1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Red Triangle / "Problem" Text on Screen / Red Car with Triangle Appears on Screen / Check Engine

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by monkey.ts, Apr 18, 2023.

  1. monkey.ts

    monkey.ts Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2023
    4
    1
    0
    Location:
    Kansas City, MO
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hi all, first time posting here and first time Prius owner. My wife and I purchased our Prius June of 2021 and it has been flawless. Tonight we were just driving back home from dinner, and the red triangle came on as well as the on-screen display saying "Problem", check engine light, and the red car with the exclamation point on the on-screen display as well.

    My wife and I very much worriers and from what we have read, we are terrified that it's going to be a $5,000 repair; we just purchased a home and absolutely do not have those funds readily available and will need vehicle access. This just happened about 45 minutes ago and all the shops are closed so we have yet to check the codes.

    The vehicle is still driving just fine, but I thought I would post to ask if it's safe to drive tomorrow to first get the code read for free at an Auto Zone or some sort of establishment, and then make an additional trip to the Toyota Dealership if there is nothing we can do ourselves. We are not very knowledgeable about car repair. Any ideas on what could be going on?

    I will recap below:
    - Car randomly got red triangle along with other lights while driving on the highway. No other symptoms present
    - Oil was changed a month or two ago -- we are still before the recommended 3 months or 5,000 miles. I checked the oil and I think it was low, but it is kinda hard to read the dipstick. I can't tell if it's in range or if it's really low and there's some leftover residue making its way up.

    Thank you guys for the help!
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,132
    50,049
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    welcome!
    i would try harder to read the oil level. keep cleaning it and looking at both sides in different light. try to ignore the streaking.
    add a little at a time to see if you can note any change.
    driving with it slightly low on back roads should be okay
     
  3. ColoradoCrow

    ColoradoCrow Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2019
    980
    398
    1
    Location:
    Leawood, KS
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Plus one on checking the oil. Low oil is a killer. Wipe clean and look for the level in the MIDDLE of the flat part of the dipstick. Bisco is correct ignore the higher levels on the sides where is drags on the dipstick tube. If it is REALLY LOw it will be harder to check. Add 1 cup....wait and recheck.....any change? add another cup....check again.. I recently did this on my wifes car and it was almost a quart low. :eek: Now I know she might be starting to burn oil...So I check it every week.(y)
    I'm in Leawood on the Kansas side. Reach out with any further questions. and welcome....
     
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,373
    1,792
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    More than likely you're inverter coolant pump has failed if the car on the multifunction display in the center of the dash is turned from red to green. You need to look in the jug that's attached to the side of the inverter which is the silver covered box right in front of the driver standing in front of the car to the left of that box Is it container with pink fluid in it The pump for that pink fluid is under the forward right edge of that silver boxed inverter thing that we just talked about You can literally reach your hand in between the inverter corner and the headlight and see the pump it has two 3/4 size hoses going to it that are pre-bent. When the car is ready that pump should be making a little noise and should be vibrating when you touch it if you just been driving the car both of the two hoses the temperature should be similar unless you've been driving excessively hard in the high heat but anyway. If the pump is vibrating and all seems okay if you undo the top of the coolant reservoir for the inverter that we were just looking at you should see that coolant moving If you don't that's kind of a giveaway that you're having a problem moving that coolant through the loop and cooling it.
     
  5. monkey.ts

    monkey.ts Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2023
    4
    1
    0
    Location:
    Kansas City, MO
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thank you both for the tip. I have checked the oil many times, and my wife and I believe it is higher than it should be as it is above that second mark. We have to drive back home this weekend, so we decided we are going to the dealership near us to see their thoughts.

    Thank you for your advice. I think I know exactly which noise you are referring to. I don't know any other way to describe it other than a harsh buzz. That noise happens when I first start the car, when I pull into the driveway, and intermittently while stopped. It is storming pretty bad this morning, but I am about 30 minutes away from the dealership so I will update the original post with their thoughts. My wife and I bought an OBDII scanner and it threw no codes, and immediately after we scanned it, the red triangle and all other lights disappeared. We drove it around the block, and noticed absolutely no issues still. Very confused.
     
    bisco likes this.
  6. ColoradoCrow

    ColoradoCrow Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2019
    980
    398
    1
    Location:
    Leawood, KS
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Did you change the oil yourself? Or take it somewhere? Sometimes if less experienced shops change the oil they add 4 quarts by default which is WAY too much for the Gen 2. I usually do my own and add 3 quarts then check it. then add oil a cup at a time and recheck until level is good.
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,132
    50,049
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    The buzzing noise is normal for the brake pump
     
  8. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    7,854
    3,966
    0
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I wouldn't call 0.1 qt WAY too much. Gen 2 calls for 3.9 qts with a new filter. Maybe you were thinking of Alldata's incorrect entry for Gen2 Prius that has the fill quantity as 5 qts?
     
  9. ColoradoCrow

    ColoradoCrow Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2019
    980
    398
    1
    Location:
    Leawood, KS
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Hmm. That could very well have been it. I have just read about bad things happening with overfilling. I like to do all my own oil changes so I can pay close attention to when I start burning more oil.:sick:
     
  10. cyberpriusII

    cyberpriusII Prodigyplace says I'm Super Kris

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2009
    1,139
    1,611
    0
    Location:
    Iowa
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I just put in 3.5 quarts and called it good.

    My first oil changed I fussed with 3.9 quarts, but Patrick Wong recommended to me to just do 3.5 and call it good. Of course, I checked level every couple of weeks. Never really burned oil though.

    Just an aside, the Prius dipstick can be a pain to read. I always checked oil after car had sat all night. Usually, as mentioned above, one side showed different than the other side of the stick. Again, Patrick said to believe the lower reading.
    kris
     
  11. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    24,904
    16,213
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    It gets easier and easier to read as oil change time approaches. Then you change the oil and it's hard to read again.

    Wait, this isn't the venting thread?