Common 2G Problems, and What to Do About Them...

My 2006 Prius has 279K+ miles. That is like 53K per year I put on it.

I have not had any battery problems. I see that is a frequent issue that others have had. Mine still has the same 12v and HV battery in it. I had the 12v tested by the dealer about 2 yrs ago, and it was said to be like new. I plan to have it tested again this coming fall.

It still has the same transmission fluid, and I have not had any transmission problems, yet. After reading posts by Diane and others, I plan to have it changed, anyway, at 300K.

Some issues that I did have:
1. Last summer, (I think I had 225K on the odo) running the AC in very hot heat while doing paperwork in a parking lot, the Red Triangle came on. I shut the car off, looked it over, turned it back on, the Red Triangle came back on with the Ready light, the car operated normally. I went straight to a dealer, about 30 min away. They said that the computer code said that some switch or senser had failed, a $1200.00 fix. After some discussion, they offered to try spraying carberator cleaner into the throttle body. I accepted. The light went off, and has not come back on since. Since then, I have added some STP gas additive every now and then.

2. One winter when it was really cold, the ready light came on, but the dash remained dead. I shut the car off, waited 10 sec, it started normally this time, no trouble since.

3. A rattle developed in the front end. I have read many posts from other Prius owners describing that rattle. THEY took theirs into the dealer, and the dealer recommended replacing brakes, struts, and other expensive repairs. Many said that it did not fix the problem. A guy down the street from me thought it might be a bracket thingy on the brake, where the caliper meets the part that is firmly bolted to the car. He removed the caliper, took this metal bracket thing off, warped it by bending it a little, put it back on, put the caliper back on, and since then no more rattle, and the brakes still work like they always have.

4. I had the HID headlight problem that others have had. I tried to replace the bulbs myself. The bulbs worked, but they shined their light toward the ground, even though they looked properly aimed in daylight. I took it to the dealer, and for half price because there was an issue and I was arguing my case, they replaced the bulbs again and made it right. Works fine now.

5. A stone went through the fog lamp on the passenger side. After the headlight episode, I took the advice in the owners manual and asked the dealer to fix it. Cost was like $550.00. Worked good, looked good, for about a week when another stone went through the new one. Since then, I have left it broke. The one on the other side seems to have missed whatever stones during the life of the car, so far.

6. I have replaced both tailight bulbs. They are like a couple of dollars. Easy to do. No complaints.

7. After trying all types of tires, my favorites are the Michelin HydroEdge. Wet road traction is my first priority. All the tires, rotated at every oil change, seemed to have become illegal right at the tread wear warranty expiration. If you have not replaced your tires yet, expect MPG to drop 5 mpg when you do - I believe because of the tread.

I am quite happy with the car.

 

I'm not saying this is the case in your specific situation, but it bothers me to hear stories like this. I just wonder how many people in this situation would of either A: Decided that was that, and agreed to the 1,200+ repair or B: Decided it was time to trade it in on a whole new vehicle...

A good dealership or good repair shop IMO, should try the cheapest most obvious remedies first..such as simply cleaning the offending sensor or switch..BEFORE presenting to the owner that the vehicles needs a costly or expensive repair.

I obviously wasn't there to hear the presentation, so if I'm being too hard on the dealership in this case...I appologize, but I do wonder...some people wouldn't of questioned the diagonosis. I often wonder if some dealerships and repair places don't simply do this as a matter of course. You either pay to replace what simply needs cleaning....OR you might even end up giving the dealership more money by driving off in a new car.

Glad at least in the short term...it appears all you needed was some cleaner sprayed in the throttle body. But you dodged a bullet....

 

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...ights-triangle-vsc-transmission-problems.html


I posted how to reboot a prius when it wont start due to a high voltage isolation fault.

 

how many times can one reboot a prius before it just won't start anymore?

 

Until you break whatever it is that you disconnect/reconnect.

 

From hwmd, 8/17/11: I got a low tire pressure indicator light from the spare tire, after more than five years on my 2006 Prius.

 

2nd Gen 2004 prius with nav and blue tooth. Steering wheel lights not working. I found fuse box under steering wheel but it's missing cover and layout. Which fuse should i replace ?? Do you have a interior fuse layout ?? thanks

 

Had some strange things periodically going on when starting the car to back out of garage: Would not go into reverse, after about 10-15 seconds it would go in reverse but you might not have brakes for another few seconds

After reviewing my shop manual and the suggestions in the forum I checked the 12 volt battery and it was only 10.6 volts. After replacing have not had anymore problems.

One other strange thing has happened over the last few months is that the left tail light would burn out (all black). After 3 bulb replacement I have put in a LED bulb, so far all OK. Could the low voltage battery somehow cause that bulb to burn out from high voltage from the alternator???????

 

Another tale of sudden weird electrical behavior.

I have a 2004 Prius, with about 120,000 miles.
Original batteries; I replaced the transaxle fluid and 60,000 and am about
to again. I replaced a battery in my key fob a couple of months ago.

Anyway, today the weather changed from the hot summer weather we've had
the past week to cold, cloudy, and eventually drizzly and rainy. This may have
something to do with the symptoms I've seen, or it may be totally irrelevant.

