VSC, ABS ,Brake & (!) lights

measure the 12v in the morning with everything off. how old is it?

are all four tires the same, and pressures to spec?

 

hard to say. let's see what happens after you install the new battery. if the lights come back, you'll have to scan the trouble codes.

 

Or, you could have led with the codes, and we could be figuring out the issue already.

If they are brake codes, they can be "read" in a pinch with a short piece of wire.

-Chap

 

Well, you take a little piece of wire, find the Tc and CG pins of the diagnostic connector and put the wire between them, turn the car ON, and count blinks of some lights. You group the counted blinks into pairs to get two-digit codes. The ABS, ECB, and skid lights can all blink out codes (and you need to include which one blinked which codes in your notes, because they're on different lists in the manual).

If you search on some of the terms I just used, you'll find a pile of threads and posts about it, some with pictures.

-Chap

 

I don't know how to read the blinking lights, but this is bringing back nightmares of actuator replacements. Lol

 

Dropbox wants me to allow waaay too much of their code on my computer before I can get anything from the link that was posted. But if somebody wants to count out the blinks into two-digit pairs and post 'em here, I'll see what sense I can make of them.

-Chap

 

I don't bother w/ blinking lights b/c its torture to me. Get mini VCI and Techstream software; this will give you dealer level diagnostic capability. Techstream is what the dealers use b/c it is the official software written to read Toyota/Lexus.

Amazon Prime: order mini VCI, arrive Sept 10. Doesn't matter which one you order from, as they are all the same and likely come from the same one or two producers in China.

Search for a 32bit Windows laptop (XP, Vista, 7). Ask friends/family, as someone knows someone who is in IT, and this person will likely have such laptops laying around in a corner collecting dust. Mac installation possible; you will have to figure that out. Spare laptop ideal due to the Techstream software being a hacked copy.

 

Yellow Top is a POOR choice, esp if your car has SKS. Why? 38AmpHr (Optima) vs 45AmpHr (Original Equipment w/ SKS Prius).

Best choice is TruStart (Toyota Dealers), Bosch (PepBoys), Exide, ACDelco (avail Amazon).

There are PepBoys in Georiga. $152 for the Bosch. $238 for an Optima.
Car Batteries | Auto Batteries For Trucks & SUV's | Pep Boys

Consider getting a smart 12V battery charger that has an AGM setting too.

 

Brake warning light code ( ! ) = 4-7
ABS light code = 4-2
VSC light code = 4-5

 

Sean, there may be other codes, the video stops after two cycles, each code is repeated three times then additional codes will show if present. Just watch one light at a time, maybe take two post-it notes to block the lights you are not watching.

 

This is a sound investment. I just happened to have a 32-bit Windows 7 computer in my closet. The cable from Amazon is only 20 something dollars. As others have mentioned in the past, make sure your battery is fully charged when you connect the computer to the car. Otherwise things go screwy and the connection will be interrupted... Or at least that's my experience.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

You could also go to an auto part store and most of them can read the codes for free for you. If that does not work, getting an inexpensive Bluetooth OBDII dongle from Amazon and a free app for Android is the next easiest thing to do. Mini-VCI/Techstream is way too involved, often does not work properly due to the fact that the cable is pirated as is the software that comes with the cheap Amazon setup. You will also need a dedicated laptop that runs 32 bit windows (because the pirate software is infected with viruses). The dongle I linked to works really well with all the apps that I tried (Torque, Hybrid Assisstant, OBDII Doctor, etc). Torque app will read and clear Prius codes.

Good luck!

 

Make sure you look carefully because the part store will likely use a basic reader that won't read ABS codes (my experience at AutoZone.) Also ensure whatever product you choose will have that function. If you intend to do repairs yourself, you may need a functional techstream setup anyway. Chances are, someone you know has a 8-10 year old laptop laying around.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.