights turn off during my drive to the Toyota Dealership, will they still be able to pull up the codes that it blinked out? Or should I try to figure out getting my car towed to Toyota?