Oh, this is Bizarre -- WTFO...

Well, just as I was beginning to believe my Prius was perfect, this happens on the way home from Target today. I turned left into an uphill side street, and got on the gas. As I did, I got the proverbial "Christmas tree" instrument panel: Hybrid system light (!), check engine light, brake system warning, and the VSC light.

So I pulled over, figuring that now, CAN View really will earn its keep, as I select the DTC page. While several of the blocks did not have the usual "no codes" entry, they were simply blank, displaying nothing at all. Strange. I used CAN View RESET feature, and the codes went away. [EDIT: that should read that the "lights" not the non-existent codes, went away...]

I also immediately checked the oil, as I had changed it earlier this afternoon. No problem there, still full. I had also just filled the gas, so I checked the cap, and it's tight.

I drove off, and the lights came back. Same result, no codes showing in CAN View, but blanks on the Hybrid system block.

I RESET them again, figuring that if it's a real problem, they'll come back. I got home, three miles later, and shut down. I let the car sit for about 20 min, checked everything under the hood (all good, brake fluid at MAX).

I restarted, and drove off. No lights and no codes. Drives fine, no symptoms detectable at all. My confidence is a little shaken (not much, just a little). Anyone ever seen such behavior before? My car is an 04 that just rolled over to 40k miles, and it's under the 7/100 TCU wty.

Any thoughts appreciated. :mellow:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Old Marine @ May 12 2007, 11:36 PM) [snapback]440899[/snapback]</div>

Eight years EA-6Bs, VMAQ-2 (but they turned me into a Judge Advocate long ago). No, not at night, but almost as good. Those lights are awfully bright shining out from the normal darkness of the panel...

 

Well, I feel a little better. I just got back from driving about 15 miles around town. Temp around 90F, stop and go city traffic. Tried to simulate acceleration that immediately preceded the first light show. Nothing. Panel lights all off and car behaving normally. Strange, but better than having the lights on (I think)... No signs of Mongo yet.

 

They're back. Tonight, I headed out for my usual Sunday night drive from Pensacola to New Orleans (~200 miles), on I-10W. About 15 miles down the road, with no warning, all four lights came on at the same time (Hybrid System warning, CEL, brake system, VSC) and at the same time, the car's power sagged noticeably. I had been doing about 65 mph, and had to add substantial pedal to maintain speed. Fortunately, this happened a mile or two short of the last exit in FL (and the last for about 30 miles). I limped it home, and plan to take it to the dealer for diagnosis tomorrow morning.

Anyone care to take a stab at calling this one (the four lights, lagging power) before it goes in?

EDIT: I really don't know if the car had the power "sag" when this first happened yesterday, as it happened at "suburban speed" and if it did, I didn't notice it. At any rate, it certainly was noticeable even a low highway speed.

 

Hobbit:

I wasn't looking at it right when this hit, but about a mile down the interstate, before I exited, I saw 57% (the CV display I was using has only numeric SoC readout). Before exiting, I shifted to the standard Toyota displays (a caution box had appeared on the MFD too), and as I pulled into a parking lot to sort things out, I had seven green bars, so it was charging.

donee:

I wasn't looking for it, but I did not see that cover. Had something looked amiss, I would like to think I'd have caught it. I have not put the multi-meter to the 12v battery, but it is showing proper voltage on the CAN View screens, but that of course is but one parameter and does not rule out a problem. Also, I run my oil a couple mm below the FULL mark on the stick for just the reason you mention, so unlikely that's an issue here. But hey, thanks very much to both of you for taking a stab at this!

Well, off to the dealer after breakfast. I'll let you know what we come up with. . .

Oh yeah, after I pulled off to check things out, I cycled the power on and off several times. On the third cycle, the Brake system and VSC lights did not come back on. About half-way through the limp home, they did re-illuminate again. The brakes felt and worked fine, and no, I wasn't in the mood to challenge the VSC at that point.

 

Well, just back from the dealer -- in a Camry LE rental (dealer provided) as my car is still in their custody.

First off, they pulled the codes, and seemed a little confused by the mixture they saw. Apparently, it needs an upgraded coolant pump, which they have on order now. The reset the codes and sent me on my way, assuring me that all would be OK until the part arrives. They also noted that the car DOES need several software upgrades. This really irritates me, as when I bought the car used last year, the assured me both verbally, and on the TCU paperwork, that the car had received all updates called for from Toyota. Apparently not. . . And what the Brake Warning and VSC lights have to do with a coolant pump, I don't know.

Reluctantly, I left with the car, after they insisted it was "safe to drive" and that I did not need a replacement while the parts shipped. I got about three miles down the road, and all four lights came right back on, and the power sagged again. Back to the dealer. This time, seeing all four lights actually on (brake and VSC had gone out), and listening to my tone, they decided to put me in a replacement while they sort it out.

I am at best suspicious of the "it just needs to upgrades and the pump is a routine matter" explanations. The car had been behaving just fine until it suddenly started throwing codes, illuminating multiple lights, and going limp with the power.

 

Well, I guess there is something to the coolant pump thing. Apparently a number of the 04 MY cars got pumps that have some issue with them that eventually starts causing problems. They also noted that my car had not received any software upgrades, and required a complete reload. I found this somewhat irritating, as when I bought the car, the Toyota Certified Used documents showed a check-off indicating that the car had received all factory directed upgrades, recall work, etc. Hmmmmm. Last excuse from me today: I had a meeting to get to and rushed through the pickup, and left the invoice. I'll swing by tomorrow and get it so I can see what codes exactly I had, and why a coolant pump and old software would cause the brake system and VSC warning lights to trigger.

That said, the car is running perfectly, no lights, and no hint otherwise of anything amiss. We'll see...