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2013 Prius C: always 0 kph, emergency brake light stuck on, more

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by I_Own_A_2013_Prius_C, Mar 18, 2023.

  1. I_Own_A_2013_Prius_C

    I_Own_A_2013_Prius_C Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    My emergency brake light won’t turn off. Tried turning the car on and off, engaging and releasing the emergency parking, jiggling the lever handle.

    Also when driving the dash says I’m going 0 kph. I don’t know why it’s in kph, I just barely switched it to mph last week and now it’s gone back.

    The skid warning, tire pressure, and ABS lights are all on too.

    It also feels like the power steering is going out. And I felt like I heard a slight grating sound for the first few minutes of the drive today.

    I get my oil changed regularly but don’t drive the car much, maybe once or twice a month. Twice a week I have to go sit in the car for about an hour to avoid getting a parking ticket on those days, so I will turn the car on, sometimes the heater is on. Heater has smelled weird lately.

    Anyway I love my car so much and am scared it’s dying, any ideas?
     
    #1 I_Own_A_2013_Prius_C, Mar 18, 2023
  2. Sonic_TH

    Sonic_TH Active Member

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    Two
    Do you have pictures? and videos from which we can hear the sound you describe?
     
    #2 Sonic_TH, Mar 19, 2023
  3. Kramah313

    Kramah313 Active Member

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    Sounds electrical in nature, if this was the gen 2 Prius (2004-2009) I would say combination meter needs to be replaced. I’m not sure if the Prius C has a combination meter or if that’s what it’s called though. A couple google searches seem to indicate it might be, seems to usually be sold as part of the instrument cluster.
     
    #3 Kramah313, Mar 19, 2023
  4. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Pretty much EVERYTHING you have said points to a dead 12 V battery.
    And/or a loose battery cable.

    Unless you have time to putz around getting the battery tested and shopping for a new one.......
    just drive to a dealership to get the battery tested and replaced. About $200 these days.
     
    #4 sam spade 2, Mar 19, 2023
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    IV
    The light that says BRAKE isn't only about the parking brake. There could be some other reason it is on.

    The skid, ABS, and tire pressure lights are able to tell you why they are on, even if you don't have a scan tool. A couple minutes and a short piece of wire are all you need, as described here:

    Blink (a/k/a Flash) Codes – How to. | PriusChat

    Sam has suggested that a $200 battery replacement may resolve all of the problems. For pacifist purposes, let's say that's possible.

    My suggestion will still be to spend the couple minutes with the little piece of wire to write down your trouble codes before you do that. Even if you don't do anything yet besides write them down. Here's why:

    All of the codes will be cleared when the battery is replaced, simply because of the power being off.

    You will then be in one of two situations:

    • If Sam is right and the battery was the only issue, you have no codes or warning lights and everything is hunky-dory.
    • Otherwise, if you didn't write the codes down first, you have some ongoing issue(s) with the car that you may not be aware of and won't make any further progress tracking down until the codes and lights come back. Depending on which codes they were, they may take seconds, minutes, weeks, or months to show up again.

    If you take the couple minutes to note down the information the car is giving you now, at least you will not have thrown it away in the process of changing the battery.
     
    #5 ChapmanF, Mar 19, 2023
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