I've had my prius for a little over a year, routine maintenance, no excessively fast driving or maneuvering. the temp has been dropping and today it was 9 degrees (first time for my prius)...... I noticed that the brake warning light came on(NOT the "BRAKE" light or ABS light , but the other one...........could it just be the cold?
No, it's not normal. The only light you should normally expect to see is the "slalom" light to indicate it's lost traction. The brake-related lights (BRAKE, ((!)) in yellow, and ABS) all indicate malfunctions and should be seen by a dealer. If it looks like the cross-section of a tire with a ! in it, it means your tire pressure is low.
9 isn't cold. -20°F for my commute today. No warning of any kind, today or in the past from cold. Whatever you are describing doesn't sound normal. .
If you're getting the yellow light showing a curved road and sliding car it's the ABS being activated (when braking) or the traction control being activated (when accelerating). The blue lamp and warning tone will sound if you slide while turning. When the temp. drops, you get to the point where the road is cold enough to freeze the water vapour from the exhaust of cars as well as stray ice/snow onto the pavement. It's hard to see this ice until it gets thick enough to be called "black ice". It's still very slippery at 9F (it gets less slippery once the temp drops to about -20F, but it's still slick). This ice on the pavement that you find hard to see WILL trip the yellow lamp. Drive more carefully.
called the dealer today to schedule an appointment...on the phone she mentions to me that I should check the brake fluid, which I did.it was at the proper level........ the brakes don't act funny, don't feel spongy or anything, and the light only started up when it got really cold here.. I used to have a similar problem on my previous car with cold and faulty brake warning lights, but I might still take it for a look......
We can get down to -40 here. Never had a brake warning light turn on due to temp alone. Do you use the parking brake? Is it stuck?
