vsc, brake light, orange (!) all on.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by ruidboi, Dec 1, 2016.

  1. ruidboi

    ruidboi Junior Member

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    2005 Prius
    Hi I have a 2005 prius. I was driving down the street one late night and a car in front of me stop suddenly so I had to slam brakes to avoid hitting him. No big deal I do it all the time I thought. It was straight road but somehow my steering wheel steered to the right into oncoming traffic (we drive on the left side of the road in my country). My steering wheel overpowered me. The car on the opposite side of the road had to quickly swerve off road to avoid a collision. My combination meter is bad so I get no dash lights most of the time. When my dash lights finally came on. I saw the brake lights illuminated VSC, and orange (!) ( I think I may have seen ABS not sure as my dash lights are off again). A scan with my scangauge didn't give any relevant errors. Only two P3193 ( out of gas. I frequently run out of gas because of combination meter.) and U0111 ( I recently found out that my scangauge was actually causing errors with my prius. Ironic isn't it?) I've done some research in old threads on this forum and I checked voltage on 12V while car is running and it reads 14.somthing volts. I checked the coolant reservoir for turbulence and it was there. The car drives normal for the most part. What I do notice is that when I'm at a street light or drive thru and I press brakes to keep the car still, the hybrid battery is still providing power to the wheels based upon the Energy Monitor. Its almost like some brake position sensor is bad or something. What could it be? Do I need to take it to my hybrid mechanic to diagnose since my scangauge is not telling me?
     
    #1 ruidboi, Dec 1, 2016
  2. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    First, for safety's sake, I'd recommend getting your brakes, tires, steering, and suspension inspected. Any shop can do that.

    Many of the Prius ABS codes might not show up in a generic scanner, so yes, your hybrid mechanic may be needed.

    Were the brakes hot (lots of prior use) before this happened?

    Have you ever had the brake fluid flushed?

    Running out of gas is seriously not good for the car, as you might have read in the owner's manual. In this country, inexpensive repairs (just over USD100) are available for the CM.
     
    #2 andrewclaus, Dec 1, 2016
  3. ruidboi

    ruidboi Junior Member

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    2005 Prius
    The brakes had about 13 miles on them for that trip before the incident happened. I don't think I ever had brake fluid flushed before. I ordered and received the combination meter already. I was hoping to figure out what part I need for this problem first and then take the combination meter and the other part to the mechanic to fix, but I may have to just take it in because my scanner won't tell me anything.
     
    #3 ruidboi, Dec 1, 2016
  4. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Obviously it's a bit hard to diagnose this problem remotely. But it could be a situation as simple as needing to reinitialize/calibrate the linear valve.
    Sounds complex but it is really just a step by step procedure than is done using the Toyota diagnostic software.
    Hopefully you have an independent shop that has the software and can provide this service.
    Pretty straightforward. Maybe bill 30 minutes of diagnostic time?
     
    #4 ericbecky, Dec 1, 2016
  5. ILuvMyPriusToo

    ILuvMyPriusToo Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    II
    Your strong pull to the side might suggest that your brakes may need adjustment (they are not grabbing equally left-right) or you need an alignment. Are your tires wearing evenly?

    Once after a quick stop on some loose sand (which caused a wheel to skid a bit), I had an ABS code that I attributed to different rates of tire rotation during that stop. However, the dash lights only flickered and did not stay on once the system was working properly again.

    A shop with a mini-VCI will find specific codes that will help pinpoint the problem, such as the linear value calibration issue EricBecky mentioned.

    Let us know what you find!
     
    #5 ILuvMyPriusToo, Dec 1, 2016
  6. ruidboi

    ruidboi Junior Member

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    I've been told I may need a wheel alignment by the rate at which my tire seem to thread. I will take it to my independent shop tomorrow and post what I find.
     
    #6 ruidboi, Dec 2, 2016
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