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Like PeteB says:-

The Gen 4 Prius (including, I think, the 2nd Gen Plug-in which is based on the Gen 4) don't need this as there is some sort of automatic block that only opens when the engine needs cooling. Can't say I've seen it though, but I haven't really looked - I was happy enough with about 100 extra miles per tankful over the Gen 3, even though the Gen 4 tank is 2 litres smaller. According to the blurb when the car was launched, this helps with aerodynamics as well as warm-up times.

As others said, a single button press while driving shouldn't do anything - you either need to push and hold, or stab the button three times. So unless there's high probability of either of those happening, I wouldn't worry too much.

Get some baking soda, and pour around the wet parts to neutralize the acid. Check the battery caps and close them. I would not drive the car if i was you since the high voltage is popping the plastic caps. If you are lucky, you might find some local place with a spare part, or at a wreckers, and can replace it over the weekend. It's possible the high voltage is triggering the ABS errors as mentioned on 1st page. I wonder what caused this, and the only thing that comes to mind if they reversed the polarity of the battery installing, tried to start to move the car, nothing happened, and then switched it around, but damage to alternator diode was already done.

Well, just to buck the trend... [BTW - Prius no longer gets exception from London Congestion Charge, I'm not even sure the plug-in qualifies now - and if it hasn't happened, it's about to: even Private Hire Vehicles (aka minicabs) will only be exempt if the are fully electric, Hydrogen or possibly plug-in with a fairly high EV range.] I first drove Gen 3s at a test track 6 months before launch, and then company ones for a few weeks to get to know them as I managed a fleet of 200-300 Prius which was expanding and swapping from Gen 2 to 3 (over 600 today, though I retired a few years ago - my own was still a Gen 1 when I retired). At first, I didn't like ECO mode except for starting off in snow/ice. Once I got my own Gen 3 in 2012 though, I quickly developed a preference for ECO mode, which has stayed with me ever since, including on my Gen 4 Prius and on test drives of other Hybrids including an extended drive of the Gen 5 RAV4, of which I'm expecting mine to arrive next month. It's nice to have the choice even if many only use one of them. They have one thing in common - the all start at creep and give full power when floored. It's how far you have to press the pedal to achieve a given level of power in between that changes. I wouldn't say it's harder in ECO, just requires a longer pedal travel. I use NORMAL mode on a few occasions when I'm changing lanes in busy dual carriageway traffic as I use the Adaptive Cruise Control a lot and use resume to let it manage much of my acceleration up to speed. Unlike the 'ordinary' CC in previous Toyota Hybrids, in the Gen 4 Prius and other recent Hybrids like the new RAV4 and the C-HR, the rate of acceleration under CC varies according to the mode selected. In ECO mode it's quite gentle, and would be inconsiderate in heavy traffic, especially when changing lanes to I switch to NORMAL or even PWR in such circumstances. On the odd occasion someone else drives my car I put it in NORMAL unless they are used to Hybrids. Some other Hybrids do have 'real' gearboxes and some have dual clutch systems (I'd hate to pay for repairs to one of those!) or torque converts. Until recently most Honda Hybrids had 'real' CVT gearboxes (with belts and pulley inside), but behaved exactly like the Prius Hybrid system in response to accelerator use.

Wow! I certainly did not expect that response. I thought I would be the odd one (wife has always said I am odd one 😄). I feel quiet normal now.😎

Thank you for your observations. Most of what you said was with reference to electric only vehicles. All you said I took into consideration but still decided to ditch my Qashqai and bought my first hybrid - a Auris hybrid. Loved it so much I now have a Prius (all Prius are hybrid or plug-in hybrid). The battery now has a Toyota 15 year warranty so long as you have a battery health check every year - free if you have the car Toyota serviced. Even if a cell went down, they are individual cells and can be replaced individually for not a lot of money. Prius has been on the uk market now for 20 years and not a lot go wrong with them, other then what all cars have to deal with ie tyres, suspension, brakes etc. The engineering of the hybrid system as bullet proof as can be. I just done 27.9 miles today in four separate journeys and clocked 81.1 mpg, done in a very comfy car that I think WILL not depreciate as much as you may think. And there is more to like a hybrid then just good mpg. I pretty pleased on the switch and would not now like to go back. Hydrogen may rule the car sales in 30 years, but we living now, and I certainly wont see 30 years time or if I do I will not be capable of driving. So happy with what i got.

