My 2005 Prius with around 60K has the occasional Headlight Leveling Warning Light. My question is how serious is this? Do I need to go to the dealer or can I wait on it? The lights still work fine.
View 1 RepliesFirst a bit of history: About a year ago, I received the headlight leveling system warnings comprising a red triangle alert with exclamation point in the middle located on the dash, combined with a yellow(ish) warning symbol on the center stack display comprising what looks like a headlight with up and down pointing arrows. Eventually, the warning lights went out, but the HID headlamps were left pointing in a down position that lit barely 10 ft in front of the car.. This is is supposedly their default position when the sensor breaks, most commonly due to moisture entering the sensor innards resulting in corrosion of the contact points. I effected the repair quoted elsewhere on this forum, and it was good to go.
View 7 RepliesThe dealership states that this is not a big problem and that the headlights will not be affected but the malfunction light stays on and the exclamation point is on the dashboard. The fix: replace the rear sensor harness where corrosion on the connection and pin was found - new harness assembly needed. What about just replacing the pin? Dealer states you cannot cut the wire and replace because the wires are not sealed.
View 2 RepliesI just got the warning symbol that mine has failed, so I'm thinking of trying the repair myself, too. But I thought I'd ask here: how have people's repairs held up? Have you had to go back and eventually replace it? Is there anything you wish you had done differently when you repaired it?
On a related note, I see that the Toyota Service Bulletin for this problem instructs the mechanic to "Perform the Headlight Leveling ECU Initialization procedure using the SST" and then to "Perform the Headlight Aim Only procedure." This doesn't seem like something an individual can do without specialized equipment / knowledge. Is there a way to do it? Is it unnecessary?
My '05 Prius with just 16k miles on it just started displaying the red triangle with exclamation mark (multifunction warning lamp?). It displays about every 3 times I start the car... The Info screen shows the icon for the Automatic Headlight Leveling System. So Ive been searching, and have found a few threads related to this, but the fix Ive seen referenced I cannot find since the posts referencing the fix are about 5 yrs old. Exactly where on the car I can find the sensor, and how it can be fixed?
View 19 RepliesThe auto leveling warning light has come on a couple of time now on my daughters 04 rx330. The lights do adjust when vehicle is started so the motors are working. I assume this leaves the sensor? I will also note that the lights are operated in the "auto" mode and the warning light has come on when just the daytime running lights are on. If this sounds like a sensor issue, great, probably a fix that I can take care of. 1st question, is there a sensor front and rear? And for question #2, where is it or they located?
View 1 RepliesIn my one-owner purchased-new 2005 Prius w/ 74K miles and w/ no maintenance/accident history other than doing all scheduled maintenances at Toyota Dealers along w/ recalls applicable at each time (other than we had Toyota replace the 12V battery last year just because I knew it would die at some point anyway and I don't like pushing my luck; I'm not 100% certain if there's been a recall on any water pump for this car and if so, don't believe the dealer has mentioned it), I have the following indicators which appeared all at once while I was driving along at around 45 MPH in no unusual circumstances (80F, dry afternoon, about 30 minutes into a trip of mixed speeds, no loads in the vehicle, no effect on the car while driving):
From Left to Right on the display:
1) Red Triangle - Master Warning Light
2) Orange (Symbol)CHECK - Malfunction Indicator Lamp
3) Orange (!) - Brake Warning Light (but it didn't highlight the word 'Brake' in red)
4) Orange VSC - Vehicle Stability Control Warning Light
On the Screen:
Orange Car w/ the ! symbol - Hybrid System Warning Light
We immediately aimed for the house (about 5 miles away); the car drove perfectly fine, with the engine stopping and starting at lights as needed, with speeds going from the 55MPH we were traveling at the time of the alarms down to 0 and back up thru 35/45 MPH and such per normal off-interstate driving. The battery currently shows all the blue bars, and the engine and hybrid systems showed charge/discharge as usual as we drove. There was no discernible change in the driving reaction of the car to brake, steering, accelerator, etc.
My 2005 Prius (86 K mi.) has a warning light on - brakes. Put on the scanner and came up with code P1116 coolant temp. sensor circuit stack for coolant heat storage system. Also C1378 - capacitor communication circuit malfunction. I'm just a shade tree mechanic but can usually fix stuff if I know where to start.
View 4 RepliesIt has now come on 3 separate occasions, a week or more apart. Each time the yellow brake or tire light comes on. The next few times they come on together at start up. Then the triangle by itself comes on, does not clear. First time I was driving up hill. Second time I had just hit a drive way riser (not jarring). Today I was driving on a straight level highway and it came on at around 55 MPH.
Battery had been replaced after first instance. The inverter valve replaced too. Now what? It drives normally. Though it is the yellow brake light that accompanies the triangle Toyota says that codes say battery problems.
So, driving home from the meet & greet in DC yesterday and when I turned on the headlights, the auto-leveling light came on. It randomly came and went for a bit but was on continuously by the time we got home. Headlights work and are at the correct height. Lights cycle up/down when the key is turned. Other than the warning light, it appears to be working normally.
Of note, this was the first time using the lights after the airbag actuator recall last week. Not sure how it could be connected unless it is a dash connection issue. If not,how to isolate if or which sensor is causing the issue?
