Dash Warning lights... Brakes (R&Y), Slip, ABS ???

There are some codes that can only be read with a code reader,and some of those can only be read with Techstream.

Brake, slip, and ABS codes are in neither category. You can get those out using a short piece of wire and counting blinks on the dash lights, any time you don't have a code reader handy, and if you do have a reader, just about any one will work (brakes are standard items on many cars).

Techstream is still great to have because (a) it will give you codes from other systems in the car that generic readers can't see, and (b) for all systems, including brakes, even if other readers can give you codes, Techstream will give you lots of additional information besides codes, and also let you actively test stuff.

But you could go to the car right now and count off the two-digit light blink codes and post them here, and that would be something to go on. The two-digit codes are less detail than the five-character ones you get from a reader, but a lot better than having no idea what the car is complaining about.

 

[QUOTE="Capecodbeachfront, post: 3036993, member: 120830]There appears no pattern of when they come on? Usually only stay on for a few miles then go off... either during drive or at next start.

Tires were replaced and now twice in the last week the same 4 lights are back...

Some suggested a failing 12v battery? $300-$500 battery replacement shocked me.[/QUOTE]

To your shock, I would replace the 12v battery before chucking more money at it since 12v battery details remain unknown. Hope the electrocution was a pinch.

 

"Some suggested a failing 12v battery? $300-$500 battery replacement shocked me. So it was not a trial and error option I would favor."

First order of business: have that 12V battery reliably tested, especially if it's the original. If it's failing, that replacement price won't look half bad (and there are much better deals available for a perfectly suitable battery, especially if you can DIY the job).

 

So why ARE you posting this again here. You didn't say.

IF.....the 12 V battery is the original one, you need to change it anyway.
And the price you gave is WAY too high. I think the average is somewhere around $250 if you pay someone to do it.
Even if you don't accept the advice that a 7 year old battery is not to be trusted, they can be tested if you insist.

Then......I am amazed that ANY shop would try and manually test a part that "threw a code" these days.
After you are sure the 12 V is good, I think you are going to need a wheel speed sensor.....or two.
But maybe not. Nobody knows for sure at this point.

 

What would you expect them to do? Just replace some part because its name is in the fortune cookie for a code they saw?

If they did that, they'd be completely misunderstanding what trouble codes tell them. A trouble code for a wheel sensor doesn't say "you need to replace that wheel sensor," it says "I get a funny signal from that wheel sensor and you need to find out why."

Using as an example just one of eight possible inf codes for just one possible wheel sensor code (might not be what the OP has, we'll know when his codes are posted):




If a shop sees that code and that inf code, they know they need to find out why that sensor output was lower than the others and they have a whole list of trouble areas to look at to find out why. They have 13 pages of troubleshooting advice in the manual to help them do that. If they just say "oh, code's about a wheel sensor, we'll change a wheel sensor," they're simply in the wrong line of work.

 

Based on a LOT of reports here.....and elsewhere.....I would normally expect exactly that.

Not that it is right, mind you but it seems to be a VERY common practice.

And once the part is IN, you bought it.......whether it solves the problem or not.

 

Time for a road trip? Lynch Toyota in Manchester, CT:

Battery - Toyota (00544-21171-325)

• 
  
  
  • List Price:$220.76
  • You Save:$38.94 (17.60% off)
  • Sale Price:$181.82
  • Core Charge:$20.00 Core Charge Applies
  This part fits your 2013 Toyota Prius VChange vehicle
  UNABLE TO SHIP
  Product contains hazardous materials that we can't ship.
  

 

Indeed, all signs suggest that incompetents can be found in the auto repair business, as they can in any business.

Still, living in a world where that's the case, it's more helpful to learn how to recognize them and go find a better shop, than it is to normalize them and expect no better.