Found one - this was based on reading from the Gen 2 Prius but the principal is similar for later generations. (My recollection was wrong, it was bars 6 & 7!).

Hi Aaron, how did you block the grill. Any chance of phots? And what sort of benefits?

Also. pressing the power button 3 times in succession can cause emergency shutdown too. I'm not certain, but it might be that once done you have to stop and the the transmission into (P)ark before you can start again - which could be a problem on a motorway or similar.

Ah! My apologies, I thought you meant the Power option to boost the acceleration. The button you refer to is called the stop/start in my Prius, hence my misinterpretation. So very sorry. Indeed, perhaps a cover would work.

This is from my 07 Auris user manual which also has smart entry and start system, so i presume the same rule applies to your model. It would be best to get an owners manual for your own model, and to verify. Have you considered getting some kind of protective cover for the button, like this below, but maybe in transparent option (if one such exists) ? The cover below is for Mustang, but maybe can be cut down and modified for your car, and maybe repainted black so it does not attract her (they dont sell any color except red)

Not too sure why it would damage the car, perhaps someone else could confirm, but I've used it whilst moving to accelerate past a slow moving vehicle, more quickly than just putting foot down, switching back afterwards. Most often, though, it's engaged whilst stationary - waiting. Leave it for another confirmation....

Move the seat all the way back mate 🙂

It could be, the controls - especially accelerator become more responsive to foot pressure.

16 volts is definitely to high and will result in gassing of the cells (and possible venting of electrolyte which could be what are are seeing). The voltage on an older car with non ECU managed charging may briefly approach 15 volts (or even a little more) on a very cold winter start but should then reduce over a minute or so to no more than around 14.8. When very hot the charging voltage can be around 13.5. There may not seem much difference between all those voltages but they make a massive difference to how the battery behaves. The alternator should maintain the voltage to at least 13 volts or more under normal loading at idle (lights, wipers etc). When the car is left locked the current draw should be minimal, perhaps no more than 10 to 20 milliamps. Remember you should be able to leave a fully charged battery on the car for several weeks and still have it start first time.

16v is too high, I would look to 14.7v. I would be very careful about the liquid on the battery, when you overcharge a battery it will get too hot. Also, if there is an AC charging issue (yet to be measured/shown) then overheating the battery is the outcome for that too. Best assume it is acid, and as the battery is now charged the acid will be at full strength! A bigger hazard! Disconnecting the earth strap is fine, but 0.5 amps is 6W, did you have the door/interior light on? That seems a bit high for no-load....

You can just google the codes, in this case it looks to be injector on 1st cylinder, and seems to be corespondent to your symptoms. If your OBD-II vehicle has stored a code P062D, it means that the powertrain control module (PCM) has detected a performance issue with the fuel injector driver circuit for engine bank one. Bank 1 denotes the bank of the engine which contains the number one cylinder.

I have just checked on our car, this car had WD40 sprayed all over the fuse box when it was almost new (wifey's car), so corrosion ought not to be an issue. Those fuses are stuck firm, if I was to use any more force then I would be in the realms of cracking the covers. So I've left them as they are. The Haynes manual (actually one for the next model) offers no advice at all. I think the white plastic bit stays put. I'd completely forgotten there was an alternator fuse on this car. As Furtula mentions, in these circumstances, I would disconnect the alternator at the alternator itself. I've just checked the connections, they are much easier than I remember them - just the one nut under the rubber boot, and a multiwire plug. I still think it's worth dropping off the battery earth first, though. I think that when you disconnect the alternator the parasitic drain (4Amps!) will go with it, and the other fuses won't matter. This one has a Bosch alternator, it has never been replaced (124000m).

If you have a copy of the owners manual, it should be shown in there, but i have similar fuses, even more encased in such plastic and in my case it says go to Toyota. If you are down to those 3, and it still looks to be the alternator, check if you can disconnect the wires from it, so you don't have to take the fuse out. If after that the drain is gone, i guess a used or reconditioned one should not be that expensive, and should be easy to replace by yourself.

The code you have is actually a copy of the original, which had the source code for V1 leaked. The original one costs couple of times more. Anyway the copy can still do basic code reading and it's what most people want. I think most of basic diagnostics dont work on ABS codes on newer cars, as in cant even read them, let alone try to erase, maybe some safety issues.

