wife's prius is freaking out

Tadashi · 07-10-2007, 11:04 PM

We have been noticing that the wife's prius headlights have not been shutting off lately. Then tonight it would not start up. It was completely dead even though we made sure all lights were off. I successfully jump started it and now 5 hours later it is doing the following:

1. when I tried to open the door it would unlock and lock the door many times and beep
2. all the little squares around the P, N, D, B modes are blinking
3. I would get an engine check light with the red ! in the triangle
4. I now get a your car is abnormally parked. park your car on a flat surface and fully engage the parking brake. It is parked in a flat garage at the moment not to mention it will not start to allow me to repark it.

Any ideas where to start?

galaxee · 07-10-2007, 11:14 PM

first, check the negative terminal on the 12v battery. next, check the voltage on the 12v battery. some reallllly strange things happen when the 12v is having issues.

Tadashi · 07-10-2007, 11:38 PM

Am I looking for anything in particular on the negative terminal? I do not have a voltmeter so cannot check the voltage.

Now the anti-theft red car with key has been blinking (never happened before or at least I never noticed it).

I am getting the hybrid system error code now. car with the ! in the middle. I think the book says to take it to the deal immediately. lol it will not start to get it there. :P

Hopefully, the battery will fully discharge itself tomorrow morning and I will re-jump it and get it to the dealer :P First problem ever with the wife's car. I hope this is not the downhill slide.

galaxee · 07-11-2007, 12:35 AM

try this first. disconnect the negative terminal for 1 minute, then hook it back up and see if it starts up. it may also be that the 12v is just dead and isn't going to recover after a jump.

now on this park lock mechanism thing... assuming the car is in park, can you open the door, stick your foot out the door and push the car forward with your foot? (think skateboard)

if not, then the park lock mechanism is not abnormal. if so, that needs to go to the dealer for sure.

bjorgenson · 07-29-2007, 08:12 PM

Tadashi,

How did the issue with your wife's car resolve?

My car is showing some of the same symptoms - blinking P, D, N & B squares, triangle with exclamation mark (master warning), SRS light, tire pressure light and Maint Reqd - and most troubling of all, it won't power up at all so I can't even take it to the dealership without a tow. I tried disconnecting the negative terminal on the 12v battery as suggested below, but no luck. And also it doesn't look entirely like a battery issue because the interior lights are still functioning. It's only got 2600 miles on it and was functioning normally in the morning. The problems only cropped up when we hopped back in later for an afternoon outing.

Any add'l thoughts would be appreciated.

mjms2b · 07-29-2007, 09:45 PM

I too would be curious to know, any updates?

Tadashi · 07-30-2007, 08:12 AM

It turned out to be a low/dead battery. What ended up fixing the problem was to use my other Prius and connect it for about 30 min. After that I disconnected it and started it up and let hers run for about 30 min. (Wife had a 30 min commute to work).

When I got the parking error after the batter was all changed it let me put it into D so we could move the car.

Yes my interior lights were also functioning. Everything else was working fine (windows, etc). I did notice that the clock was a little dimmer than usual.

I also got the Battery Minder so I can just plug it into the wall next time instead of getting into the back of the other Prius. If you have a second conventional car you should be alright with a hard start.

lusciousgarage · 08-01-2007, 01:38 AM

For reference, when the car tells you it's on uneven ground, you are almost always facing an issue w/ low battery voltage. The 12v needs to be recharged, either by letting the car run for a long time (charged by the HV side through DC

C converter, approx. 1 hour) or put it on a *low current* battery charger. Conventional chargers will damage the AGM design.

The core question is why this happened in the first place. Was the car left sitting for an extended period? Or was something left on?

Stepclimb · 08-02-2007, 10:47 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tadashi @ Jul 10 2007, 11:04 PM) [snapback]476573[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

4. I now get a your car is abnormally parked. park your car on a flat surface and fully engage the parking brake. It is parked in a flat garage at the moment not to mention it will not start to allow me to repark it.

[/b]

I'm curious.... How does the Prius let you know that it thinks it's on an uneven surface? Is this a message on the MFD or a code you looked up from a DTC scan tool? Does it talk to you?!?! :P

Tadashi · 08-03-2007, 12:53 PM

We are not sure what happened. However, I have been noticing that the auto headlight shut-off had not been working for some reason. It had just been raining and I think the wife forgot the lights were still on. Since then the lights have been shutting off automatically, so much have been just a glitch.

