i have a gen 1 2002 prius. second owner. bought in march 2005 with 65K miles, now it is may 09 and i have 140K miles. I am buying a 2010 3rd gen package 4 with solar nav in (hopefully) late June. i have had a very good experience maintenance wise - no unusual issues. the car has a wierd habit, though. If i sit in a parking lot waiting for someone, and i use the key to momentarily power a window or something, or if i put the key in and turn it in a funky way, when i start it up i get the triangle and turtle. The first time it scared me s-less, as the manual said don't drive - tow asap. I have learned over time how to deal with it. When i get the screen, i shut if off and on until the motor kicks on when i start it (the first few times the motor doesn't come on and it is almost undrivable). When the motor kicks on it is drivable but not normal or safe. I drive it 5 or 10 seconds, stop, and restart. Then its normal but the warning lights stay on until the next day. This happens 3 or 4 times a year, and always after the waiting situation. It may have something to do with me sitting in the car. Anyway - any experiences like this? Any fix short of replacing the "computer"? What does that cost? This situation will keep me from selling the car to anybody i know - i will trade it in instead, but that will just be passing this problem on to the next person. thoughts?
The topic titles implies you are seeing the "turtle" indicator. If so, that's not a problem. It simply indicates that battery-pack power is limited for the next few minutes, so dont' accelerate hard in the meantime. You never mentioned the indicator though. In fact, the description begs the question of whether or not you are still using the original 12-Volt battery. If so, I would strongly recommend getting a new one finally. Continuous use until May 2009 is a long time for a 2002 model. .
thanks for responding john. i get the turtle and the triangle. the battery is usually at half or less bars when this happens. when i start the car, the ice does not start. i restart until it does, then it drives wonky and unsafe. then i resrat again and it drives ok. i replaced the little battery at 105K miles (35k miles ago) - and i THINK this issue predated that but now i can't be sure
You could take the car to a Toyota dealer and ask them to read out the module voltages. The goal is to see if any pair are starting to look weak. A shorted cell would have a 1.2 VDC drop but my NHW11, 03, shows a 0.15-0.2 VDC difference between the lowest and highest module pairs. There is another more expensive test that involves a controlled discharge and recharge of the battery that is described in the manual but I've never heard of anyone having that test performed. It is used when the module voltage difference is high enough to 'throw a code.' Personally, I'd recommend keeping the battery as cool as practical. Park in the shade and avoid high-charging events like descending large hills, 1-2 miles, at high speed in "D", use "B." Otherwise, enjoy. Bob Wilson
