Red Triangle...then disappeared

Hi all,

I've been reading through some forum threads, but want to post my situation and see if I can get pointed in the right direction.

Let me give some background on my '01 Prius with ~276K miles on it. (Not quite as old as it sounds...new traction battery at ~140K miles, basically new engine ~50K miles ago) The last month or two it has been driving great, getting above 50 mpg in the summer here in NC. However, every now and then I will notice while driving that the car will "catch," feel like something is causing it to decelerate for 2-3 seconds, feels like it kicks completely to the traction battery, and then I will accelerate and knock it out of whatever it was doing.

Well, this morning as I was driving, same thing -- maybe a second or two longer -- and the red triangle/warning light comes on out of nowhere. I drive it a couple of more miles, but it didn't feel like it was driving normally so I parked it. The person who I was going to meet come to where I was and the car sat there for about 7 hours.

As every worst possible scenario is going through my head during this time I am planning to tow the car somewhere (probably Taylor Automotive in Sanford, NC, a little more than an hour away from me), I get back to the car, turn it on and everything is normal. I was able to drive it about 15 miles back home and now I need to figure out my next move.

I would like to think it is a 12v battery issue -- not been changed in 6 years. It is giving some clues like last night when I shut the driver side door, normally the interior light should stay on a few seconds before cutting off, instead it cut off immediately...door locks are acting funny...anything that may drain the battery a little bit will cause a delay in the car starting the next time you turn the key.

I also wonder if it is an inverter issue. On our way to the beach a month ago when I pulled the car off the interstate for a break, left the car on and while the engine shut off I still heard a noise from the hood. Opened the hood and I believe the inverter was still running full blast. Never seen that before, nor again.

Please anyone chime in with some theories or help.

Thanks!
Jeremy

 

My car has had a p0420, 0440, 0441 and 0446 for 2-3 years now. I don't think it's related to any of those codes though.

 

Patrick, thanks for the reply.

#1 - CEL has been on for quite awhile. As I said above, no new codes from what I've had.

#2 - I did open the hood when I got home to find antifreeze/coolant was almost empty. Could this have been a factor? I've filled it since to almost full. All other fluids look good, including brake fluid which was strange b/c brake light had been coming on randomly (around big curves, sometimes when accelerating from a stop). I still put some more brake fluid though I don't believe it needed it.

#3 - I will try your temporary fix today.

Thanks again!

 

Ok yeah, I topped off the fluid in the cap so that looks fine. I also looked at the inverter coolant and that is at the low mark. There is not much of a gap between full and low so I'm not sure if that could be causing an issue or not. What type of fluid goes in that tank?

Going back to the original scare, does any of this sound like it would cause the red triangle warning? Only the third time I've gotten the red triangle in 175K miles. Not a fun feeling...

 

...

 

I drove the car to do a couple of errands this morning. For the longest time when stopped I have often heard a clicking noise. It sounded like it was coming from inside the steering wheel. However, since you brought up the acceleration pedal, this morning I investigated the click a bit closer and found it coming from the area of the acceleration pedal. I will post the pics I took when I figure out how. Is this indeed the assembly you were speaking of?

The car drove fine this morning, btw.

HELP: Can someone tell me how to post pics that are loaded to my CPU?

 

Okay, new question that is probably obvious, but would like some confirmation please...

This morning, decided to try a new cassette adapter I received in the mail in the Prius. So I didn't start the car but only turned it to ready. The screen started flickering, never really came on and the dash lights were very weak. When I turned the key to start it, it took 1-2 extra seconds for the car to actually come on.

Are these signs that the 12v battery is on the way out?