I purchased a used 2006 Prius in great shape and all was working well, then all of a sudden, the low tire pressure light came on, the break signal came on and the check engine light and the ((!)) light all came on at once. In the back of the car on passenger side it started making an airy noise. I called Toyota and they told me to bring it in and would check it out, but do you think I should tow it or drive it in? A litte nervous to do so. ANDD..... of course what have you found to the best costs of getting items on your prius fixed?
If the tires are not flat, drive it to the dealership. If they are you need to inflate them and the tow truck may be your best bet. The good news is that the Toyota has a brake light, not a break light.
The worst news above is the fan noise in the back seat. That means the hybrid battery is too hot, one sign of impeding failure (unless you were just driving it up and down desert mountains with the A/C off). Get someone with Toyota scanner software to get codes, or buy a MiniVCI ($25 plus an old Win7 laptop) and DIY. Yes, check tire pressures. If they're okay, the non-replaceable ten-year-life batteries in the pressure sending units are going out. That's not a fatal problem. A tire shop can replace those for about $40 each, I hear. The dealer will probably want about $800 for the job. You can disable the system with the MiniVCI mentioned above. The other problems are often attributed to low voltage on the 12V system. See if you can find a date code on your battery. If it's nearing 5 years, replace it, probably about $3-400 at the dealer, or DIY for just over $200. Check the price at the Toyota parts counter, then shop around. Check the voltage at the battery or jump terminal under the hood. If the dealer's within 10 miles and you can drive when it's cool, you should be okay. You haven't had a hard failure yet, it sounds like, just a warning. A lot depends on your acceptable level of risk. How many miles on the car?
That airy sound in the right rear was probably the battery overheating. That vent is to cool the battery. See if the lights turn off after you let the car cool down. Good luck!
As others have said, the loud fan sound coming from the back seat area is due to a HV battery malfunction. The trouble code(s) will tell you for sure. If it's a major fault, the car will no longer use the battery for propulsion and only rely on the gas engine. It will be very underpowered but can be driven at low speeds to the dealer. Good reports from this business (local to you): Texas Prius Battery Replacement
Matt at Texas Hybrid Batteries will take much better care of you than the Toyota dealer. He sells both rebuilt and brand new Toyota batteries. Brad
I recommend getting an Automatic Adapter (or Carista). Mine works great! I use it on my gen 2 mostly.
