We were just about to go out for a drive, this morning when our very reliable Prius went 'ping' and then flashed 3 symbols at us. One was the car sign with an excaimation mark. This is the hybrid system warning apparently. Also the power steering sign and finally an electric engine warning.

It'll take a trip down to Toyota tomorrow but until then, any ideas on what might have happened? We've looked in the engine but can't see anything obvious. Not that we would recognise anything anyway.

That's no fun. I hope you were still close to home. What year Prius? How much petrol is in the tank?

Apparently the car runs normally? If it does not, please have it towed instead to the service shop. It would be hard to guess the problem without more info, because several things can lead to that display. In your next message, please say what model year is your Prius, odometer, where you live, and as much information as you can extract from the service shop.

DAS

My guess would be that one of the computer units failed. A similar thing happened in my FEH a couple of months ago (it was fairly new, I bought it in April '05 and this was just before Thanksgiving), in my case it was the main brake computer, the warnings were "service brakes" and "service 4X4", and the brakes didn't work very well. It was the first very cold morning we'd had this winter. I had it towed to the shop, it took a few days (OK, I guess it was over a week) for them to get the part (it was backordered), get it installed, and the vehicle's been working perfectly since. Just one of those fluke-y things.

Good luck! Let us know how it resolves.

Hi Sofia,

One option is to turn the car off and on three times. IF it is a temporary condition, the problem will clear along with the error codes. If it doesn't clear, you are still OK and it will be easy for Toyota to hook-up their diagnostic system and read out the code.

There is a maintenance mode you can activate to read out the status of the different controllers. I have used it with the 01-03 Prius and I understand it also works on more recent models. It is perfectly safe to use and if you do, please write down (or take a digital photo) of the screens to take to your dealer.

GOOD LUCK!

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

Hi Sofia;

Well I wish you could have dropped by the Forum under much better circumstances.

With that being said, Welcome to GreenHybrid and keep us informed on what the Dealer does to get your Prius back "Smiling".

Terry

04' # 5, W/leather & JBL omitted.
"Prius, Just ask the person that drives one"
04' Tundra, 18mpg city & 22mpg hwy.
04' Prius, 60mpg city & 53mpg hwy.

Kenstyle NHW20 AERO Kit

Thanks everyone for your interest and sympathy. It had only one bar left on the petrol indicator so, pretty low but not out yet. It had only got as far as the end of the courtyard so only about 20 metres before it went ping. We drove it around the block. It felt like it was just going on the petrol engine because there was a general lack of power. And also, the power steering seemed to be off. It felt like something I might have driven in the '70s (had I been driving in the '70s ).

The Prius is a year 2000, has done about 90 000.

I haven't tried the turn off turn on x 3 thing.

When I looked at the engine, I noticed a black box located on the left hand side of the hybrid metal engine. The box has what looks like fuses pushed in to it. There were 3 'fuses' and one seemed to be gone. Do you think this has anything to do with it?

That sounds like "Engine Room, R/B No. 3" There are three fuse boxes including one right behind the engine called "Engine Room, R/B No. 2" and another called "Engine Room J/B" and "Fusible Link Block No.1" located in front of the driver's side of the US vehicles.

Let us assume you are looking at "Engine Room, R/B No. 3". There are three small fuses on the far left hand side going from the passenger compartment going towards the front there are three smallish fuses:
HTR2 - 30A
HTR1 - 30A
ABS NO.4 - 10 A

Then come three fairly large fuses:
ABS NO.1 - 40 A.
EMPS Fuse - 50 A.
HTR3 Fuse - 50 A.

If any of the HTR fuses are blown, you are probably OK. But you mentioned it didn't handle the same.

If either of the ABS (Anti-lock Brake Fuse) are blown, it needs to be fixed soon. Until then, you probably need to treat the brakes as only mechanical and avoid driving on snow and ice. This is a serious safety issue so don't dismiss it.

The EMPS is your Electrical Power Steering and means the steering wheel will feel harder to operate. It should be fixed soon and your need to have the steering gear checked out. The one weakness of a Prius, based upon the fleet reports, is in the steering mechanism.

GOOD LUCK!

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

Hi Everyone.
Well I did the old 'turn-the-car-on/offx3' and that seemed to help. The three warning signs dissapeared but the orange, engine sign on the dashboard stayed on. So today, I took it in to Toyota and as I drove, the orange sign went off. Hmmm. But I did think the car felt funny. Not as light - the breaking seemed to be making a slight shearing noise. We have had an on-going problem with the tyres slowly deflating and some of the heaviness could be that.

We put the car in to Toyota and then when and sat folornly in a brand new Prius, wishing we had more money! Which gave me a great idea, but that's another thread!