Got into my 05 Prius about 7:00AM - - it was cold in the garage - - the hi/lo thermometer showed a low of 38 deg. f. I punched the "ON" button (with my foot on the brake pedal) to start the car . The first thing I noticed was the "brake" light was lit (odd, I never use the parking brake) - - then the ABS light and the "icy road" light stayed lit, too. The right turn arrow was continuously lit dimly even though I had not signaled a turn. When I signaled a right turn, the signal was very rapid, perhaps 5 per second. I checked the parking brake by pressing and releasing it a few times - - no improvement, "BRAKE" still lit. I put it in drive and pulled out of the garage - - seemed okay. Pulled out on the street and noticed the climate control fan had turned off, even though I had the temp set for 70, and when I came to a stop light, the brakes required unusually high pedal effort. I turned around at a corner and drove back home to put the car back in the garage - - too many questions to keep driving it.
Around 10:00AM, I tried it again. Still bad, so I figured I should head for the Toyota dealership. I drove the car out onto the driveway in the sunshine and removed all my goodies from their various locations, expecting to leave the car in the repair shop for a few days. About a half hour later, I started it up - - oops - - no BRAKE, ABS or "icy road" signals - - turn signal works correctly again. Heater fan is running and brake pedal is normal, signifying energy recovery is back in operation. Damn - - an intermittent, probably due to the low temperature - - dash outside temp is showing 50 deg. f. now.
I bought this car with a "salvage" title, so I'm in for a non-warranty repair bill. Any ideas what went wrong, and what kind of an expense I can look forward to if this becomes a permanent failure?
Thanks, guys.