I've got some issues with my 2005 Toyata Prius (~150,000 miles). My wife was driving recently and the "Master Warning Light", the "Hybrid System Warning Light" and the yellow "Brake System Warning Light" all came on.
Some quick reading of the owners manual said we should take it to a dealer right away, but because it was a yellow, and not red, brake system warning light it seems ok to drive at least to a dealer. in regard to the yellow brake system light the manual said it could be that: "the regenerative brake system failed or that the hydraulic brake system failed".
Now, I have a cheap bluetooth OBD reader hooked up to the "torque" app on my phone and I thought I would try to see what error codes there were to learn more. But strangely, it did not read any fault codes. I've used this reader successfully on my 2001 Mitsubishi galant, but I'm not reading anything for the prius in this case. I'm not sure if there is legitimately no error code associate with the warning lights or if my app is just failing to read them for some reason.
I just got my IS350 F-sport which equipped with HID headlight for few days, but I have encountered a weird problem as every time I start the car the HID headlight never does a self-leveling job. It just never goes up and down and back to its original spot in which I have never encountered in my previous owned vehicles.
View 14 RepliesI have a 2013 rx350 rebuilt suv. I had a mechanic check out my Headlight leveling error that comes up. Turns out the motors are missing for my headlights. I called the dealer and they said I have to buy the whole headlight assembly. Are those motors part of the headlight assembly? Can they be bought separate? I found some on ebay but need more information where they are located.
View 6 RepliesI noticed the light below which seems to be a headlight self leveling error appear today. I know it came on a while back and disappeared butt the place its located is unnoticeable as its in the top corner and you have to tilt your head to see it so not sure if it came on many times.. But yeah I saw it today while waiting for my turn at the car wash since it was nice and sunny out and I leaned over to pull the foot brake release then saw it... It seemed to disappear a few minutes later.. then I stopped somewhere, came back started car and same thing and then it disappeared again. A while later it came on stayed on..
what could it be? I am aware that there maybe a 2 sensors, one in front and other in rear axle? I also know there is a module for left and right side... I am wondering what it could be, but I haven't got the code read yet..
For the last 5 days my passenger headlight has been out so i switched on the brights to other drivers dismay because the brights worked it seemed, shortly after my drive home they went out too. So my drivers side is working fine, turn signals working fine.
(FYI these are not HID Headlights they are base model regular headlights)
Today i spent a painful 20 minutes taking out the bulb and replacing it, showed light wear but didn't seem burned out (i replaced it anyways) PS i made sure not to touch the bulb to my skin as that usually results in a burn out.
The one thing i did notice was the wire connector that goes over the 3 prongs from the bulb itself was a little worn out and had some black around the edges.
I can't seem to find definitive information on this subject.
View 5 RepliesThe springs on my load leveling sensor keep getting corroded. This time I sprayed them with contact cleaner and then dipped them in dielectric grease so hopefully they won't go bad again, but I fear they might. It looks like there was some kind of anti corrosive treatment on them which was removed when I cleaned them off.
View 1 RepliesLast night I was driving my 2005 Prius in a light rain. I had only been driving for about 5 minutes or so on the freeway. The check engine light and the big red triangle came on. It was a couple of miles before I could get off the freeway, and by the time I could get to the exit ramp, the car at times was starting to race the ice. It was beginning to feel like it was slipping the "transmission" and I felt fortunate to get it off the road. I coasted into a convenience store and parked it. My scan gauge showed me a code of POA3F. I have discovered that this is the Drive Motor 'A' position sensor circuit. What does this all mean? Is this going to be an expensive fix? After letting the car set for a while and a few phone calls later, I attempted to start and put the car in gear. It would only let me put it in neutral. Is there any chance at all that my problem could be less than major?
View 5 RepliesA year and a half ago, I had the hybrid battery warning lights come on and had it towed to the dealer. After given the option of replacing the battery for $4300, I took it home and did a single cell replacement (all cells ~8V, one at 6.6V which I replaced), which seemed to be all good until yesterday. Back with the warning lights and blower fan, I jumped to the conclusion that I have a similar situation, removed the battery and all cells are 8.04V +/- .05V except for 1 cell at 7.92. I am not convinced that this cell is really the culprit.
View 11 RepliesMy 2005 Prius has about 141000 miles on it. The red triangle exclamation point comes on the dash and a yellow exclamation comes on the LCD 1st and then a 2nd yellow symbol comes on the LCD. The problem happens once or twice a day. It seems to start, run, and drive just fine. I do restore antique tractors and I am pretty good with computers and I have some pretty good mechanical know how. Attached are pictures of the lights.
View 1 RepliesWell all the lights are on for mine as well as of 2 days ago... checked the 12v, was at 11.8v, tested under accessories load (without engine on) and went to 11.4v then tested with the car on and we're at 14.2v
So just to be safe I went ahead and got a NEW 12v and installed it yesterday. All the lights went away immediately. Drove 30 minutes to the town over after the install... fine.... it sat off for about 1 hour.... drove it back home another 30... perfectly fine.
This morning the wife takes it to work, starts the car, all the lights on again... turns it off completely, then turns it back on and all the lights are off and then drove it to work just fine.