New to the forum, need help with red triangle of death

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Baasil, Aug 5, 2021.

  1. Baasil

    Baasil New Member

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    Hello there. I have a toyota prius 2006 and had it for 2 years now. It was bought used by my father, if that is important.
    I've recently, and I mean as recent as about 8 hours before I made this post, come into contact with what's knwon as the red triangle of death on my dashboard. Not only that, but I've also got the vsc and the check engine light on as well. at first I was going to take it to our mechanic, but when I began to make my way there, I noticed that I had to press on the acceleration and brakes harder than I used to. I also checked the battery and realized that it was barely even a couple of bars. Since the mecahnic we go to was about 15 minutes away, I decided that going wouldn't be possible myself. I tried looking at youtube videos and readinng online articles about it. I'm still unsure of what problems my prius could be having that it would have these lights, hugh i have a bad feeling it has something to do with a dead battery cell, or even worse, the whole battery.
    TLDR, Triangle of death, unsure of what to do, help.
     
    #1 Baasil, Aug 5, 2021
  2. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    Welcome to PriusChat!!
    Find (or borrow) a toyota hybrid compatible OBD2 code reader and post the retrieved codes (DTCs) here for additional guidance.
     
    #2 SFO, Aug 6, 2021
  3. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    #3 PriusCamper, Aug 6, 2021
  4. Baasil

    Baasil New Member

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    Alright, so update on the situation. Good news is that I managed to actually take it to the auto shop. Bad news is the code that our mechanic got was the hybrid battery. Now I'm going to have to scour for a hybrid battery to replace it. He offered to at least reset the lights on the dashboard on the chance that it could just be an error, but I declined since if it's appearing on the obd reader then resetting the light wouldn't do anything.
     
    #4 Baasil, Aug 6, 2021
  5. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    You can fix your battery pack for as cheap as $30 for cost of replacement module if you or a friend or family member does all the work. Also if you clear the codes and warning lights you can keep driving the car until that battery gets too hot. I keep an OBD2 reader in my glove box so I don't get stuck on the side of the road and just keep driving while I keep clearing the codes.
     
    #5 PriusCamper, Aug 6, 2021
  6. Baasil

    Baasil New Member

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    where do i find a replacement module for 30 dollars?
     
    #6 Baasil, Aug 7, 2021
  7. BuildingInspectorBrian

    BuildingInspectorBrian Junior Member

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    II
    @Baasil
    This provider was recommended to me in my journey along the same path you are following, the modules I received were top quality and have been the strongest modules in my pack.

    2nd Life Battery | Refurbished Hybrid Batteries Distributor

    Had my batteries in a few days.

    I as of a few weeks ago performed the pack repair by myself in about 5 hours time, taking it very slow. Tools needed, metric socket set & multimeter. (Highly recommended, cordless impact drill, probably shaved at least an hour off my time), also recommended WORKING torque wrench (i may or may not have twisted the end off of one of the bolts torquing my pack back together when I realized my torque wrench was no longer clicking).

    It is quite simple, very straightforward and almost no mechanical skill needed.
     
    #7 BuildingInspectorBrian, Aug 9, 2021
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2021
    PriusCamper likes this.
  8. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Thanks Brian... Was going to mention this on this thread but have been busy of late... These are great modules from a guy who has $30K in lab grade testing equipment.
     
    #8 PriusCamper, Aug 9, 2021
    BuildingInspectorBrian likes this.
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