Mice, brake warning lights after inspection, check hybrid, now dead

Yeah it's interesting just because of the mileage You're at the mileage where the brakes start acting up in this car It's pretty normal actually A lot of them do it some don't The two pieces are quite expensive unless your car is an exceptional condition and you really love it for some reason I would say this is something you probably want to move on from but that's a personal problem not for discussion here generally speaking. This is something you have to mull over and make the choices that you need to make. It has nothing to do with a plugged up their computer and broke your car generally that's not a thing someone's OBD2 bidirectional scanner per se can't really damage your car now if they go into a bunch of menus and clear a bunch of stuff and do a bunch of silliness I guess they could cause some problems but I doubt it would put your brake lights all on this is a common problem that happens to these cars sure you'd love to have somebody be at fault for this absolutely so they could pay the bill but I don't think there's any history of things like that to support these kinds of things But of course if you could manufacture it or make it happen that would be great on you until the engine blows up or whatever happens next so no matter who's paying for it you should make sure that the repair could be viable in the grand scheme of things generally with these models unless there's something quite exceptional going on the car is not used that much you're older folks whatever they don't seem to work out for this model My observation only other people are going to tell you much different stories but when you get to looking online you'll see how that pans out generally speaking most original owners of these cars have learned to put about 150k on them trade them in and get a new one or sell it to the aftermarket and go do whatever you're going to do anyway You see these cars in the aftermarket many of them are dead in the back of car lots they were just used to get somebody into another loan and now I go pick him up or other people do for parts and what have you I don't even pick the generation threes up anymore I'm only interested in the twos these cars you certainly won't make any money on because people throw up their hands very quickly.

 

we had similar shenanigans with our ‘10: 3 visits to dealership to “reset” things. After second visit they advised me to drive it straight there and leave it running, if another occurrence.

which happened soon enough: mechanic came out with his lap top, did stuff, then pointed out his connection to OBD port was flakey, could disconnect if he tapped it.

when I mentioned having a Scangauge II constantly connected, he suggested to leave it off, as a test. Did that, and no further events.

 

That part is probably just needing a jump, after being in the garage for a week.

Do you have a scan tool to get the trouble codes the car wants to tell you when the lights come on? When they are the brake-related lights, you can get those codes without a scan tool (like this: Blink (a/k/a Flash) Codes – How to. | PriusChat), but when it's the Check Hybrid System message, you need a scan tool. In general, to get all the codes the car wants to give you, you need a scan tool that can do that.

In general, people fall too easily into thinking "oh, the same brake issue" or whatever when they read about somebody else having the same lights on; given there are a couple hundred reasons those lights can be on, there's really no sense in saying what is or isn't "the same issue" until the trouble codes are known.

 

Yes, apparently just the constant weight of the SG’s OBD connector.

I had sim brake behaviour too: at first it seems like the brakes aren’t working, then yeah they’re working, but in some default safe-mode, requiring more effort.

service manager speculated about “missed handshake” IIRC.

 

A weak 12v battery causes all kinds of issues with a Prius.
Make sure you give it a good charge before installing the new one. It will not be charged when
you get it. 4-5 amps for 8 hours would be good.
Clean the posts and clamps to make them shiny before installing.

 

A fresh battery should come up to full charge with a few days driving. Lots of owners just do that. Especially if it gets lots of use those first few days it’ll be fine.

That said, connecting it to a 4~5 amp smart charger for a full charging session (takes 4~8 hours) is a good practice.

 

You shouldn't have too, but it's a good idea. They just sit on the shelve until someone
buys one. None of the places actually keeps them charged up. Maybe there is a place
that might do that.
I suppose if you're in a hurry 3 or 4 hours would be enought.
Mine was low. It would barely light the lights. But was ready for a low battery. My charger
is old and only puts out about 2-2.5 amps. I had it on the charger for abou 2-3 hours but it
was enough to start the Prius. I had to take my friend to a doctor's appointment so I didn't get enough
time to really charge it. I drove for 20 minutes, then it sat for a few hours then another 20 minute
drive. Then it sat overnight. It did start in the morning and I drove for 3 hours. Then I charged it
overnight for about 8 hours. It's been fine ever since.

Unless you plan on driving for several hours after installing it, you'd be smart to charge it...

 

I’ve been using a CTEK 4.3 for about a decade now. Their latest comparable charger is CTEK 5 I believe. It’s good, but getting up in price.

our most recent battery is an optima yellow top, installed in our ‘10 September 2015. Our driving has dropped off dramatically in the last decade, with both my wife and I retiring, COVID, and just smartening up, walking instead of driving, avoiding frivolous use, consolidating trips/chores.

anyway, the car often just sits, sometimes a week or more. Further perspective: our yearly driving is under 5000 kms (need to know/prove, for insurance deduction). And in the downtime I have the CTEK constantly connected. No problems with it.

Recent snap shot attached, just a simple voltage check; it's reading 12.85 volts. This is first thing in the morning, after being off the charger and had a good drive the day before (about 25 kms). This battery will be 9 years old in September.

I do occasionally check with my Solar BA9, which does a Cold Cranking Amps check, plus voltage, plus a “verdict”, but it’s more hassle, requires connection directly at the posts.

 

You can go to walfart and look for a 4-5 amp AGM charger. About $30, give or take...
You do NOT want a high amperage on. If you spend a little more you can get one
that will charge other types of batteries also.

 

Whenever you're at a place that uses their scan tool and then gives you a paraphrase like that, it's ok to make sure they tell you the actual codes before you leave. Then you have that information to post here, and we aren't stuck with their view of what the codes "mean".

Yeah, you can get the brake-system codes without any scan tool (Blink (a/k/a Flash) Codes – How to. | PriusChat), but that won't work for the hybrid-system codes. A scan tool is needed for those.