Prius (2001-03) :: Red Triangle Came On?
Sep 2, 2013
The red triangle first came on when my parents were driving my 2001 a few months ago. They described lack of power, etc. As the car was several hundred of km/miles away, I didn't have a chance to see it for myself until it got towed back (as they no longer trusted it to navigate through the mountain passes with several medium to long steep hills between the two cities) a few weeks ago. When I took a quick look myself (not a mechanic myself, just basic observation), the battery would drop "1 bar" with only very moderate use and quickly gain 1 bar or 2 when charged by the engine. Basically, the battery level is dancing between full, 3/4 full, 1/2 full, and 1/4 full continuously.
Mileage: 226000 KM / 140430 MI.....
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My 2001 won't start. When the key is turned, the system starts up and the hybrid system initializes, there are 3 clicks in the dash, and the check engine light stays on, without the engine even turning over. I had a mechanic look at it cursorily and he said it looks like the hybrid system is fine, the signal to start the engine isn't resulting in the engine starting. He said it was probably the starter or a fuse to the starter, but the gen 1 Prius doesn't have a starter, so I don't know that I can trust his diagnosis.
The 12v battery is brand new (3 months old) and is an aftermarket deep cycle battery. Also, it has been very cold here. The triangle of death doesn't appear, so I am hoping that it isn't something in the hybrid system. It did this off and on before it stopped starting at all. I was also getting the turtle intermittently when it was giving me occasional problems. Turning the car off and on a couple times usually made this go away. The car has 154k on it. I am thinking it might be the ignition starter switch, but I'm not sure.
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'01 Prius with ~276K miles on it. (Not quite as old as it sounds...new traction battery at ~140K miles, basically new engine ~50K miles ago) The last month or two it has been driving great, getting above 50 mpg in the summer here in NC. However, every now and then I will notice while driving that the car will "catch," feel like something is causing it to decelerate for 2-3 seconds, feels like it kicks completely to the traction battery, and then I will accelerate and knock it out of whatever it was doing.
Well, this morning as I was driving, same thing -- maybe a second or two longer -- and the red triangle/warning light comes on out of nowhere. I drive it a couple of more miles, but it didn't feel like it was driving normally so I parked it. The person who I was going to meet come to where I was and the car sat there for about 7 hours.
As every worst possible scenario is going through my head during this time I am planning to tow the car somewhere (probably Taylor Automotive in Sanford, NC, a little more than an hour away from me), I get back to the car, turn it on and everything is normal. I was able to drive it about 15 miles back home and now I need to figure out my next move.
I would like to think it is a 12v battery issue -- not been changed in 6 years. It is giving some clues like last night when I shut the driver side door, normally the interior light should stay on a few seconds before cutting off, instead it cut off immediately...door locks are acting funny...anything that may drain the battery a little bit will cause a delay in the car starting the next time you turn the key.
I also wonder if it is an inverter issue. On our way to the beach a month ago when I pulled the car off the interstate for a break, left the car on and while the engine shut off I still heard a noise from the hood. Opened the hood and I believe the inverter was still running full blast. Never seen that before, nor again.
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A 2001 Prius is getting a warning triangle. No check engine light, and with my OBDII scanner, it shows there are no codes. I can erase and the triangle goes out, but it comes back on eventually. It seems only if the car is driven a long time/distance it comes on, indicating some heat issue perhaps.
The 12v battery is good, the radiator coolant is good, the inverter coolant is good and flowing. The washer fluid hose is broken, could THAT give the death triangle? There must be a way to have the cars display whats wrong with the fancy software and touch screen?
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A few days ago the PS light along with the Triangle came on while my partner was driving. We've been noticing a slight shimmy with the steering wheel while backing up only, until this issue came up. Otherwise we've seen no other issues with the steering while driving.
When we took the car, which has 167,000 miles on it, to Toyota, we walked away with a $3,770.00 estimate to replace the power steering system.
Some of you noted earlier that you continued to drive your cars when you noticed the PS having issues. One guy said he did it for 30K after the first warning. I'm wondering, how did you get the PS symbol to go away? (The dealer reset ours, I'm wondering about if it comes back.) Are you still driving with the issue?
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I have a 2001 Prius with 150k on it. It has been giving me the triangle warning light and the car ! warning light. I can start the car and drive it, but sometimes when I press the accelerator the gas engine just dies and will not kick back in, unless I stop, turn off the car and restart it. (Issue seems to occur more in hot weather, could be a coincidence) When I start it the engine will run rough and shutter for less than a min, and then run normally.
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So at about 147k miles, triangle comes on. It's the icon on the right with the car and exclam! mark through it. Turned off radio. listened to car and I could swear that it was running differently, but it might be in my head (I was kind of freaking). Drove to my Prius guy in the I.E. (20 miles) car seemed to act OK. Was using elec engine when needed and gas engine was fine. Was a bit shocked by how good the car was running but I was sure something sinister was happening and at any minute the car would melt. After 1.5 hours and a 20 mile test drive.
