What is going on with my baby

280k miles and the car is using oil, yes I've heard of that happening. Most cars will start using oil around 150k miles. Consider yourself lucky to have made it so far without oil troubles

 

If the car had warning lights and they didn't find any codes, they didn't do it right.



Weird for a dealer, but dealers are weird sometimes. Any actual case of warning lights without codes (which, in all likelihood, this is not) would have to mean a quite rare wiring or ECU problem, which they would be expected to diagnose in its own right, not to say "huh, we didn't get any codes."

-Chap

 

Did you disconnect the battery to clear the codes to get the car to the dealer?

 

Being 2 quarts low on oil shouldn’t give you a red triangle unless you are auto-crossing driving it. 3 quarts low might though if the engine drops oil pressure (sucks air in the oil sump pickup).

The only time I’ve been startled by a sudden red triangle and the car not moving, was one morning when I was leaving for work. I accidentally shifted into reverse and the Red triangle lit up the car went into neutral. What I did not realize at that moment was that the drivers door was ajar. After a couple minutes in panic mode. I opened the door fully while sitting there contemplating the situation, but it didn’t sink in what happened until I closed it again and the Triangle went out and all was normal again.

Lesson learned and crisis averted.




iPhone X ?

 

Been there, done that, and in the panic of the moment, easy to not realize the door is ajar. Sometimes the simple solution is the correct solution, that certainly would explain no codes.

 

Its probably your hybrid battery. Its amazing its lasted as long as it has. Its 14 years old.

 

How did you make sure the coolant pump is working?

When an inverter pump fails, the triangle will light up when the car gets hot. After it cools, the code goes away. Will come back when the car gets hot again, along with a red triangle

 

This is at the top of the 1241/1242 diagnostic page:

Is the 12v battery ground cable loose/dirty where it attaches to the body? Is the connector at the brake capacitor pack (next to the battery) loose or shorting? Rule #1 of basic troubleshooting: Ask what has changed.

So, someone's been rummaging around in the back of the car--everything OK back there? (It could just be coincidence.)

The rest of the diagnostic for 1241/1242 tells the tech to check for:
1. Hybrid Control DTC
2. 12v Battery
3. Brake Control Power Supply
4. ABS Harness & Connectors
5. Skid control ECU

 

Is the 12v battery ground cable loose/dirty where it attaches to the body? Is the connector at the brake capacitor pack (next to the battery) loose or shorting?

 

Here is the diagnostic page for C1241/C1242. (Attached)
Here is the location of the Skid Control ECU.

Time to go look at wires, connectors and voltages. (Getting a MiniVCI and your own Techstream wouldn't hurt either.)

 

I would probably start by looking at the ABS relays. Look at this thread: No regen brake! DTC C1203 C1245 C1253 MYSTERY! They had different DTCs, but I'm wondering...

 

Not unreasonable, since this is a known problem. Any "barking" noises or unusual activity from it?

 

Check all connectors and the relays for dirt and looseness--read the description of the relay problem I linked above--I've done that-unplugged a relay only to have it push the connector down into the plastic, rather than engage the tab when I put it back in--also, relays can go bad. (might be a cheap fix!) If not, the next step would be the Skid ECU, available on eBay for ~$100-ish (cheaper if you have a Pick'N'Pull)--BUT 2004 ECU only! (If it gets that far)