On the topic of code readers, I just noticed this bluetooth dongle for sale with an unusual disclaimer: "Please Note This Device Will Not Clear ABS or Airbag Faults For Safety Reasons " https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=obd2+elm327+bluetooth&source=lnms&tbm=shop&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjf4tO_vKLiAhVysHEKHa5HBpYQ_AUIDigB&biw=1422&bih=684#spd=5788649475269285390 I've never tried doing that with my (very similar) tool, but I guess mine will only display, not clear, ABS error codes too?

Be warned!!! My 12v battery was flat last week but no problem, I thought, because I have a jump start pack in the boot. Unfortunately, the boot wouldn't open because the battery was flat! I called out Toyota Roadside Assistance and they got me going very quickly.

Yes. When you get your battery charged and your meter to hand, set in on the 20v dc range as above. Check the exact voltage with the battery disconnected from the car. As soon as a load is attached, the reading after the decimal point will lower a small amount. It would also be useful to know what voltage reading you get across the battery on the 20volt ac range with the engine running, and also with the engine at 1200 rpm. A second person needed here to open the throttle. If it's not the alternator draining the battery, then there isn't much that could flatten a battery that quickly. A faulty boot light, for example, should stay on for a day with no problems at all. As background, when disconnecting the battery, it is best to disconnect the earth wire first, that way, if your spanner touches the body accidentally, nothing happens. And if you then disconnect the positive terminal, an accidental short to the body etc.with the spanner does nothing I don't think that disconnecting the fuses will highlight anything, so it might be worth starting with disconnecting the alternator, which has bolt-on wires, if I remember. If you want to disconnect these then you must disconnect the battery first, if not done already, to avoid the (very real!) chance of an accidental short. And the disconnected wires should be insulated to prevent them touching any part of the car if the battery is to be reconnected afterwards. Perhaps an old glove or very thick bag cable-tied over the top of them??? If you intend pulling fuses then don't forget to photo the fuse layout before you start. It is easy to put your meter onto the dc current range and fit it in series with the connection to the battery to help fault find. But this carries a greater chance of damaging the car or meter if you then try to measure a voltage with the meter still set to the current setting. It's easily done. So I'd avoid doing that until you become familiar with the meter. On the 'current' setting the meter probes are effectively a shorting wire! If you do use the current reading on the meter, then an acceptable drain with everything off should be less than 40mA. If you post back here what the voltage drop/difference is with or without the alternator connected, that might be meaningful as well. HTH

Hi, unfortunately my dongle came from Amazon. I've never seen them for sale in any motor factors or car shops, but then I wasn't looking out for one. Does the ABS error ever clear by itself? For non-critical errors (so probably not ABS-related ones) the errors can clear after a certain amount of time and/or ignition key cycles. But ABS and airbag errors generally won't do this. Just because the light stays on doesn't necessarily mean the fault is still happening, but it can be. If the ABS light did go out (as with your battery disconnect earlier?), you could very briefly run the car with the alternator belt off to see if this stopped it coming back on, as there would be no 'dirty' supply. But, this leaves the water pump not driven as well!!! So only try this very briefly, and in any event, say, 15 seconds absolute max. , before letting the engine cool off again. Also note, the power steering won't work. The alternator belt is tensioned by a sprung-loaded pulley, so apart from a spanner to quickly unload the spring there are no tools required, apart from a camera to note how the belt was routed. Let me know if you need more information on that job. I would only do the above as an extreme money-saving effort. Getting the belt off is easy, but getting it back on can take a while, and your hands and arms will probably get pretty dusty/dirty. Also, if the belt is old (original?!?!) it may split! I replaced our belt a year back. I've just checked EuroCarParts, they list a conventional 'Streetwize' (so a bit cheap and crude) code reader for £17.50 (+discount code?), it's in branches. I don't know if this works for your Corolla. It's similar to one I used successfully, but that was on engine ECU codes. I have no idea if that one, or this one, works on brake ECU codes - I've never had any!

