2010 Toyota Prius Hazard lights came on without button being pushed and won't shut off even when car is off.

Asked by scotland1 Mar 29, 2015 at 02:33 PM about the 2010 Toyota Prius

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Was driving with no issues. Hazard lights started flashing on their own and then several
other warning lights came on. Stopped and checked fuses and removed the hazard
light fuse to get home without the lights continuing to flash.  Found penny in the aux.
'cigarette lighter' style port inside center armrest - may have caused a short.  Tried
disconnecting aux. battery in back of car and then reconnecting and starting.  No
change.  Hazard lights still flashing whether car is on or off. If there was a short-circut  
is there something that needs to be done to reboot the warning light system and the
hazard lights?

12 Answers

160

Have you checked the hazard light switch? Mine had a short and I replaced it. Problem solved

14 people found this helpful.
80

I have same problem with scotland1. Was there any resolution? How did you deal with it?

8 people found this helpful.
230

2012 prius v same problem, haz started flashing won't stop. removed flasher fuse from under hood, lights stopped flashing, but I can still hear click, click of flasher somewhere in dash area, removed panel unplugged hazard switch, same thing I still hear click click, had to remove battery cable to stop. next morning replaced battery cable, everything went back to hazards flashing won't stop, have to remove fuse.HELP???

23 people found this helpful.
90

Any resolution to this problem? Four dealerships in our area say they've never heard of this problem. Thank you! - Desperate in West Michigan

4 people found this helpful.
70

Having same problem with hazard lights won’t shut off

7 people found this helpful.
90

gurushwtv -Assuming your hazard lights blink faster when driving vehicle, we believe it's a short in the abs actuator. We found the solution at: https://priuschat.com/threads/hazard- lights-gone-crazy.201911/#post-2846445 Based on this info, we bought a used one in a self-pull yard for $21 and plan to install in near future (not an easy install but check out youtube). We originally took it to a dealership and after 4 hours of trouble shooting and a bill for $600, their conclusion was to replace the engine harness and all 4 housing units to the lights with an estimated costs of $6200! I'll post if the actuator works.

5 people found this helpful.
50

Just had same problem with my 2013 Prius. Hazards started flashing then other dash lights. Pulled all 3 possible fuses and still flashing... Kind of freaky to be honest! Has anyone above found a solution? Thanks!

5 people found this helpful.
50

Had the same problem and I wasn’t even in the car. Hazards flashing. Tried to start it and the dashboard lit up but not the car. Then I couldn’t turn it off. Then it turned off but wouldn’t turn back on. Had to just let it blink til it died. Weird!

5 people found this helpful.
120

remove dash, left corner there is a hub of wires Look for a solid blue wire, remove safely disconnect This wire is a European automatic Hazard when battery is near death The software in ECU is for European and USA yet the software acts up and does its Hazard dilemma. Toyota Tech told he and showed my on his laptop But I am interested if it is caused, or started for cause from old 12v battery, or old connections But Toyota will charge you $270 to disconnect the wire

12 people found this helpful.
90

I had a Prius in the dealership today with the hazard lights flashing all the time and the rate at which they flash increases with speed. I also noticed a left rear speed sensor code stored in the abs ecu even though the abs light was not illuminated and I had an active speed sensor signal. The only common connections I could find between the hazard lights/turn signals and vehicle speed is the abs actuator. Using a long hook tool I unplugged the abs actuators electrical connection (without removing the wiper cowl) and the hazards stopped flashing immediately. (Note, doing this will set codes you may not be able to clear) An internal short circuit inside the actuator is the problem with this vehicle. FYI, depending on year and mileage, Toyota has enhanced coverage for the abs actuator on a Prius.

9 people found this helpful.
50

My 2011 Prius has been doing the flasher thing. have to keep battery disconnected unless i need to start it for moving or testing / cleaning. The built-in clue i have is this: I had been hearing a mechanical clicking in my front-left wheel that went with my wheel speed. i only noticed it when slowing down, like for a red light or stop sign. it sounded like a sensor cable had come loose and was clicking on the wheel. the fact that the flashers also correlate to wheel speed is a common thread that points to the ABS actuator. I will look up this enhanced coverage by Toyota. Thanks.

5 people found this helpful.
50

Hi, I had this problem and engineered a fix. The issue seemed to be a short on the harness. My solution involved disconnecting the existing wiring from the flasher relay and jumping a wire from the hazard switch to the relay. The fix is documented in the following thread. https://priuschat.com/threads/hazard-lights-gone- crazy.201911/page-2

5 people found this helpful.

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