Just bought a used '04 Prius and have had it for a week. Today i turned it on and a big red exclamation point inside a triangle appeared on the panel and a car w/ an exclamation point going through it on the upper side of the MFD and after a few seconds it disappeared and I drove home with only the icon on the panel displayed. When I get home I power down and up again.......everything still there. Do it once more and both of the icons disappeared......does anyone what this is or what to do? Thank You.... a little worried here lol
The only sure way of knowing what was going on is to have someone pull the codes from the computer. If a light comes on, a code is set. It stays, even if the light goes off. A common reason for that big warning triangle is a loose gas cap, though that doesn't usually fix itself. Powering on and off a few times will frequently put out the light, unless it's a serious problem. Some auto parts stores will pull codes for you if you don't want to go to the dealer, but they won't have the Toyota machine so they may not get all the details. Good luck and welcome to PriusChat!
Hola, Boricua! If you had the earlier model Prius, I would suggest that you might need a new ECM computer, ideally under warranty. In your newer model, the similar issue would be cured by 'reflashing' the computer. I seem to remember that some 2004's needed this. For any reflashing, it is *critical* that external 12 volt power is supplied throughout the procedure. Some Prius have been damaged in that way, so make sure your shop is aware. For either model, there is a chance that soot buildup on the throttle butterfly could restrict its movement. This is easy to clean. There may be other causes, so please report back.
should be filed as a history code- if you want to know what it is you can try you local auto parts store. they can't read all the hybrid codes though, so if nothing pops up there you might have to visit a dealer to get it.
