Prius Check Engine Light Reset Guide? (Explained)

When you see the check engine light on, your dashboard is turned on, which means the car has determined something wrong in its functioning system and needs to be fixed.

That is why it is important to check the issue when your engine light is turned on.

Here, we will discuss the previous check engine line resetting method. 

What does check engine light mean on Prius?  

One common reason why the check engine line can turn on in Toyota Prius is that the onboard diagnostic system of the car has experienced any malfunction in its system and it needs to be fixed.

Generally, driving a car with a check engine light turned on will not show any type of serious issue when operating, it is recommended to service the engine and figure out the issue as soon as possible.

The check engine light on Toyota Prius indicates any faulty head gasket, dirty mass airflow sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, damaged spark plugs, damaged oxygen sensor, or defective emission control part.

These are some common compartments of the car that is related to the engine.

Driving your car with a check engine light will not cause any hassle, not repairing it as soon as possible may cause serious and expensive damage to your car.

That is why you need to get the issue fixed immediately when you see the check engine light turned on your Toyota Prius.

Can I reset check engine light myself on Prius?  

The check engine light reset option is not that much complicated and anyone with a little bit of expertise in an automobile can fix it by themselves.

Generally, having turned on the check engine light in a car can indicate malfunctions in the fuel injection system.

Many other issues can cause the check engine light to turn on. In most cases, the check engine light will only turn on when there is an issue with the onboard engine compartment or any part that is related or interconnected to the engine.

It is very simple to turn off the check engine light by resetting it. You do not need to go to any workshop or automobile garage to fix it. By knowing the right steps, you can fix it yourself and save some money.

In addition to that, having experience in resetting the check engine light will help you to solve any engine-related problems in near future.

How to reset Prius check engine light? 

Make sure that the engine is in warm condition. Hold the brake on your car and turn on the engine by pressing the power button. Keeping the brake pressed, hold down the odometer trip button and turn off the car. The next time you turn on the car, it will not show the check engine light again.

Generally, the check engine light on your Prius is turned on because the onboard diagnostic system has experienced something wrong and malfunction in the engine compartments and needs to be fixed immediately.

Although driving your Toyota Prius with the check engine light turned on will not cause any serious damage immediately and may help you to operate the engine completely fine, it is highly recommended to fix the issue.

In most cases the check engine light turned on the issue is caused by damaged spark plugs, faulty head gasket, dirty mass airflow sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, and damaged oxygen sensor or defective emission control part.

These are some sensitive components of the engine and need to be fixed immediately when they start to malfunction.

Toyota Prius has along with the generation of 2005 Prius 2007, Prius 2008 Prius, 2010 Prius, 2011 Prius, 2012 Prius, 2013 Prius, 2014 Prius & 2015 Prius.

Although the Toyota Prius comes every year in a different generation, the check engine light reset procedure may vary from model to model.

If you are driving a battery-operated hybrid Toyota Prius, the check engine light reset procedure may be different.

It’s very simple and will be cost-efficient if you have minimum skills in automobiles and can receive the check engine light issue by yourself. Will keep you away from going to a workshop and spending some money to fix the issue.

Below is a brief discussion on how to fix and reset the check engine light on a Toyota Prius: 

Prepare safety measures: 

You need to prepare the safety measures before you go and fix the check engine light of your Toyota Prius.

You will be working with electronic and mechanical parts; you need to be very careful and take some measures to keep yourself safe from any type of accident.

That is why you need to wear gloves and safety goggles before starting your work. 

Turn on the car:

Before resetting the check engine light, you need to turn on the car by pressing the power button and make sure to hold the brake on your car when turning it on. The engine turned on for a few minutes to make it warm. 

Hold the ODO button: 

Once you have turned on the car, now you need to press and hold the odometer trip button as soon as the car has its break pressed.

You need to hold down the ODO button and the brake while turning the engine off. Make sure that the car engine is warm and turn on the engine again. Hopefully, this will reset the check engine light issue and fix the problem.

Can you reset check engine light without disconnecting battery on Prius?

Yes, it is possible to reset the check engine light without disconnecting the battery on Prius.

The reason why you do not need to disconnect the battery when resetting the check engine light on Toyota Prius is that the check engine lights do not require a disconnect from the battery when you reset them.

In addition to that, you can use a check engine light scanner that will help you to prevent the battery from being disconnected.

However, it will usually take a long time for your car until it helps to disappear the check engine light to disappear after fixing the problem itself. Drive for long enough to check if the check engine light has disappeared.

Hopefully, it should not stay on the dashboard gone for a long time after you have initiated a resetting process. So, it should go as soon as you have applied the technique.

How do you clear the code on a prius? 

The process to clear the code on a Toyota Prius is very simple and you have to do it manually. Generally, resetting the codes in the Toyota Prius enables the odometer.

Generally, when you cleared the codes on Toyota Prius, it will bring your meter down to 000000. It is not recommended to clear the codes on Toyota Prius but many car owners tend to clear the codes so that they can keep track of mileage in their car.

Below is a brief discussion on how to clear the codes on Toyota Prius:

Hold down the ODO button:

To clear the code on a Toyota Prius, you need to hold down the ODO button while turning off the car and start to drive it again. You need to make sure that you still hold both the break and the audio together for clearing the codes. 

Flip the switch again:

Once you have done it, now you have to flip the switch one more time when the engine starts. This will solve the issue and a flash of 000000 will appear on the dashboard to show you a completely right-hand turn on the odometer. 

Reset the codes: 

clearing the codes will also reset the engine light issue if you have them and the device will turn on again.

How long does it take for a check engine light to reset itself on prius?  

It does not take many cycles to reset the check engine light on Prius itself. Usually, it will take around 10 to 20 cycles to go before the reset is initiated by you or the car itself.

However, if you trigger the reset procedure, the car will turn off the engine and turn it off again for once. In addition to that, if you want to reset the check engine light on other vehicles by itself, it should take around 50 to 100 miles before it will return.

It is completely normal to drive the car when the check engine light is turned on. But you should not drive the car for a long time by keeping the check engine light turned on.

Final Thoughts 

Generally, the check engine light turned on is caused by a faulty head gasket or damaged spark plugs. In most cases, the check engine light turns on due to the malfunction of engine components. That is why you need to fix the issue immediately to avoid any expensive damage.