Footwell Blinking Red Light

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Novaks25, Jan 21, 2022.

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  1. Novaks25

    Novaks25 New Member

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    I recently purchased a used 2018 Prius Two a few months ago and just had it fully serviced by my local Toyota dealer. This morning, I saw something for the first time and I'm not sure if it is a warning or just something I didn't notice at first.

    There is a red blinking light in the driver's footwell over the dead pedal/foot rest.

    It started when I turned on my car in the lighted garage and it continued while I drove to work in the dark so it's not based on ambient light. The buttons on that side are in their same positions. None of the bad indicator lights in the HUD are illuminated. It wasn't the parking brake and the tires look fine.

    Nothing was in the owners manual and could not find other posts about this.
     
    #1 Novaks25, Jan 21, 2022
  2. Novaks25

    Novaks25 New Member

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    Okay, I just asked Reddit. They said it might be aftermarket lights. I checked and I don't know what it is but it was plugged into the car... It says Bluedriver. Some kind of car monitor I guess?
     
    #2 Novaks25, Jan 21, 2022
  3. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Not normal for a PRIUS - could be a vehicle tracker, aftermarket alarm or car-dealer alarm. Ask the dealer?
     
    #3 alanclarkeau, Jan 22, 2022
  4. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    It's not a normal part of the car. Probably an auto diagnostic interface or inventory tracker device that was left behind. Disconnect & discard. Congrats & enjoy the car!
     
    #4 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Jan 22, 2022
  5. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I don't think I'd disconnect - it could be attached to an immobiliser. Check with the dealer.
     
    #5 alanclarkeau, Jan 22, 2022
  6. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    Is it plugged into the OBDII connector? Could just be a bluetooth adapter.
     
    #6 RRxing, Jan 22, 2022
  7. privilege

    privilege Active Member

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    congrats, you got a freebie

    https://us.bluedriver.com/pages/bluedriver

    download an obd2 app and connect to the OBD2 Bluetooth dongle, you can use several apps to do so
     
    #7 privilege, Jan 22, 2022
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  8. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    And if he is interested in it at all......probably should contact Bluedriver for an owners manual.
    To do that, the model and serial number might be required.

    Note: The OBD port is powered all the time. Things left plugged in there can put an unexpected drain on the 12 V battery.
     
    #8 sam spade 2, Jan 22, 2022
  9. Novaks25

    Novaks25 New Member

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    That certainly explains why I lost five bars from the battery over a three day weekend without driving
     
    #9 Novaks25, Jan 22, 2022
  10. privilege

    privilege Active Member

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    bah humbug. the "drain" it's nothing compared to squirrel damage, if you let the car sit long enough for either to happen
     
    #10 privilege, Jan 22, 2022
  11. Pulse07

    Pulse07 Active Member

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    Wow someone left a bluedriver ? Thats a $100 Bluetooth scan tool. It connects to a phone via bluetooth. Here's a link to the product on amazon.
     
    #11 Pulse07, Jan 22, 2022
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  12. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Glad you got the original puzzle solved and a free OBDII adapter to boot. But it does not explain the drop in traction battery level over the weekend. The traction battery is disconnected from the vehicle any time it's not in READY mode. The Bluetooth reader would only drain the 12V battery.
     
    #12 jerrymildred, Jan 23, 2022
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  13. privilege

    privilege Active Member

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    no, it doesn't. the 12v battery is what powers the OBD2 port. the hv battery is not in play, and not effected, by the 12v batteries status , when the car is off.

    your hv battery "lost five bars" Ivey the weekend because .... some other reason

    ;-)
     
    #13 privilege, Jan 23, 2022
  14. privilege

    privilege Active Member

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    yup, freebies be nice.
     
    #14 privilege, Jan 23, 2022
  15. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    No it doesn't......if you are talking about the hybrid battery.
    It is the 12 V that has additional drain, NOT the HV one.
     
    #15 sam spade 2, Jan 23, 2022
  16. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Well.....it's nothing compared to being hit by a semi on the freeway either.
    I don't see how those two things are related......and how you think your comment adds anything useful to the discussion.
     
    #16 sam spade 2, Jan 23, 2022
  17. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    What you ended up posting is not a "real" link and I can not see it.
     
    #17 sam spade 2, Jan 23, 2022
  18. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    That's the way they show up for me too, because I'm selective about what javascript goo is allowed to run in my browser.

    The PriusChat forum software aggressively looks for when people paste Amazon links, and turns them into javascript goo, that makes them show up as blank white space for anybody running with secure browser settings.

    Generally, the person posting the link doesn't deserve to be blamed, because they didn't do it on purpose and didn't know the forum was going to change their post that way.

    If you 'view source' on the page, you can still see what the Amazon link was.

    A poster can (it seems, so far) avoid the automatic link replacement by just posting a literal Amazon URL, rather than pasting it in whatever way most people do. It's a little irksome to have to go that extra distance, just to avoid having the forum software muck up what you posted.
     
    #18 ChapmanF, Jan 23, 2022
  19. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Well that's just about the last straw.
    Along with the other annoying changes made recently to inflate the "click count",
    this forum is more annoying than useful......to me at least.
    Too bad that the owner is so clueless; there are a lot of good folks here.
     
    #19 sam spade 2, Jan 23, 2022
  20. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Not sure how recent it is ... feels like I've been noticing it for some time ....
     
    #20 ChapmanF, Jan 23, 2022
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