Re the 12v battery. My wife’s 2010 Auris hybrid battery went flat twice. Proved to be a dying battery and because battery is in the boot it really needs to be replaced with an AGM battery as is standard. This is because a conventional battery could split open in the event of a rear end accident, spilling acid through the cab and occupants - not recommended. A new AGM battery from Toyota is about £130 and that is a competitive price. The 12v battery is basically used to fire up the vehicle computer which then uses the hv battery, the big one under your rear seat accessible from the boot. i purchased a 12v battery pack about the size of a mobile phone, Suaki I think it manufacturer. This can be used to charge mobile phones and other devices, it does come with its own crocodile clips so can jump start vehicles, including the 12v Auris battery. This can be across the battery terminals, or the dedicated jump points under the bonnet. Works very well. About £35. There are more powerful units available costing more, it not needed for an Auris. I tested it one day when the wife’s battery went flat. By the time I connected it across battery terminals in the boot and walked to the driver seat, switched on and the system was ready to go.

Some more positives of the hybrid system as fitted in a Prius/Auris, don’t know about other manufacturers,,,,,, there is no starter motor, no alternator, and no clutch assembly. All of those parts cost a lot of money when they go wrong, and they do. During 20 year production for the uk, the Toyota hybrid drive train has proved rock solid. Many Prius still on the road after 200,000 miles and more, particularly in the USA where they rend to travel more then uk drivers. And of course the Prius is very popular with taxi drivers, because they are reliable and of course can be zero congestion charges.

My main reason for owning my first Prius was not the economy, I just love the looks, the technology of the drivetrain, reliability and the way it drives. I have never driven such a relaxing car as the Prius and I have had many so called premium brands in the past. The economy is obviously a bonus, its as simple as that for me.

We have the same car, The OBD2 port looks the same as any, but the OBD2 connection at this age uses a different protocol. This works along two different pins of the connector using the K-line protocol, if I remember correctly. I have 4 completely different OBD2 readers; the oldest and the newest (an ELM327 dongle + smartphone) will read codes on this car, the other two (pc-based) will not connect to the car at all, although they claim to be backward-compatible with the earlier protocol. I think the Kwik-Fit man probably just knows the limitations of his equipment. As to the fault, you didn't mention why the battery was changed in the very first instance. What was the original problem and circumstances? Just as a theory, I wonder the alternator is defective? It is providing some charge, but maybe also putting through some AC current to the battery due to a defective regulator/rectifier. This 'noisy' power with 'voltage ripple' could cause the ABS ECU to falsely report an error condition above 1200rpm (when the alternator starts to really generate some output?) - the ECU is designed to work off a smooth, steady supply. I don't know what the ABS ECU would do if there was a noisy power feed - I've not heard of a problem like this one before. When checking an alternator, I don't think many people check for AC ripple voltage. The Green Flag man might have checked for this, if he'd come out. To that end, I think you have been running on the new battery's charge for the last two weeks with little proper charge coming from the alternator, and the battery has finally run out. Also AC charging is a disaster for car batteries and will knacker them. Just to confuse things, if the engine has been run without the battery connected at some point, then that was always said (from the early days of alternator fitment - 1970s) to be a sure-fire way of rogering the regulator and/or rectifier in the alternator, a real no-no! So was the alternator failing from before this, or was it killed by the battery terminal coming off in use, afterwards? As I mentioned above, this is just a theory! And I don't know why the red warning light is coming on. Also, why no 'charge' warning light showing, or is that the red light described above? I would expect the brake warning light to come on for a low-brake-fluid error, or the handbrake left on, not so? And with a car of this age there is plenty of potential for corrosion-related bad earthing points to factor in as well. A day in the life of owning a classic car..... :-)

