Driving home tonight my Prius lit up like a Christmas tree: MIL (malfunction indicator light, check engine light, brake warning light, and a red car with an exclamation point on the multidisplay. I pulled off the road, shut off the car, and pulled out the owners manual, which told me to "take" it to the nearest Toyota dealer. Waited a few minutes and turned it on again with same scary lights. Got out and checked the gas cap, which was tight. Called my husband and we had a discussion about whether "take" means "drive" or "tow." I called my Toyota dealer, who said it was probably safe to drive, but take it to a closer dealer. Turned car on again (now just MIL and check engine light, plus exclamation-point-car on display) and drove about 3 miles to dealer. The car seemed to drive normally, with both ICE and electric motor running at various times, as usual. I didn't think to check the battery charge, I was so rattled. When I got to the dealer, I turned off the car and waited in the lot for my husband to show up so I could transfer all my junk into his car before turning in my keys. Of course, when I started her up again to drive into the service bay, no lights! They'll check her out tomorrow and let me know what happened (I hope). It doesn't sound like the problem needing TSB EG047, because I didn't experience low power or "inability to Ready On." My car has about 18,000 miles. Here's what's already been done to her: 6,216 miles: SSC 40D, dealer fried HV ECU and replaced it 14,368 miles: SSC 40L brake light switch/navigation system software update 16,774: TSB EL002-05 multi-display replaced I really love this car, but I almost wish I had my 02 Prius back. I didn't have near as many problems. Any ideas about what might have happened today? I'll report back what the dealer says when I hear, although they may not get to it tomorrow because "you don't have an appointment." Thanks all, Barbara
Bad form, I know, to reply to my own post, but no one else got a chance while the board was down. Toyota dealer determined that, even without the low power and inability to start, my car needed the EG047-04 TSB fix, and so reprogrammed the engine/HV ECU. Under warranty, thankfully. Let's see how long we go without another TSB or recall on my poor baby! Barbara
I feel for you Barbara! It's sick that we love our cars so much and trust in their technology. It's such a perfect car, how can this happen?
Unfortunately the 04 Prius owners are a little more of a group of guinea pigs than any other Prius owners, with the redesign and all. But we're all pretty much experimenting with new technology that hasn't been fully proven to the general public. I hope your car works better after the fix. Good luck.
The TSB programmings are called calibrations. The 40D was a complete reprogramming, mostly to comply with standard diagnostic codes.