PLEASE HELP!

Welcome to PriusChat. There was a recall for the inverter coolant pump in the Generation II line. Something to do with a possible electrical insulation failure in the windings of the little motor. An inverter pump failure usually sets off the "Christmas Tree" effect, with most of the dashboard trouble lights illuminating, followed by loss of power. I had this recall addressed in my 2008, but I don't know if the problem extends back to 2005. You can check for outstanding recalls on your vehicle by creating an account at Welcome to Toyota Owners . You can also quickly assess whether your inverter pump has failed by putting your cold vehicle in Ready (turn it on) and checking for any coolant motion in the inverter coolant reservoir. Don't know why replacing two spark plugs had that effect. Don't know what is smoking either, but where there is smoke there is usually fire so be careful.

 

Try pulling the dipstick and checking the oil level. Just in case.

 

are you sure it didn't say 'brake'?

 

Prius owner here. I was driving yesterday and my car after about an hour of perfectly normal usage displayed an error message saying “break”.

This is something new to me, as I've never seen this.

Car wouldn’t accelerate. I pulled to the side with the last of my momentum and parked the car. Turned it off and went to restart... Nothing. The display lights up for just a moment then empty boxes on the right hand side show before total blackness.

This is not new to me. Many times, the empty boxes are the gear position indicators illuminating. This sometimes happens when there is a 12v supply issue tot he dash.

Did some research, and saw you can pull a fuse to get the car at least driveable. Replaced the bottom and second to last (upward) spark plug with spares, and the car turned on.

You're most likely talking about the AM2 fuse. A common problem is the Inverter Cooling Water Pump failing and causing this fuse to open. They don't always open 100%. Either way, when it goes, it kills the dash and the car. I'm going with you replaced two fuses in the engine compartment fuse box, not spark plugs. The second one down from the top is the AM2 fuse.

However it is smoking and something in the engine is burning.
Could still be the ICWP if the AM2 fuse was one that was replaced

What is the issue and is it worth trying to fix?
Odds are good it's that pump. Costs about 60 bucks to get online and about 1.5 hours for someone who has never done it before and watches a few you-tube videos. $550 is you have a dealer do it.

You can remove power from the pump by unplugging it at the pump, or at the small one wire plug located just above and to the passenger side of the fuse box. You'll still be able to drive the car, but just remember you wont have coolant flowing through the inverter system.

 

I have a 2006 and the pump started to die on me Christmas tree on the dash and power lost but I let the car cool down reset the Christmas tree lights lol and ready to go again, drove to the dealer they changed as recalls for free, just give a call to the dealer with the vin # they will tell you if you car do have or not the recall available.

 

probably not