2008 - BRAKE, ABS, VSC and Orange Circle with Triangle light on, with steady beep

From some Dr. Prius screenshots I've seen, i got the impression it reports only "engine codes" and "battery codes" for some reason, and no codes from anything else in the car. (What it calls "battery codes" may turn out to be any code from the hybrid-vehicle ECU, which can report a lot of things not battery-related. But still that's only one of the car's dozen or so ECUs.)

I have seen some recent posts about the Car Scanner app where it seemed better about reporting any trouble codes known to the car. It might work with the same dongle you're using for the other apps. I don't know much about Torque Lite.

One thing you can do that clears the picture of any doubts about the code reading apps is just to use the jumper wire method (between the Tc and CG pins at the diagnostic port), power the car on, and count the blinks of the dash lights into two-digit codes. (Keep track of which lights blinked which codes; that matters.) You can search for other threads here with more details.

There are a couple hundred different brake issues with codes, but I'd say fewer than a dozen that also sound the alarm buzzer, so even without reading any codes we know it'll be in that smaller group. (In the Gen 1 repair manual, there was a handy table showing which codes would sound the buzzer, but in the Gen 2 manual I haven't been able to find that.)

It might be easiest/fastest to just get the blink codes and post those here.

 

Well, if a shop has a decent "high end" scantool -such as Autel (Maxisys), Toyota Techstream (of course), or most any Snap On scantool, then they should be able to scan all the systems on a Gen2 Prius. They might not choose to do repair work, but they SHOULD be capable of scanning and printing out a complete code report.

I don't trust any scan report unless it specifically states that it checked a particular system (high voltage battery ecu for example) and that particular ecu DID have codes (here is the code) or it DID NOT have any codes. Repeat for all 14-16 ecu's.

Now for your flash codes. Ignore the TPMS light on the right. Pick one of the other flashing lights- write down that symbol and just watch that one (block the others with some paper or tape if it helps). Count the "long" flashes- those are the tens digits. After a slight pause count the" short" flashes- those are the ones digits. There will be another slight pause then more long flashes (10's again). On most cars that have this function, the ecu will go through all codes then start repeating the sequence.

If there are no codes in a particular ecu, then the light will just short flash continuously (like the TPMS).
I expect that other forum members will chime in with more details.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

The codes will loop indefinitely, each code will be two digits long. Post the name of the light and the corresponding code(s) produced, as one light may be blinking out multiple codes.

Example : Watch the VSC light and count flashes until a pause and that equals the first digit, then watch for flashes after the pause and that would be the second digit. Then watch the ABS light, doing the same as the above. Rinse and repeat until you're sure you have all of the codes written down, then post them here for additional guidance.

As mentioned above, you may want to try a different lite/free app as well, or all of them; dashcommand, obd fusion, torque lite, obd auto doctor, car scanner, etc. Which device / platform are you using?

 

The key is to focus on one light at a time, and tune out what the other ones are doing.

Your ((!)) light (the "ECB" light) is blinking 41. The next code it blinks is 41 again, which is how you can tell it is through the whole list and starting over.

Your ABS light is blinking 42. Again, that repeats, so 42 is the only ABS code.

Your VSC light is blinking 45, and again, that's the only VSC code.

If you watch your video again now, you should see the way I counted out those codes, and then you'll know how to do it next time.

An ABS code of 42 just means "hey, go look at your ECB code."
A VSC code of 45 just means "hey, go look at your ECB code."

So the one that really matters is the ECB code 41 on the ((!)) light.

The corresponding full DTC is C1241.* You can find more about that code in this post. (Later on in that post it also talks about other codes C1256 and C1344 that you don't have. Just pay attention to the first 4 paragraphs, talking about C1241.)

I goofed in one place in that post and said "actuator is split into two" when I should have said "ECU is split into two". Other than that, the post is sound. It mentions some "INF" codes (81, 82, 83, or 84) that go with the C1241 and would tell you more about what exactly was detected. But the light blink method doesn't give the INF codes; a suitable scan tool is needed to get them.

* you can't assume that every blink code xy goes with a DTC of C12xy or something simple like that. Some of them do, a lot of them don't. There are tables in the repair manual for looking them up.

 

what is the squeal at 15 seconds before the ice starts?

 

I counted out the codes and explained them on the OP's earlier thread.

 

If you looked at the post I linked, you saw the code is specifically about voltages arriving at or within the skid ECU, so when you see that code, there's certainly nothing wrong with checking your 12 V battery as a first easy idea, but that won't always be the problem, so then you just keep following the 8 pages of troubleshooting steps in the manual until you find what the problem is.

 

Good luck, and please report back to this thread with what was learned and repaired.

In the future, please start only one thread per issue in the appropriate sub forum, this keeps everyone on the same page.

 

So I’m having all this same problem BRAKE, ABS, VSC and Orange Circle with Triangle light on, with steady beep - (no red triangle). basically all the check engine signs came in with long bleeping lasting over 3 min car going into neutral as I’m driving it and then I would have to put it back into drive to keep it going… anyone every had this happened?

 

So this just happened to me but it stopped after just 5 seconds by itself.

I know for a fact that my 12V is not good(11.5v after a nights rest) and not the correct type(typical lead acid) and wrong terminal size so it’s not tightened good. I know this sounds crazy to keep this way but since this is how I got the car and I already did 2k kms on it no problem I let it be.

What I immediately did after the occurance is to check vehicle info from the MFD and saw the battery voltage fluctuating at around 12volts even though car was in ready position(and driving fine). Went to my destination, let the car sit for around 20 minutes and hopped back in.
This time I checked the voltage with my OBD2 cheap scanner as well and it was at a seemingly steady 14.1 for the OBD voltage.

I am confused but not really. I know for a fact my 12v battery needs replacement, but how one time the car reports 12volts and brake errors and after half an hour it’s fine at 14.1 volts?

 

Could be the loose battery terminals

 

A 12V battery loses its quality over time, internal resistance increases, and capacity is lost.
Under load, the voltage drops to 11.5-11-10.5 volts and lower.
This is enough to start the hybrid system, but the control units may catch an error, as some require 12 volts or more.
The hybrid installation, after starting the car, produces 13.5-14.2 volts into the system, which recharge the 12V battery.

 

What happened there was the DC to DC converter never kicked in, so the battery kept reporting 11.x volts instead of 13.x volts. this made some systems malfunction apparently. I will have to tighten the terminal somehow and see if it happens again.

 

If the "ready" sign is illuminated, the hybrid system is operating. And the converter produces its voltage of 13.5-14 volts.
This voltage does not go directly to the battery, but to the relay and fuse box under the hood.

 

Could there have been a miscommunication with the battery and the converter, signaling the relay to not provide power to the battery?
Thanks for the replies, they are really insightful!