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My Warning Lights Lit Up Like a X-Mass tree

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by rubiconpete, Jul 18, 2009.

  1. rubiconpete

    rubiconpete New Member

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    So, it just finished raining and I left my my Prius outside. Anyhow - I went outside after the rain to move it into the garage - turned it on as usual, took the e-break off, stepped on the regular break and put it in "D" then I noticed that....

    1. The "ABS" warning light was on
    2. The "BRAKE" warning light was still on (break was off)
    3. The "((!))" break system warning light was on
    4. The "Slip indicator" - little car with that looks like its skidding out - was on, yet I was sitting in my drive way.

    In addition to this the other evening my blinkers mysteriously stopped working - but started working again.

    Anyhow - I will drop it off at the dealer Monday probably. Any thoughts on what the deal is???

    The car is a 2010, has about 2500 miles, is about 3 months old. Its a commuter car - aka - I drive back and forth round trip about 60 miles per day at speeds of about 60-70. I am very gentle with the car.

    TIA

    Pete
     
    #1 rubiconpete, Jul 18, 2009
  2. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    You've already said you were able to put your car in gear, so this does not apply to you, but other new owners may run into this issue when they do not get the Prius into Ready mode.

    If you press the Start button without having your foot on the brake, or if you let your foot off of the brake while pressing the Start button, you may end up in "On" or "ACC" modes. In one of those modes (ACC, I believe), all of the lights you mentioned will be lit, but you will not be able to drive the car. In this case there is nothing wrong with the car, and you will see normal lighting once the car is in Ready mode.
     
    #2 a priori, Jul 18, 2009
  3. jburns

    jburns Senior Senior Member

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    So you have a garage and yet left your new Prius outside in the rain and you wonder why it threw a temper tantrum? The Pruis is not like other cars. Be afraid, be very afraid. :evil:

    BTW for your safety do not name your car Christine!
     
    #3 jburns, Jul 19, 2009
  4. rubiconpete

    rubiconpete New Member

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    LOL

    I'm going to check it out this morning to see if its still wigging out - i will post an update later. Either way its probably wise to take it to the dealer for a look at.

    Pete
     
    #4 rubiconpete, Jul 19, 2009
  5. rubiconpete

    rubiconpete New Member

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    I just checked the car out. Started it up - and it is fine. No crazy lights.....

    Does this sort of thing happen sometimes with Prius?
     
    #5 rubiconpete, Jul 19, 2009
  6. brick

    brick Active Member

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    Any chance the door was open or slightly ajar? The gen 2 cars tend to freak out if thr car is put in gear with the door open, and the warning is just a light show plus text on the MFD that doesn't in the least tell you what the problem is.
     
    #6 brick, Jul 19, 2009
  7. azddavero

    azddavero New Member

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    Rubicon,

    It happened once with our '04 less than a year into ownership. The wife was driving so I couldn't give you the exact warning lights illuminated. She had just started it up and like you "all the warning lights " came on. It was not that unusual an occurance back then so there was a fix for it (here on PC of course). I don't remember the exact sequence, but it involved pressing the Park button, turning the car off, then turning the car back on. We never had a problem with it after that,

    A priori could be exactly right in the description of the cause. If it happens again I would consider taking it back to the dealer, BUT those kinds of intermittant failures might be hard to find unless the computers stored a code from the event.


    Dave
     
    #7 azddavero, Jul 19, 2009
    1 person likes this.
  8. rubiconpete

    rubiconpete New Member

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    Well I figured out what it was.

    When you start the car and have to step on the breaks to get it into the ready mode - dont push too hard! If you do the car will think there is a problem and the ABS will kick in and the dash will light up like crazy.

    hope this helps
     
    #8 rubiconpete, Jul 26, 2009
    2 people like this.
  9. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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    Brakes, not Breaks...
     
    #9 firepa63, Jul 26, 2009
  10. TKY

    TKY Member

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    Actually, breaks seems correct in this case. And, it's a good tip about the brakes. Thanks RibconPete. --TK
     
    #10 TKY, Jul 26, 2009
  11. jay_man2

    jay_man2 jay_man_also

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    Pushing on the brakes hard when the car's stopped like that activates the hill start assist feature and causes that slip indicator light to come on (and the car beeps once too, I think).

    The hill start assist keeps the car from rolling backwards on a hill when you release the brake to begin pressing the accelerator.
     
    #11 jay_man2, Jul 26, 2009
  12. hawkmoon77

    hawkmoon77 New Member

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    Are you absolutely sure the car was inready mode. Those are the exact combination of lights I get if i hit the power button, but do not press on the brake, meaning the car is not in ready mode, but is in accessory mode.
     
    #12 hawkmoon77, Jul 30, 2009
  13. mgb4tim

    mgb4tim Noob

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    the skidding car icon appears when I depress the brake peddle really deeply (like when I power up)
     
    #13 mgb4tim, Jul 30, 2009
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