Check engine light

Not sure but did she just get gas and leave the gas cap off?

 

Get it to auto zone,and have it scanned if you can

 

It might be something benign: do nothing for 5-6 starts, it may go out on it's own.

I had a check engine light recently, after removing and cleaning intake manifold. I was in a sweat, but about 5 start ups later it went out, without intervention. Momentary lack of signal from a reconnected sensor, who knows.

Again, could be gas cap.

 

How many drive cycles and miles since the last fill up?

Since you were asking about Carista, were you able to read the codes?

Was the check engine light flashing or was it solid?

 

If the Gen4 is like the Gen3, the check engine light is at the far end of the display.

Ours has come on a couple of times over the years, but I don’t notice it right away as it is out of my normal field of vision .

But on a newer Prius I would look into the simple things .

 

Just for giggles, pop the filler lid and check if there's a gas cap?

 

They don’t tether them anymore like on the Gen3?

 

Ahh, good point.... Oh, it could be on but loose.

 

First of all, it's perfectly safe to drive with Check Engine ON. There is no harm to the engine, actual or potential. This light is primarily (entirely?) for emissions related "faults". Most commonly, suspect the gas cap, especially if recently refueled. Reseat the gas cap. When she fills with gas, does she try to "top it off"? This could result in fuel getting into the vapor containment apparatus (Probably not the Official terminology). Of course, try and get the codes read, just to make sure. Doesn't removing the negative battery terminal briefly reset this light?

 

Thanks for circling back.

Glad it was an easy fix.

 

"The 'check engine' light is reserved only for powertrain problems that could have an impact on the emissions systems," says John Van Gilder, General Motors' lead OBD development engineer.

But that doesn't mean that no harm can come to your car. For example, if your car is running rich enough for a long enough period, the catalytic converter can be severely damaged and may even lead to a fire under the car.

That said, it is USUALLY okay to continue driving while diagnosing the situation.

 

When I got my last car, I commented that it didn't have a Temperature Gauge. The service department advised that the Check Engine Light would come on should there be an overheating situation or other major defect - but I think he said it would FLASH - indicating "turn it off now!!" (that was 6 yrs ago).

 

#15. Was he a Toyota engineer designer?

 

Here is the official Toyota stance on the warning lights in the 2016 Prius:

 

I am sure a GM engineer may have good knowledge of GM vehicles. We cannot necessarily assume their comments apply to the Prius & HSD.

 

Thanks - I wonder about temperature - though cars overheating seems more a thing of the past (until they get old).