 Prius Gen 1 |  Prius Gen 2 |  Prius Gen 3 |
What can go wrong with a Prius?
If you get the triangle error code on your display, a scan will be needed to determine the problem, as the triangle is a general fault code which will clear after the fault is fixed and the error code cleared.
1) The most common problem.
The 12 volt battery is the most common problem. If the 12 volt battery fails in a standard vehicle the car just won’t start and you know to change the battery. In a hybrid even at 12.2 volt the vehicle will also start, as long as there is enough charge to switch the relays in the hybrid battery. The problem arises because the on board computers (there are several) do not have enough power to work correctly and so throw up fault codes that have nothing to do with how the vehicle is performing.
So if you get a problem with your hybrid the first place to look is the 12 volt battery. Knowing this will save you a great deal of money, especially when the “experts” diagnose something else and charge you a fortune for “fixing it”.
2) Second biggest problem.
The hybrid battery will be the second biggest problem. If the 288volt error code appears ( in NHW10 only) then the hybrid battery is low on charge. If you have a NHW10 you can turn off the vehicle connect a second 12 volt battery in parallel to your 12 volt battery and charge the hybrid battery with the on board inverter charger. This is the little unit on top of the main hybrid battery.
On other Prius models you will have the hybrid battery repaired or replaced.
3) Other problems.
Other than the above 2 problems areas that can fail are
a) The MAF sensors
b) The Oxygen sensors
c) The throttle body
d) The transmission
These are items that can make you think your vehicle is damaged beyond repair when in fact are really minor problems.
We have never seen a “blown engine’.
These vehicles can continue to run well over 20 years and over 600,000 Kms. This is good for our environment and also good to dispel the perception that these vehicles are expensive to maintain.
