2003 TOYOTA PRIUS warning

95
(a) Brake System Warning Light andBuzzer
This light comes on in the following cases
when the ignition key is in the “ON” posi-
tion.
When the parking brake is applied...
This light comes on for a few seconds
when the ignition key is turned to the
“ON” position even after the parking brake
is released.
When the brake fluid level is low...
CAUTION
It is dangerous to continue driving
normally when the brake fluid level is
low.
When the regenerative brake system
is fails...
When the hydraulic brake booster
fails...
If the hydraulic booster causes a problem
resulting in poor braking performance, the
warning light comes on and buzzer sounds
continuously. Have your vehicle checked at your
Toyota dealer in the following cases:
The light does not come on even if the
parking brake is applied when the igni-
tion key is in the “ON” position.
The light does not come on even if the
ignition key is turned on with the park-
ing brake released.
A warning light turning on briefly during
operation does not indicate a problem.
CAUTION
If any of the following conditions oc-
curs, immediately stop your vehicle at
a safe place and contact your Toyota
dealer.
The light does not turn off even
after the parking brake is released
while the hybrid system is running.
The warning buzzer comes on to-
gether with the warning light.
In either case, this can indicate that
the brakes may not work properly and
your stopping distance will become
longer. Depress the brake pedal firmly
and bring the vehicle to an immediate
stop.
The brake system warning light re-
mains on together with the “ABS”
warning light.
In this case, not only the antilock
brake system will fail but also the
vehicle will become extremely unsta-
ble during braking.
Any of the following conditions may oc-
cur, but do not indicate the malfunc-
tion:
The light may stay on for about 60
seconds after the ignition key is turned
to the “ON” position. It is normal if it
turns off after a while.
Depressing the brake pedal repeatedly
may turn on the warning light and
buzzer. It is normal if the light turns off
and the buzzer stops sounding after a
few seconds.
You may hear a small sound in the
engine compartment after the hybrid
system is started or the brake p edal is
depressed repeatedly. This is a pump
pulsating sound of the brake system,
and it is not a malfunction.

96
(b) Driver’s Seat Belt Reminder Lightand Buzzer
This light and buzzer remind you to
buckle up the driver’s seat belt.
Once the ignition key is turned to ”ON” or
”START”, the reminder light flashes and
the buzzer sounds if the driver ’s seat belt
is not fastened. Unless the driver fastens
the belt, the light keeps on flashing and
the buzzer sounds 4 to 8 seconds.
(c) Front Passenger ’s Seat Belt Reminder Light
This light reminds you to buckle up the
front passenger ’s seat belt.
Once the ignition key is turned to “ON” or
“START”, the reminder light flashes if a
passenger sits in the front passenger seat
and does not fasten the seat belt. Unless
the front passenger fastens the belt, the
light stays flashing.
If luggage load is placed on the front
passenger seat, depending on its weight
and how it is placed on the seat, builtin
sensors in the seat cushion may detect
the pressure, causing the reminder light to
come on. (d) Discharge Warning Light
This light warns that the auxiliary battery
is being discharged.
If it comes on while you are driving, there
is a problem somewhere in the charging
system.
The hybrid system will continue to oper-
ate, however, until the auxiliary battery is
discharged. Turn off the air conditioning,
blower, radio, etc., and drive directly to
the nearest Toyota dealer or repair shop.
(e) Malfunction Indicator Lamp
This lamp comes on when the ignition
key is turned to the “ON” position and
goes off after the engine starts. This
means that the warning light system is
operating properly.
If the lamp remains on or the lamp
comes on while driving, first check the
following:
Empty fuel tank
If the fuel tank is empty, refuel immedi-
ately.
This case is a temporary malfunction. The
malfunction indicator lamp will go off after
taking several driving trips.
If the lamp will not go off even after
several trips, contact your Toyota deal-
er as soon as possible.
There is a problem somewhere in the
hybrid system or warning light system
itself.
Contact your Toyota dealer as soon as
possible to service the vehicle.

