[bigheadr]

I test drove a 17K mile 2004 Prius today at the local Toyota dealer and it felt good but after we turned on the air conditioner, there was a problem signal that came on and the check engine light went on. Is this problem sign and check engine signal a frequent occurance on a Prius? That didn't impress me and makes me wonder how reliable a Prius is.

 

[melgish]

17,000 miles of test drives? Even at 10 miles a drive, that would be 1700 people doing everything they can to abuse the car.

 

[efusco]

I test drove a 17K mile 2004 Prius today at the local Toyota dealer and it felt good but after we turned on the air conditioner, there was a problem signal that came on and the check engine light went on. Is this problem sign and check engine signal a frequent occurance on a Prius? That didn't impress me and makes me wonder how reliable a Prius is.

That's not common, but it's also probably not serious. Did you ask the dealer about it? Have them pull the code and see what's wrong and ask if any other repairs had been done on the vehicle?

All good used car buying tips.

 

[bigheadr]

The dealer kept on claiming that the problem was that someone didn't put the gas cap tight enough when they filled the gas tank up. When they tightened the gas cap, the triangle signal went out but the check engine signal remained.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

hmmm sounds like they may not know how to reset the warning light.

i think that when the light came on when you turned on the air conditioning may have been a coincidence.

 

[SkipHuffman]

The dealer kept on claiming that the problem was that someone didn't put the gas cap tight enough when they filled the gas tank up. When they tightened the gas cap, the triangle signal went out but the check engine signal remained.

That will cause error indications. The check engine light will have to be reset. If it comes back with the cap installed correctly, worry, otherwise, not.