VSC engaging on dry surface

I have a 2006 Prius with 91k miles. Recently, the VSC light and alarm bells have been coming on frequently. It happens going faster than about 55mph, and with the wheel usually turned slightly one side or the other. This problem started about 6 months ago, and I live in the same place and drive the same places as I have for the last 7 years.

Today I had 2 new front tires put on, alignment done (all rest were ok, front left was out of alignment by 0.3 degrees), and new brakes and rotors on the front, still having the VSC problem.

Background is, I had a slow leak in the left front tire (pressure went down to about 30psi in about a week's time repeatedly). VSC seemed to engage more when the tire was low. Front tires were worn unevenly. I assumed the alignment was off (visually from tire wear) and tire slow leak were causing the car to sense torque on the tires and turn on VSC light and alarm. This is why I had all the work above done. I figured this would fix it, but on the drive home, the light and alarm came on again on corners when above 55mph, just as it had before.

One thing the garage told me was the rack and pinion steering is loose. It feels a little loose to me, but feels tighter after getting the tires replaced and the brakes done. I'm wondering if that would cause the car to sense a torque in the tire and turn the VSC light/alarm on?

Also, on tight corners (there are 2 where I live), going over about 40mph, the VSC actually engages the brakes and slows the car down. This is on a dry road, and it never did this until about 6 months ago.

I called the toyota dealer, they refused to even talk to me without me bringing the car in. I guess I kind of get that, they don't want to diagnose it over the phone, but they wouldn't listen to anything I said at all, they just said bring it in, that seemed odd to me based on past good experiences with Toyota dealers.

Thanks in advance for any help.
John
2006 Prius owner

 

I'm planning to take it in to the dealer to get the codes soon, hopefully tomorrow. I assume DTC/INF are fault codes?

 

I got the code from Autozone: C1241 (low or high voltage on hybrid battery). I'm now getting the permanent triangle of death, and also the light up/down on the display (book says autoleveling of lights, take to dealer).

A little research seems it is a problem that may be corrected with a recall (inverter cooling pump)?

My plan is to take it to the dealer, get any recall work done, and if that doesn't fix it, get the diagnostics and see where to go from there.
I also know I need to get the secondary code (81, 82, etc) that I think only the dealer can get?

Thanks for your help and if anyone has any other suggestions, I'm happy to listen!
John

 

12V battery was replaced maybe 12 months or 18 months ago (recent). I'd have to check the records. It should be good though, no initial issues so I do not suspect a bad 12V battery.

By the way, I did run the self diagnostics on the 12V (put car in ACC, hold 'info', flicker lights 3x to get to diag menu, checked vehicle signal diags) and the 12V battery showed appropriate voltage without and with load.

Car is 2006, 91k miles.

Thanks for the link - it will definitely help if I do have to go to the dealer and I get the codes from them, or if I have any other issues in the meantime.

I'll let you all know what I find when I see if the dealer will do the recall work, and if that fixes it or how they say it relates to this problem.

John

 

I'm taking the car in to the dealer tomorrow morning. I did check my VIN online (and checked with the dealer) and there are no active recalls - I saw something that said there was a recall on the ECU parts, but not on my car for some reason?

The dealer plan is to do a quick check (free) and if they have to do a more detailed check, it's $119. I guess we'll see what they say.

I also plan to have them replace the front headlight (HID), I can't get the darn thing off. They said they charge $10 labor if they can do it without taking the bumper off, $60 labor if they have to take the bumper off. I know the headlight is expensive, again, we'll see what they charge for it. I already took the inside cover off.

Thanks for your help, I'll post what the dealer says and hopefully this will help someone else in the future.
John
2006 Prius owner

 

Well, sort of bad news.
The extended warranty (I can't remember the exact words she used) is 150k or 10 years. My car is a 2006, so it ran out in April of last year. Basically, if I had this problem one year prior, I think they would have fixed it for free, but it's not a straight up recall so now they can't do anything but fix it and charge me. So now I am paying $120 diagnostic fees plus whatever it takes to fix it. They are diagnosing it now. When they are done, I plan to ask nicely if there's anything they can do for me financially since this is a known problem.

They said the code C1241 came up here, and it's an issue with the VSC and with the 12V battery. I replaced the 12V battery less than a year ago, so I think it's all tied to the ECU issue, the 12V battery is not bad. I also ran the internal diagnostics and the 12V seemed normal with and without load.

The tech was also able to reproduce the VSC light and alarm coming on, which is good because the red triangle of death/ headlight (problem indicator) is intermittent. Every time the car is over about 55 mph and you turn the wheel even a little, the VSC light and alarm comes on. It did for the tech too.

I did a little research and in some cars, there appears to be a problem with the alternator intermittently putting out too much voltage - I'm not sure if that is what's going on here or not.

I'll post more as they tell me what's up.
John

 

Just got word, the steering rack is bad. It appears that it probably came from when I hit a curb and bounced over it over the winter. They showed me and I agree it's a little loose. It's also consistent with the Mavis dealer (when I got the alignment and tires done) who said the rack and pinion steering was loose.

Toyota is quoting me $1800 to replace the steering rack and align everything. Holy cow.

I also have a headlight that is intermittent. They are saying $530 to replace the light and the ballast - they said the ballast is bad, and that's causing the bulb to flicker (I can relight it).

They aren't sure what caused the intermittent red triangle of death, but the tech told me if it was a problem with the hybrid battery, the code would be stored, so they said the C1241 code is from the 12V battery - they said the battery I put in (yellow something, I'd have to check) is one they've had problems with. The rest of the work may fix the C1241 code, and I can do the battery myself if it still happens after I fix the rest (if I decide to).

Finally the tech said he has 2 Prius' (05 and 08) and that he doesn't think it's a good idea to use any aftermarket parts for the steering.

So overall I'm looking at $2500 from the dealer for the headlight and steering.

I guess my plan is to check on replacing the steering column from a garage and see if it's any different.