Anyway, this afternoon I drove to the local coffee shop, parked, got a coffee.
Got back in my car, which means the door unlock worked normally.

Pushed the Start button and
..nothing..

I pushed it three or four times, maybe a light flickered on the dash, maybe not.
It did not start.
I then held the Start button for four or five seconds, nothing.
I made sure I was pressing the brake pedal completely, nothing.
I tried inserting the fob into the dash and pressing the Start button, nothing.

I was in the middle of a phone call, so I just sat there in the car while I
finished that. And five or ten minutes later, as I was just sitting there,
the car started up and went into ACC or IG-ON. I pressed the Start button
and it just went into Ready. I drove home.

A few hours later I had to go to dinner.
Again, the door unlocked fine.
Again, the Start button caused a few lights on the dash to appear and
disappear, but the car didn't start. I'd left the front wipers on when I'd parked,
and they moved a couple of times, then stopped.

But after a couple of minutes of pushing the Start button, it started up.
The clock was reset to 1:00, and the Nav gave me a warning about loading the system,
don't interrupt. A minute later it was back to normal, but all my Previous Destinations
were gone. (Saved destinations are still there.)

I drove ten miles to dinner. After dinner, again the door unlock worked fine.
Starting the car was again not normal - wipers moved then stopped. But by
persistently pressing the Start key, and by wiggling the steering wheel, it came
into ACC or IG-ON. Again, the clock was back to 1:00, the Nav did that loading system thing.

Sounds to me like my 7 year old accessory battery is failing.
Tomorrow I'll look to see if I can quickly get one of the new Optima DS46B24R batteries.


Optima Announces Prius Replacement 12v Yellow Top Battery with Pencil Posts | PriusChat

 

Need help please. Parked my 2005 (44,000 mi) in the parking lot come back after 18 holes and...
Unlock door and get 2 weak sounding beeps. Foot on brake, press ignition button and justabout every warning light comes on. Car will not shift into any gear. Puch button twice and all shuts down. Needless to say, it is still sitting there. Any words of wisdom before I call AAA for a tow???
Many thanks

 

Your 12V battery is dead and you need to replace it. You can have AAA give you a jump. Ask that they use a jump pack, rather than hooking up jumper cables to a tow truck.

 

I'm curious as to how that would happen. The 2006 Owner's Manual states on page 151, "The compact spare tire is not equipped with the tire pressure warning valve and transmitter." I wish that it was so equipped, because it's a bit of a pain to unload the cargo area, remove the WeatherTech tray, cargo area carpeted mat, floor board, etc, just to get to the spare to check the pressure. I have only had the TPMS alert once, when I had a slow leak in one tire and it lost about 5 lbs psi in about 2 weeks.

 

and the tire valve faces down, so you have unscrew the tire hold down and remove the tire to check the pressure. i usually just give it the finger test.

 

I tried to read all the posts, but apologies in advance if I missed these.

Two generic Gen-II problems discussed in other threads, but I do not see listed here:
1. EV battery fan can become clogged up, especially dog hair etc.
>needs to be checked at some interval
2. Water pump leaks common (main anti-freeze water pump)
>may need to be replaced

 

Has anybody else experienced a transmission failure. I have an 06 Prii. Red triangle on solid, other warning lights flashing. Able to limp to dealership, initial eval stated that it was an electric motor on transmission and that whole tranny would need to be replaced, once warranty companies were notified and toyota warranty would be paying suddenly the electric motor was able to be replaced, anybody else with similar experience. Would really appreciate any input.

 

My 2007 needed and got a new transmission at about 118k.
I paid labor. Toyota paid for all parts.

 

Did you get the free parts because you work for Toyota or was there some kind of warranty?

 

Back when I bought my car, the longest warranty was 100K and I was well out of warranty BUT I'd been bitching to my service manager (NOT in Carson, but at Manhattan Beach) since about 98K that my car was acting odd - tranny wise - and it got a little ugly after I discovered that they had not been doing as I asked for my transmission service at 60K and 90K) ... I wanted the tranny fluid flushed and replaced. It was never done as I asked, so I won't really ever know who handled it REALLY ... but it was done. In my opinion, the $900 I spent on labor was not needed had Toyota covered the failed transmission themselves.

My advice? I don't care what a book printed in 2006 or 2004 or 200whatever says! Drain and replace tranny fluid at 60K, 90k and every 30K. It's not that expensive to do and worth every penny.

 

Hi- I've got a common problem that I think is related to the battery issues.

Can you please be more specific for me:
My 2007 prius is totally dead in my driveway. I'd like to jump the car using a portable jumping device to get it going to take to the dealer. Can the portable jumping device be hooked up to the jumping terminal under the hood of the car and be used just like actually jumping the vehicle with another vehicle? I called my dealership and the service guy had no idea. Helpful, huh?

Also, if it's my auxillary battery that is dead, can anyone point me to instructions on how to recharge that battery? Is this a typical battery that auto parts stores sell and anyone can install? And how can I check to see how my super special Toyota hybrid battery is doing? I don't want this to just keep happening (second time. first time i jumped it with another vehicle, but my car is now parked in a difficult to reach space).

Thanks for your help!
-antoinette