97
Emissions inspection and maintenance
(I/M) programs
Your vehicle may not pass a state emis-
sion inspection if the malfunction indicator
lamp remains on. Contact your Toyota
dealer to check your vehicle’s emission
control system and OBD (OnBoard Diag-
nostics) system before taking your vehicle
for the inspection.
For details, see “Emissions inspection and
maintenance (I/M) programs” on page 204
in Section 7.
(f) Master Warning Light
()
If the master warning light comes on, the
warning light for the faulty system is high-
lighted or the message such as “When
you park your car, make sure you shift to
Park P.” and “The batteries will not charge
if the shifter is in N” appears on the mul-
tiinformation display. (See “Service re-
minder indicators and warning buzzers—
—Multiinformation display” on page 100
in this section or “Precautions for use” on
page 12 in Section 12 or “Fuel gauge”
on page 89 in Section 24 for instruc-
tions.)(g) Output Control Warning Light
()
This light comes on when the ignition
switch is on. It goes off when the electric
motor is ready to run.
The warning light comes on when the hy-
brid vehicle battery temperature is low or
high, or the hybrid vehicle battery capacity
is decreased with the selector lever at “R”
during driving. If the light comes on, the
power will be limited. Drive your vehicle
without hard acceleration.
(h) Low Engine Oil Pressure Warning
Light
This light warns that the engine oil pres-
sure is too low.
If it flickers or stays on while you are
driving, pull off the road to a safe place
and stop the engine immediately. Call a
Toyota dealer or qualified repair shop for
assistance.
The light may occasionally flicker when
the engine is idling or it may come on
briefly after a hard stop. There is no
cause for concern if it then goes out when
the engine is accelerated slightly.
The light may come on when the oil level
is extremely low. It is not designed to
indicate low oil level, and the oil level
must be checked using the level dipstick.NOTICE
Do not drive the vehicle with the
warning light on—even for one block.
It may ruin the engine.
(i) “ABS” Warning Light
The light comes on when the ignition key
is turned to the “ON” position. If the anti
lock brake system works properly, the
light turns off after a few seconds. There-
after if the system malfunctions, the light
comes on again.
When the “ABS” warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
antilock brake system does not operate,
but the brake system still operates con-
ventionally.
When the “ABS” warning light is on (and
the brake system warning light is off), the
antilock brake system does not operate
so that the wheels could lock up during
a sudden braking or braking on slippery
road surfaces.
If either of the following conditions
occurs, this indicates a malfunction
somewhere in the parts monitored by
the warning light system. Contact your
Toyota dealer as soon as possible so
service the vehicle.

98
The light does not come on when the
ignition key is turned to the “ON” posi-
tion, or remains on.
The light comes on while you are driv-
ing.
A warning light turning on briefly during
operation does not indicate a problem.
CAUTION
If the “ABS” warning light remains on
together with the brake system warn-
ing light, immediately stop your ve-
hicle at a safe place and contact your
Toyota dealer.
In this case, not only the antilock
brake system will fail but also the
vehicle will become extremely unsta-
ble during braking.
Either of the following conditions may
occur, but does not indicate the mal-
function:
The light may stay on for about 60
seconds after the ignition key is turned
to the “ON” position. It is normal if it
turns off after a while.
Depressing the brake pedal repeatedly
may turn on the light. It is normal if
it turns off after a few seconds.
(j) SRS Warning Light
This light will come on when the igni-
tion key is turned to the “ACC” or
“ON” position. After about 6 seconds,
the light will go off. This means the
system of the airbag and front seat belt
pretensioners are operating properly.
The warning light system monitors the air-
bag sensor assembly, front airbag sen-
sors, side airbag sensors, front seat belt
pretensioner assemblies, warning light, in-
terconnecting wiring and power sources.
If either of the following conditions occurs,
this indicates a malfunction somewhere in
the parts monitored by the warning light
system. Contact your Toyota dealer as
soon as possible to service the vehicle.
The light does not come on when the
ignition key is turn to the “ACC” or
“ON” position or remains on.
The light comes on or flashes while
driving. (k) Open Door Warning Light
This light remains on until all the doors
are completely closed.
(l) Low Fuel Level Indicator Light
This light blinks when the fuel level in the
tank becomes very low. Fill up the tank
as soon as possible.
At the first blinking of the light, the mes-
sage appears on the display to remind the
driver to fill fuel.
Contact your Toyota dealer in the fol-
lowing cases:
All the segments blink.
The “E” mark and the segments indi-
cating remaining fuel blink.
(m) High Coolant Temperature Warning Light
The light operates to warn that the hybrid
system is almost over heating.
The light will come on when the ignition
key is turned to the “ON” position. After
a few seconds, the light will go off.
If it comes on while you are driving, stop
the vehicle and check your hybrid system.
For detailed instructions, see “If your ve-
hicle overheats” on page 176 in Section
5.

