Red Triangle of Death

That's like saying to the doctor, I hurt, can you tell me what the problem is?

Need more details.

But to go by trends, you might need a recalibration, which in layman's terms means a reprogramming.

 

The wrong grade won't trip the light, but overfilling may.

 

Why would overfilling cause this problem? I've heard that before, but I don't understand what the problem is.

 

How could 10W-30 turn on the Triangle of Doom? If it was due to thicker oil, then my triangle should have been on constantly at -40 even running a 5W-30. FWIW the European Prius cars usually run 10W-40.

Oil overfill has been proven to cause problems with the Prius. There is a TSB out on this #EG050-04.

There has been a lot of debate on this forum whether it's really the overfill (Unless dramatically overfilled) or how quickly you add the fresh oil. The PCV system appears prone to filling with oil if you really gush the fresh oil in.

 

Voice of experience: A gas cap less than fully tightened can cause the feared triangle!!

 

Opening the driver door while in drive will also bring about the triangle. In case anyone wants to see what it looks like.

 

Gas cap will trigger Check Engine, but I don't think it triggers the triangle.

 

"My dealer said he has seen the wrong grade of oil cause the red triangle with check engine before"

Unless he put in hypoid gear oil or something similarly think, it just can't happen that way!

Overfilling (or as has been noted, filling too fast) can due apparently to oil intrusion into the intake manifold, spoiling some sensor readings to the point of triggering the check engine light.

But the viscosity difference between 5W and 10W is just not detectable by any sensor on the car. Sounds like the car he saw this on was overfilled, and he attributed it wrongly to the grade.

 

Hope it is ok to post a problem related to the red triangle of death, and get some feedback.
Background:
2006 prius, 65K service check (oil change and tire rotation)completed 2 days previously.
Setting:
Freeway driving (to pick up family at airport 80 miles away)
Plot:
60 miles into journey, Red Triangle light, malfunction indicator lamp and red brake light come on, at the same time, the hybrid system warning light came on, on the multiinformational display. The top portion of the Multiinformational display disappeared. When I got to a safe spot, to read the manual in the dead of night, the hybrid system warning light went off.
Finished the drive to the airport, with no issues seen on the Energy Monitor /screen. Picked up the family, and headed out, thinking that there was just a display problem.
Climax:
During the return trip, we got to the same spot on the road, and the above lights went back on, and the battery showed no charge going to it.
Pulled into a parking lot with very little power (no engine power) and called for a tow truck.
Ending: Car is sitting at the repair store, waiting for Monday morning to be looked at.
I have been reading about too much oil added, causing a Mass Irflow Sensor to shut down? Ddebris in the MAF sensor? Sticky Throttle?
How will the conclusion read? avoid the city of Casa Grande, Az, where vehicle breakdowns happen? easy fix? Any ideas?
Thanks for any help. I am worried about the repair cost.

 

The inverter coolant pump probably failed.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...call-alert-2004-2007-inverter-water-pump.html

 

thanks, Patrick. Can my trusted automechanic work on this, or does it have to be done by a toyota dealership?
JJones

 

Always be suspicious of problems that come up right after a service has been performed. To me, you have a 50% chance that something got messed up during the service, and a 50% chance that the IC pump failed -- because it is the most common component failure on 2004-2006.

Your mechanic can do it. Expect ~$120 for the part, ~$22 or less for coolant, and ~2 hours labor. You may need to do some legwork around town or over the internet if the dealer that he normally get Toyota parts from does not have the IC pump in stock. It is always impolite to tell a mechanic how to do a job, but you may ask him a leading question like, "I've heard that bleeding the cooling systems on these things is a PITA. How do you do it?" If he responds "AirLift", you are in the right place.

You may wish to review some of the threads on IC pump failure. What tends to happen is that the DC converter will shut down, causing many systems to be run off the puny 12V battery. Once that dies completely, quite likely what happened to you, then the fault codes are disappear, and it would seem to your mechanic that the only problem is a dead 12V battery. Then you drive away in the car and 20 minutes later it will code again! The key diagnostic is opening the cap to the IC reservoir, putting the car in READY, and observing turbulence (good IC pump), or lack thereof (bad IC pump).

 

If jjones's car is on the recall list, then why pay a third party to do the service if the Toyota dealer service dept will do the work at no charge?

 

Thanks again- I will mention that the IC pump might be at fault, and that if either my extended warranty or the recall would cover it, I would like to fall back on those options. If the automechanic cannot access the toyota recall, I will have it towed to the dealership on down the road.
jj

p.s. I borrowed my mother's lexus hybrid (also mady by Toyota) to drive my son back to the airport, and her red triangle of death symbol came on just at about the same spot on the highway.
Hexed
Hers, however, was more bening- just a reminder for an oil change. whew.

 

I didn't realize that there was an actual recall!!! It's about time. Anyone try to get Toyota to reimburse them yet if they repair was already performed? jj, your indy mechanic won't be able to do anything for you as part of the recall, it has to be done by a Toyota dealer. Hope it all works out for you.

 

My mechanic advised that I have the car towed to the dealership- to avoid a diagnostic cost. My mechanic checked out the oil level (the work that they had done two days previously), and said it was a tad above the acceptable line, and that they had put 3.9 liters in- showing me the toyota web page recommending this amount....
So, I met the tow truck at the mechanics, found that the car started with fewer lights on the dash, and the tow truck followed me 1.5 miles down the road to the dealership. The battery even showed as recharging...but the red triangle was still lit.
And just as you said, the dealership pronounced an Inverter Coolant pump failure- saying that the new and improved coolant pump would be delivered tomorrow...and offered me a rental for free. for a day. good for me- I was driving my sons stick shift and trying to recover from knee surgery.
Now, if I can just get them to pay for the towing......
THANK YOU AGAIN for all of your help, both Patrick and seilerts....
jj