I have a 2005 Prius, and my maint req'd light has been on for a while, what does that mean? Also since about 3 weeks ago the big red triangle light blinks on for 1 second about once every time I drive, then it came on and stayed on for a few days and now its just blinking once every drive like before! What could be the reasons for these lights to come on? I'm taking it to the Toyota place on Friday, will this be a big Prius "surgery", and will it cost a lot? I appreciate any help, thanks!
The Maint Required light just means that you are due an oil change. This comes on every 5k miles. The Red Triangle is normally a fault message and requires a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) to trigger. The dealer can hook up a computer and read the DTC and tell you what it means. It will depend on the DTC as to whether it is major surgery or not. If it is something major you may want to post the DTC's on here and get second opinions from the experts on here before you commit.
You can turn off the maintenance reminder light yourself (just don't forget to do the oil change). From user FBear: "Press start button until car turns the ignition on Make sure the odometer displays "ODO" NOT TRIP Press and hold the ODO trip reset button in press start button until car turns off press start button until car turns back to ON Hold the ODO button in until all the flashing lines on the odometer go away and the mileage returns and the maint reset light stops flashing Your'e done." Some things as simple as the driver's door not being completely closed while in gear can cause the red triangle to light up. Can a weak 12v battery cause the triangle to illuminate while driving, or just at start-up? Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/reset-maintenance-light-on-dash.33649/#ixzz2vCtGfkaO Follow us: @PriusChat on Twitter | PriusChat on Facebook
You should immediately find out the problem with your Prius when the red triangle blinks or stays on. This is an immediate attention grabber from you car. There's a reason why it's there, to tell you something is wrong and it would require you to address it. By driving it a few weeks with this light coming on, you could have already done major damage to your car. I would first suggest you check the oil level on your car and make sure there is oil in the car. If the oil level on the dipstick is low and you can't see any oil on the dipstick, you should add oil before driving it again. The maintenance light is just a reminder to do your scheduled maintenance (oil change etc) and can be ignored for a brief period of time, but the red triangle cannot be ignored.
Driving with the triangle light coming on could cause damage depending on what the fault is. At our facility this most commonly comes on when the 12volt battery is failing/no longer holding a charge. However, there could be many other items causing this. I would have this checked out asap by a repair facility that you trust and is knowledgeable in Prius diagnosis and repair. sounds like you need to get the oil changed anyways so two birds with one stone! BTW... the 5K service on the prius should include a tire rotation for longest life out of your tires.
Got oil change, tire rotation and a whole bunch of stuff the other day, but the triangle is still on so I will head back over there, and get my batt looked at! Thanks!
The great thing about the Prius is you can easily check your battery yourself, from the drivers seat! Read and post back your results: Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat
Well I did that, and the battery was at 11 something voltage. Should I try the nine hour recharge idea from the article?
Did the facility that changed your oil and tire rotation attempt to read the DTC codes on the car that will explain the red triangle? I think it would be crazy for a repair shop to change the oil without first finding out why that red triangle is on in the first place.
I dont believe they did no. I mentioned please check the reason for the light, but no I dont think they did.
Where are you located? It's hard to guess why the car is showing the red triangle, that is something a code reader can do. The car's computers log a diagnostic code that will pinpoint the problem without guess work. I would suggest you bring it to a proper Toyota dealership or a shop that's capable and can figure out why that triangle is on.
