My 05 Prius has 9400 miles. After driving 50 some miles Saturday, a warning buzzer sounded and three warning lights came on the screen. Red tridangle yellow exclamation and VSC. Manual said stop and call dealer. Advised to go to dealer. When asked if okay to drive, I was told they couldn't say. It would have to be put on the computer to see. Interesting dilemma.

We drove another 2 miles to a friend's house. They have two Toyotas and suggested we turn the car off and check the gas cap. Apparently a loose cap can cause problems. When we turned the car on the screen lit up with all kinds of lights, would not move and would not turn off until the brake pedal was released.

Called the Toyota 800 number and had a much better conversation. Consequently the car was towed to the closest dealer. However, since it is a holiday weekend, we have no idea what's wrong. Has anyone else had such a problem? Hope not, but would like to hear any thoughts if you have.

Thanks.

 

It is a 2005. Have you had the SSC 50p done to it yet? That service campaign was a reprogram (and sensor adjustment on some VINs) which would help to eliminate an issue with the vehicle stalling at unpredictable moments. Your issue may be the stall that sometimes occurs prior to the software updated.

If after a few restarts the car continues to not respond you may have a larger problem. The vehicle should post trouble codes to the onboard systems which can be accessed by Toyota's THHT device. Those trouble codes can then lead them to a solution if it is other than the 50p upate.

 

As it turns out, there was a short circuit in the transaxle due to a coolant leak. The entire transaxle had to be replaced. Keeping my fingers crossed for no other problems as I love the car. Thanks for responding.

 

 

Bummer! But it has helped me.

I'm working on an transaxle heating system design and had planned to run a coolant loop through the pan. But being one extra leak away from a transaxle replacement is not a good design. Since I'll be using waste engine heat anyway, I'll go with a double-walled design, transfering the heat through the pan wall.

Something else I'm thinking about, for my NHW11, is re-routing the coolant from the inverter so it does not pass through the transaxle but follows an isolated loop around the MG1 galleries. Then see if I can run the transaxle oil through the galleries. The advantage is greater separation of coolant from HV electronics.

If I do this second modification, it will be after the transaxle / hybrid warrantee has expired . . . in a little over a year. I'm already at 63,000 mi, which leaves only 17,000 to go before all Toyota warrantees expire.

Bob Wilson

 

If possible could you provide a bit more detail on this?I have read before that inverter can be shorted out by a coolant leak and (by certain broad definitions) the inverter could be considered part of the transaxle.

Also, the SSC 50P includes improving of an electrical connector within the engine. If you did not get that done in time, perhaps it was shorted.

Thanks for any additional info you might provide.

DAS