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well I saw one other thread on this topic but no resolution. I replaced the hybrid battery like the codes told me too on my 2003 prius and it now drives great but as soon as it start it shows a problem and the red triangle stays on. No check engine light, no codes, no driving issues just a red triangle. How to diagnose a red triangle when there are no codes.
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On my 2001 Prius, while driving down the road the red triangle comes on and the ICE drops down to idle and the car slows down to 29mph. If I floor the gas peddle the car may or may not pick up speed slowly but if I let off of the gas peddle the least little bit it will slow down to 29mph. If I stop and turn the car off and then back on the triangle is still there but the car runs fine. After turning the car on and off 2 or 3 times the triangle disappears.
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Our 2002 just ticked over 200,000 miles and now has the dreaded triangle and DTC P3006 (uneven SOC in HV battery). It putters around, but the MFD is lit up with alarming icons. I cleared the code once, drove two miles, and turned the car off. On the way back home it came back on. We have owned it a few years, the previous owner was a mechanic who bought it at auction, replaced some of the cells and flipped it.
I can access the block voltages, but they don't point to any obvious culprit. I'm also using EngineLink with a PID list adapted from Gen 2.. so the formulas might not be appropriate. I checked both running and engine off, and both times Block 6 was slightly lower.. on the order of .02v. From what I understand, it takes .3v difference to throw the code. Of course the only real test would be under load.. so I don't know what to make of this. But, am I correct in believing that P3006 specifies a problem in block 6, or is that a general code?
The DeltaSOC is 51%. Again, I can't vouch for the math, but this seems pretty high.
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I have a 1st gen prius. Got the triangle and check engine light which is p3006... I checked the battery all cells are above 7.5. I notice the inverter coolant is low which I'm adding some today. Even tho it was low is it supposed to be moving or is my pump out? i did not see the waves or bubbles at all.
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I successfully replaced the HV battery on my own and it was so easy even this girl to do it! I drove the car about 300 miles when I got the triangle of death warning light again yesterday. I took my 2002 Prius to the dealer to read the codes but how to borrow a scanner (or whatever) from Autozone and do it myself.
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I am getting a 3006,3011,3015 code from my 2001 prius. The car only has 56k miles on it but sat for 8 months without starting or unplugging the batteries. I am wondering if i need to replace bank 1 and 5 on the battery to get the engine light off? The car runs fine and drives great but engine light is on and the triangle exclamation point is on but that's it for lights. What do i need to do? Replace battery altogether? recharge the effected banks?
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I just acquired our second Prius, a beautiful 2002 (Gen1 in the USA) with 90k miles. On the dash, I get the red triangle of death with the exclamation point inside it. On the computer info screen, I have an icon of a car with an exclamation point in it and it reads "problem". I have connected the OBDII reader to it and it does not have any codes. Nothing in the history, or in the current or pending. The car has full power and runs fine, but has the stupid RTOD.
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So I was driving for a couple of hours today in my recently acquired 2001 Prius, when the red warning triangle and the check engine lights came on. The car seemed to still drive fine (70 ish mph cruising). HV Battery? P3000 P3020 Error codes.....
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Driving down the road I heard a shrinking noise and on comes the red triangle/engine light. The car loses power and limps into a parking lot. I tow the car to my local Toyota dealership and was hit with the bad news. I'm told the transaxle generator has failed and needs to be replaced..... transaxle failure OR a/c compressor failure in disguise?
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I started the car and was reversing from the drive when I noticed the car was in neutral instead of reverse and had rolled back itself on the incline I stuck it in reverse whilst rolling and a warning light came on. Although the car runs fine every time I start the car, a red square picture of a car with an exclamation mark in the middle of it flashes with the word problem underneath it. and on the dash there is a red triangle with an exclamation mark on the right and a yellow lit engine picture on the left side of the dash.
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I have a 2001 Prius with 204K miles. On cold mornings when I start the car first time, within a minute it shuts down with red triangle flashing. After resetting it, car works fine all day without any problem.
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Engine Poor power
I changed the engine for my 2001 Prius ( imported used from Japan ). The engine used to shake few seconds after starting then shuts off. The Mechanist did many things, including changing the Spark Plugs, fuel injectors, adjusting the Timing Belt sync, Cleaning MAF, Updating ( Or Upgrading the soft ware ), Adding fuel Injector cleaner with the Fuel.
Now the engine shakes . It stays on, then runs fine. But when I go up hill the Check Engine and Triangle go on. There are no codes. it only says Engine Poor power.
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My gen I Prius started having issues. Every time I drive about 30 miles the triangle and check engine light come on with a ding and also my dash lights immediately dim. I just replaced the 12 v battery. Still no fix.
I also switched the fuel pump relay with the horn relay which seemed to work the dash light dimming problem (oddly enough). So I'm not sure what it could be.
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So this morning, I started the car and quickly shifted into "R". Midway out the drive, ~20 yards, the engine stopped and triangle "!". Turn off and restart, no problem and alarm light remains. At a stop light, the Graham miniscanner found P3101; cleared the code, and; it is time for the Spring oil change the throttle body cleaning.
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