On the day of the trip to the garage, the car showed no warning signs at all. The mechanic said that with nothing to see on the dashboard it would be difficult for the diagnostic system to work out what had gone wrong.

They drove it around for a day with no ill effects.

So, my Toyota garage says...'ignore it'

Hmmm

 

Sofia,

It seems you are obligated to get help if that 90,000 is kilometers - not miles. At any rate, that should be within the warranty

There has to be options other than the run-around....

 

If it reoccurs, drive the car directly to the dealer and insist they read out the code. Do not shutdown the car and tell them read out the codes without shutting it down.

I had something like that happen once due to my error. I tried to start the car while it was in a wrong gear and out of sequence. I knew it was my error and went ahead and cleared it with three ON/OFF cycles.

I noticed a new car in the Prius I database with 90,000 miles and 55 MPG. Did you get the car used?

You might consider going to a tank by tank recording. This will let you see patterns to improve performance and avoid problems.

What are your plans for maintenance? Do you have any interest in self-maintenance?

Bob Wilson

 

Yes, that was my car. I can get to 60mpg but my inefficient husband brings it down. (I usually reset after a long drive by him!)
Next time I will go to the garage if it happens again - but a little scary driving while the car is basically telling me the end of the world is nigh.

 

Hi sofia;
Whats a Girl to do with a Husband that Won't {MIND}?

Laughting;

Terry

 

OMG! Well you could trade him in for a more efficient model m/f .. LOL
Or don't let him drive it.....

 

Thanks for the marital advice - (just fresh from an argument about the dishwasher).
Got a feeling that if I met a guy as nerdy about MPG as me, I might end up with a manslaughter charge. (do you get m-s in US?)

Thank you all and good night.

 

Sofia,a few msgs back you mentioned that the car was 2000. I am interested in whether it is the 2001 model year, the first officially brought to the US. Is there an air spoiler on the trunk lid?

Since you bought the car used, it is also worth knowing if some previous repairs were done. Do you have a full paper work history? Also, next time you open the driver's door, look around the front of the door frame to see if there are any stickers added there - what do they say?

At some point this 'total failure' may require the replacement of some expensive parts. I am thinking of the engine control module in particular. Due to Prius being crashed, vehicle dismantlers have all the parts and this is an option.

DAS

 

The car is a right-hand drive, imported from Japan. So I expect it was given Toyota treatment the whole of its life up til now.
I don't think it has a spoiler - the lid has a sort of lip to it. It's the kind of Prius that looks like a porpoise. There are no stickers on my car door except from one put there by my daughter that says 'I was a star at the dentist today.'

 

Scrub that. On closer inspection it does have a spoiler.