04-PriusMalfunction
Created March 30, 2005, at 10:33 am by Anonymous
I purchased a 2004 Prius last year and have really
> enjoyed the car. However, I had the unfortunate
> experience of having the dashboard light up the
> other evening coming home from work. The big red
> exclamation point lit up, along with the engine icon
> and "CSV". The engine stopped running and I had a
> rather scary message come up on the screen. I was
> able to drive the car on battery to a safe place and
> had a tow truck take me to the Toyota dealership
> where I bought the car. It has been several days
> now in the shop and I don't have any word about the
> problem. They are apparently having trouble
> diagnosing the problem. Has anyone in your hybrid
> car world had a similar experience?
> Diana
>
>
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6 years ago
I've been having a problem with the BIG exclamation mark coming up on my dash as well. Though the car hasn't died on me like yours. After a few visits to my dealership and the service manager spending literally hours on the phone with Toyota Canada's head tech's, they've determined that there is a faulty wiring assembly that causes the light to come on for no reason and mess with the HSD system. Replacement assemblies have been built and shipped and there is a service bulletin out on them for Canada. (not sure if there's one in the US) I was told that some other Priuses have done the same as yours and shut down completely with the same problem as mine, so it might be the same thing. Also, the auxiliary battery in the trunk hasn't been holding its charge properly and that also wreaks havoc as it apparently is what start the whole HSD system up when you push the power button. If it doesn't have the proper charge in it for whatever reason, the BIG exclamation light comes on and won't go off until I've driven for a while and it's charged itself back up. I've also had that battery replaced and my Prius drives just like new. Even with these problems, I've been really impressed with how well the service department has handled everything and Toyota has been really great with the warranty.
Anyone else heard of this? I've mentioned this in another forum but no one else has had the same problem...
6 years ago
I had the problem as discribed by Diana. Lights come on, (Check Engine, CVS, Big Red Triangle, etc.), engine dies, display indicates battery is near zero. All of this on a California freeway. Manage to coast down an off-ramp then push the car into a nearby parking lot, (thank goodness for those low rolling resistance tires). Pushed the Power button and the car came alive, though with several warning lights still lit. Sorry I don't remember the exact sequence of the various lights coming on and going off. I managed to drive the last two miles home and put the car in the garage. After checkig the manuals to try and figure out what was going on, I went out and started the car. Several of the lights, but not all, had gone out and everything else appeared normal. The next morning even fewer lights are lit, so I drive 22 miles to work without incident. My next 5,000 mile service came due soon after that and I mentioned the incident to the dealer. If he found anything, or even checked anything, he never told me. Of course by then the car was back to normal. All of this happened when the car had around 10,000 miles on it. I did not have any other problems until 20,000 miles. I had been having the car serviced at one Toyota dealer every 5,000 miles, as recommended, and was consistently getting 45 MPG in mixed driving. (surface streets, freeway, trips to Vegas, mountain driving, etc.) I recently changed jobs so took the car to the dealer where I purchased it for the 20,000 mile service. Now I get 35 MPG. To the best of my knowledge the only thing that has been done at any of the service intevals is to change the oil and rotate the tires. Would be very interested in hearing if anyone has had a similar experience or any suggestions. This all happened very recently so I have not been back to the dealer yet. Also, I am not fanatic about monitoring my gas mileage. I only go to the gas station about once a month and will usually check it at that time. The rest of the time I just drive as I always have and enjoy every minute of it. Love my Prius. Rides like a limozine, drives like a sports car.
Thanks for any ideas/suggestions.
Bud
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