May I try to clarify a few things? Hybrids (basic ones that can't plug it) don't have any worries about the HV (big, High Voltage traction) battery going flat, it's just a store for spare energy to smooth out extra power requirement when the petrol engine on it's own isn't quite enough and to receive 'free' energy from slowing with the accelerator released or while braking. The engines tend to be de-tuned for efficiency and low emissions, the power shortfall being made up by the electric motors helping. A number of manufacturers have coined the term "Self Charging Hybrids" for these, presumably to distinguish them from Plug-in Hybrids and emphasise that not only do you not need to charge them from the main, you can't. Plug-In Hybrids that started to appear around 2012 such as the Plug-in Prius and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV work just like ordinary Hybrids, and could be used without ever plugging in, but work best if plugged in whenever possible, and especially for people for whom most journeys will be within or almost within it electric only range. They typically only have 20-30 mile range on Battery alone (the first Prius Plug-in was only 9-12 miles), but for some people (me included), they can work quite well, while still being able to tackle long journeys with no inconvenience or repeated charging. Once the battery's electric only range is used up the car then behaves like a normal petrol Hybrid, using a small part of the battery reserved for basic Hybrid operation. Plug-in Hybrids can often do 500-600 miles on a full petrol tank in addition to any electric only driving. So far, the HV batteries of both types seem for be far more reliable and last way longer than anyone (except possibly Toyota engineers) expected in the early days. When Hybrids first came out in the UK in late 1999, they cost £15,500 after a government incentive of £1,000. I had a couple of these, the second of which I kept until it was 9 years old with 163,000 miles on the clock. Even though I got only £500 when I sold it, I kept a record of all running costs and it was the cheapest car to own I've ever had, whether calculating by mile, month or year. Part of this was because of reduced maintenance, only one brake disc/pad replacement in this time on two sets of spark plugs,and very little else. My present Hybrid Prius, for example, can fill up with fuel for about £45 at today's unleaded prices, and then do about 600 miles. The depreciation when I trade it next month for another Hybrid is pretty good for a 3 year old car with about 38,000 miles on the clock. The brakes have about 20% wear, my last Prius had used about 25% at 4 years/60,000 when I traded it for this one. Various governments (both parties in the UK, and many across Europe) gave incentives for diesels for some 20 years because under the right circumstances they produced less CO2 than petrol cars, and CO2 was the big news during most of that time. Unfortunately they were vastly worse for other emissions (NOx especially) which had more immediate impact on health, and governments' own scientific advisers warming of this time bomb fell on deaf ears until too late. Sadly, many people who did mostly short journeys bought diesels because of the Excise Duty advantages, but their type of use meant that many such users got worse mpg than a comparable petrol car, produced even more NOx gases and often had major repair bills because their EGR valves and Particulate Filters didn't get hot enough to clear the waste and clogged up, in extreme cases wrecking complete engines. More recent diesel cars have much better harmful emission performance, but not until they warm up, so they still don't suit low mileage motorists, but can be very good for higher mileage use especially when towing substantial weights. EVs (pure Electric Vehicles) on the other hand still get a subsidy, but smaller than before, and are still expensive even with it. According the this article, the AA polled more than 19,000 motorists and "35% thought the premium commanded by electric vehicles (EVs) was too high". I would have like to gone electric, but lack of a spare wheel is another issue for me. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/third-of-drivers-wont-go-electric-until-prices-fall-study-shows/ar-AABkQQk?ocid=spartanntp

Have you tried disconnecting the new battery for a while? Doing this will initialise the electronics (a reset) and may correct any odd behaviour. Its certainly worth doing imo. If you do this then just disconnect the negative terminal and leave it for 10 to 15 minutes. When you reconnect, push the terminal cleanly and firmly all the way down the battery post and don't over-tighten the clamp.

Tried ECO and POWER with my first Prius, Gen 3, in 2010 when I first got it, didn't like the dead feel of the pedal in ECO and the fidgety pedal in POWER, neither made any difference to mpg so I have always used normal since then, Gen 3, Prius+ and now Gen 4. TBH, I can't see the point of either of those buttons now, you soon adapt to the driving style that gives best mpg in normal mode, like getting used to the biting point of the clutch on a manual car.

45 litres should be good for 600 miles. Obviously depends on how you drive, less if you do lots of high speed MWay, and the weather plays a big part. Winter you will get less mpg, summer more.

Hi Mick, I was'nt saying anything. Apart from the first line of my original post, it was a quote from an article I had read. The point of the article was to highlight since the government reduced the incentives applicable to the purchase of electric only, hybrid and plug-in hybrid. Reading the quote carefully, I can see why what is written has concerned you, on the other hand I can see why the reporter has expressed it the way he/she has.

Welcome to the club Hao 😄

I don´t know much about those injector cleaning fluids... maybe that Redex is as good as the others. I use sometimes just two stroke oil. 1 dl mixed with full tank and that´s it. 2-stroke oil lubricates injectors as well as other, more expensive stuff.

Hello Hao - welcome to Toyota Owners Club.