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Need help diagnosing a Red Triangle Warning!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Gen2priusowner, May 26, 2023.

  1. Gen2priusowner

    Gen2priusowner New Member

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    So I have a 05 Prius with 300k+ miles. Today I drove to work fine no issues but then as soon as I start it up after work I get the red triangle warning and an alert on the main screen saying “problem”. The screen also displays the red square with car and !.
    The dash lights up with the VSC light and the steering wheel once I start driving. I’ve noticed that when I try to press the gas pedal hard like if I’m trying to move quick the car doesn’t move as fast anymore and if anything the car revs higher but doesn’t move any faster!. I’ve already ruled out AUX battery and hybrid battery as well as the key fob battery. The car makes a soft tone beep 8-10 times randomly as well. PS the CEL is not related to this cause, just some emissions codes and a p0420

    Does anyone have any idea what it could be?
     

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  2. flim

    flim Active Member

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    I posted this last week and sounds like the inverter pump.

    >i replaced the 2007 Prius Touring Inverter pump in 2021 with only 88k miles. Thank God it was still under warranty!

    It wasn’t pleasant to get the triangle warning while on the freeway. I heard a thud and briefly smelled burning electrical wire and lost some speed. When I pulled over and checked the hood, there wasn’t any smell in or around the car.

    It was on a Sunday and the dealers were closed so I headed back home but I can’t drive more than 40+ mph. Had my emergency lights on and took the side streets. My ac didn’t work either but finally made it home.

    This was something I was trying to avoid, the hassle and additional expense for an aging but low mileage car>
     
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  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    There are around 200 reasons that warning triangle comes on. If it was the inverter cooling pump for somebody else, it could also be the inverter cooling pump for you ... but I would read the trouble codes from the car to be sure.

    Not all scan tools can read all the trouble codes from a Prius. We have a thread that reviews some different tools and recommends some that can:

    Gen2 OBD2 app review | PriusChat
     
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Get out look at AM2 fuse . Check plug connection to inverter pump . Many times the plugs burnt . Do you hear or feel the pump car readied. Etc . No? Pump service time.
     
  5. Gen2priusowner

    Gen2priusowner New Member

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    The system does not detect a P0A93 code so we can rule out an inverter pump. Problem does not show up on a normal CEL scan
     
  6. Likeawind

    Likeawind Member

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    Press power and look for movement in the inverter pump, if coolant has no movement you need a new pump. It’s pretty obvious if pump is bad. Not hard to replace at all, remove driver side headlight and choke the hoses unless you wanna replace the coolant. I did this repair three months ago. I hope its not your HV battery, I replaced that too.
     
  7. ColoradoCrow

    ColoradoCrow Active Member

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    Did you loose your drive pulley bearing and it seized?...causing the belt to shred and rip?

    Watch this video.Redirect Notice

    Do you have access to a code reader? THAT is where you should start....
     
  8. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Today I drove to work fine no issues but then as soon as I start it up after work I get the red triangle warning and an alert on the main screen saying “problem”.

    This says it is likely NOT the inverter cooling water pump. The system is cold. It also says the AM2 fuse if fine, because if the AM2 were open, the car would be DEAD, I think the only thing that would work on the dash is the door ajar light.

    The dash lights up with the VSC light and the steering wheel once I start driving.
    VSC, ok....steering wheel? I'm not sure which warning light this is. Do you mean the brake system warning light? it's a circle with an exclamation point in it, and a set of parenthesis around the circle...Like this with an exclamation point in the center (O)

    I also noticed the BRAKE light is illuminated in the upper left. Does this light stay on even when the parking brake is released?
     
  9. SuziRider

    SuziRider '07.Prius&'04 GMC.Hybrid truck

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    My 2007 Prius with 209k miles shows the Red Triangle of Death and a bunch of other codes when the 12v battery is low (has the car been sitting over two weeks?) or the oil is low and sloshes during a turn. The Prius will quickly eat synth oil (which my son put in, thinking it is 'a good idea') but is fine with the recommended dinosaur oil.
    It may go into 'Limp Home' mode and lose some power. It is a bit unnerving.
    A quart of oil and/or a trickle charge of the battery (or some highway miles) and an OBD2 reset then quickly fixes it. If not, do a Code Read and go from there
     
  10. Gen2priusowner

    Gen2priusowner New Member

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    Update:
    It actually turned out to be a hybrid battery code for block 7. Normal scanner didn’t detect this code at first but with extensive research and better scanner I was able to find the problem. Thank you to everyone who replied to my thread I will attempt to replace the bad block this weekend.
    Any feedback or tips are kindly appreciated
     
  11. Gen2priusowner

    Gen2priusowner New Member

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  12. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

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    Yes, you have a bad cell in one of the two modules that make up block #7. Replace that bad module and put it back together and see what happens.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.