99
NOTICE
Continued driving with the light on
could result in the overheating of hy-
brid system.
(n) Key Reminder Buzzer
This buzzer reminds you to remove the
key when you open the driver ’s door with
the ignition key in the “ACC” or “LOCK”
position.
(o) Shift position reminder buzzer
This buzzer will sound if the driver ’s door
is opened in the following conditions:
The hybrid system is on.
The parking brake is applied.
The selector lever is in a position other
than “P”.CHECKING SERVICE REMINDER INDICA-
TORS (except the low fuel level indica-
tor light)
1. Apply the parking brake.
2. Open one of the doors. The open door warning light should
come on.
3. Close the door. The open door warning light should go
off.
4. Turn the ignition key to “ACC”. The SRS warning light should come on.
It goes off after about 6 seconds.
5. Turn the ignition key to “START”. At this time, all the bulbs are checked in
selfdiagnosis mode.
All the service reminder indicators ex-
cept the open door warning light and
SRS warning light should come on. The
“ABS” warning light goes off after a
few seconds. There may be the case that the “ABS”
warning light stays on for about 60 sec-
onds after the ignition key is turned to the
“ON” position. It is normal if it goes out
after a while.
If any service reminder indicator or warn-
ing buzzer does not function as described
above, have it checked by your Toyota
dealer as soon as possible.

100
24p006b
If an error occurs in the system, the
warning display screen appears.
The warning light for the faulty system
blinks for about 5 seconds and remains
on until the cause of an error is removed.
When you push other mode switch, the
screen changes.
For details on the warning display and
how to remedy the system, see the de-
scription on the following pages.
26p033b
When you change the warning display
screen to other, the small warning icon
is shown at the upper right of the
screen.
49.—Multiinformation display

102
(a) Power Steering System WarningLight
This light comes on when the power
steering control system fails.
If the vehicle starts moving on the decline
before the ignition is turned on, turning
the ignition switch to “ON” will light up
this light. At this time, you may feel the
steering wheel heavy.
If this occurs, stop your vehicle complete-
ly, turn the ignition switch to “ACC” or
“LOCK” and start the hybrid system again.
CAUTION
If this light comes on, take your ve-
hicle to the Toyota dealer as soon as
possible. In this case, you may feel
the heavy steering wheel maneuver-
ing. Drive your vehicle while gripping
the steering wheel firmly.
(b) Hybrid Vehicle Battery Warning Light
This light comes on in the following
cases.
a. The hybrid vehicle battery voltage
drops with the running mode selector lever
left in “N” position.
The system works properly if you put the
running mode selector lever to “P” position
and the light goes off.
b. The fuel tank is completely empty. (See
“Fuel gauge” in this section for instruc-
tions.)
c. The hybrid vehicle battery is dis-
charged.
If this light comes on with the “READY”
light on in case of c., stop your vehicle
in a safe place and contact your Toyota
dealer. (c) Hybrid System Warning Light ()
This light comes on if there is a problem
in the electric motor, inverter unit, hybrid
vehicle battery, etc.
If this light is on, stop your vehicle in a
safe place immediately and contact your
Toyota dealer.
Even if the hybrid system warning light
comes on, you could increase the speed
a little temporarily by depressing the ac-
celerator pedal. Immediately pull up your
vehicle at a safe place and contact your
Toyota dealer.

109
Hybrid driving
This vehicle runs in combination with the
gasoline engine and electric motor.
If the “READY” light is on, you can start
your vehicle even with the gasoline engine
stopped.
When the hybrid vehicle battery tempera-
ture is low or high, or the hybrid vehicle
battery capacity is decreased with the run-
ning mode selector lever at “R” during
driving, the output control warning light is
on and the output power may be limited.
If the output control warning light is on,
drive your vehicle without hard accelera-
tion. The output power will be limited par-
ticularly when backing up.
(g) If you cannot shift lever out of “P”position
If you cannot shift the selector lever from
the “P” position even though the brake
pedal is depressed, use the shift lock
override button. For instructions, see “If
you cannot shift running mode selector
lever” on page 188 in Section 5.
25p008
Vehicles sold in U.S.A.
25p009
Vehicles sold in Canada
When parking, firmly apply the parking
brake to avoid inadvertent creeping.
To set: Fully depress the parking brake
pedal. For better holding power, first de-
press the brake pedal and hold it while
setting the parking brake.
To release: Depress the parking brake
pedal while depressing the brake pedal.
To remind you that the parking brake is
set, the parking brake reminder light in
the instrument panel remains on until you
release the parking brake.
CAUTION
Driving with the parking brake en-
gaged can reduce braking power.
Before driving, be sure the parking
brake is fully released and the park-
ing brake reminder light is off.
53.Parking brake