warning triangle exclamation symbol while green charge on

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Tala, Aug 15, 2017.

  1. Tala

    Tala New Member

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    I'm new to this forum and also to owning a Prius. My dashboard recently lit up with warning lights and other symbols like check engine while my PV battery was at a green level, however, it has also been on blue then purple at times. I don't get what is happening and if I should be majorly concerned enough to stop driving my car until I get it checked out by a prius mechanic. What do you all suggest I do and any recommendations for a battery mechanic in San Diego, CA. I added a picture so you all can see what I mean.
     

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  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    How many miles are on your car? If you feel the battery SOC is not behaving normally, going up and down rapidly, then you probably have a battery failure.
     
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  3. johnnyb588

    johnnyb588 Member

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    Suggestion: Get the codes pulled by someone with techstream software. Toyota dealerships or any good quality shop (especially one focusing on Toyotas) should have this.

    Guess: Your high voltage battery is dying, unfortunately. The car should not be driven until this issue is resolved.
     
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  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome!

    your car is asking you for help.
     
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  5. Tala

    Tala New Member

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    The car has 166,669 miles.
     
  6. Tala

    Tala New Member

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    Dumb questions but what happens if I continue to drive it like this? I am taking it to a referred toyota mechanic tomorrow.
     
  7. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    At only 166k miles, you should go and ask Toyota for a goodwill warranty for the battery. They should chip in with some money to replace your battery.

    But you first have to get it diagnosed and find out the problem
     
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  8. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    You have codes that should be read by any competent hybrid shop but I'll also suggest you have a hybrid battery failure.
     
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  9. Tala

    Tala New Member

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    166,669 miles to date. :(
     
  10. Tala

    Tala New Member

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    Thank you guys. You all seem to be saying the same thing. I appreciate the advise. Now I just need to make sure I get a good replacement battery or have a mechanic that replaces the damaged cells in the battery. Do you recommend me replacing the entire battery?
     
  11. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    If you wanna come to Los Angeles, I can help you with fixing the battery. But it's a long drive
     
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  12. Tala

    Tala New Member

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    I don't mind driving up there. Send me your email address. I can't post mine yet. Thank you.
     
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  13. Tala

    Tala New Member

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    Will do.
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    depends on how long you want to keep the car. rebuild is short term, time unknown from a few months to a year or more. new would be another 10+ years most likely.
     
  15. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    If it's only the high-voltage battery going out there's absolutely no reason you cannot continue to drive. The engine will just run pretty much all the time and instead of having the low-end torque advantage of the battery you will feel sluggish on startups as well as passing power.
    166k is a little early but if the driver loves to floor it all the time on startups that can take a battery out prematurely
     
  16. windstrings

    windstrings Certified Prius Breeder

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    Yes you must replace the entire battery with brand new preferably a rebuilt may give you as much as another hundred thousand miles but those are only as good as the person rebuilding it typically in many cases you only get another twenty or thirty thousand.

    Another good option is to find a used one with low miles from a car in a junkyard especially if you have someone that can help you install it
     
  17. johnnyb588

    johnnyb588 Member

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    I should qualify what I said when I said it shouldn't be driven.

    If you can't afford to be stranded, it shouldn't be driven.

    If it's just the high voltage battery as most of us suspect, it isn't going to HURT your car to keep driving, but eventually it will die, and chances are, it will be at a time when it is entirely inconvenient. That's why I said don't drive it.