07-10-2007, 11:04 PM	#1
Tadashi Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Fort Hood, TX Posts: 795 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts Friends: 0	We have been noticing that the wife's prius headlights have not been shutting off lately. Then tonight it would not start up. It was completely dead even though we made sure all lights were off. I successfully jump started it and now 5 hours later it is doing the following: 1. when I tried to open the door it would unlock and lock the door many times and beep 2. all the little squares around the P, N, D, B modes are blinking 3. I would get an engine check light with the red ! in the triangle 4. I now get a your car is abnormally parked. park your car on a flat surface and fully engage the parking brake. It is parked in a flat garage at the moment not to mention it will not start to allow me to repark it. Any ideas where to start? __________________ Two Prii Family - '05 Salsa Red BC#6 (Mine) and '05 Driftwood BC#6 (Wife's) Best Tank: 89.4 MPG (372 mi) - all city Worst Tank: 29.5 MPG (131 mi) - one flat tire Current Year: 73 MPG Best Yr: 73 MPG (2009), Worst Yr: 51 MPG (2005) Lifetime Avg: 63 MPG (54500 mi)

08-01-2007, 01:38 AM	#8
lusciousgarage Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 8 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Friends: 0	For reference, when the car tells you it's on uneven ground, you are almost always facing an issue w/ low battery voltage. The 12v needs to be recharged, either by letting the car run for a long time (charged by the HV side through DCC converter, approx. 1 hour) or put it on a low current battery charger. Conventional chargers will damage the AGM design. The core question is why this happened in the first place. Was the car left sitting for an extended period? Or was something left on?

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07-10-2007, 11:14 PM	#2
galaxee resident lab rat Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: boilermaker territory Posts: 9,675 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 94 Times in 37 Posts Friends: 26	first, check the negative terminal on the 12v battery. next, check the voltage on the 12v battery. some reallllly strange things happen when the 12v is having issues.

07-10-2007, 11:38 PM	#3
Tadashi Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Fort Hood, TX Posts: 795 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts Friends: 0	Am I looking for anything in particular on the negative terminal? I do not have a voltmeter so cannot check the voltage. Now the anti-theft red car with key has been blinking (never happened before or at least I never noticed it). I am getting the hybrid system error code now. car with the ! in the middle. I think the book says to take it to the deal immediately. lol it will not start to get it there. :P Hopefully, the battery will fully discharge itself tomorrow morning and I will re-jump it and get it to the dealer :P First problem ever with the wife's car. I hope this is not the downhill slide.

07-11-2007, 12:35 AM	#4
galaxee resident lab rat Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: boilermaker territory Posts: 9,675 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #5 Thanks: 0 Thanked 94 Times in 37 Posts Friends: 26	try this first. disconnect the negative terminal for 1 minute, then hook it back up and see if it starts up. it may also be that the 12v is just dead and isn't going to recover after a jump. now on this park lock mechanism thing... assuming the car is in park, can you open the door, stick your foot out the door and push the car forward with your foot? (think skateboard) if not, then the park lock mechanism is not abnormal. if so, that needs to go to the dealer for sure.

07-29-2007, 08:12 PM	#5
bjorgenson Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Tadashi, How did the issue with your wife's car resolve? My car is showing some of the same symptoms - blinking P, D, N & B squares, triangle with exclamation mark (master warning), SRS light, tire pressure light and Maint Reqd - and most troubling of all, it won't power up at all so I can't even take it to the dealership without a tow. I tried disconnecting the negative terminal on the 12v battery as suggested below, but no luck. And also it doesn't look entirely like a battery issue because the interior lights are still functioning. It's only got 2600 miles on it and was functioning normally in the morning. The problems only cropped up when we hopped back in later for an afternoon outing. Any add'l thoughts would be appreciated.

07-29-2007, 09:45 PM	#6
mjms2b MJ Green Join Date: May 2007 Location: Socal Posts: 349 My Car: 2007 Prius Model: Package: #2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 1	I too would be curious to know, any updates?

07-30-2007, 08:12 AM	#7
Tadashi Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Fort Hood, TX Posts: 795 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts Friends: 0	It turned out to be a low/dead battery. What ended up fixing the problem was to use my other Prius and connect it for about 30 min. After that I disconnected it and started it up and let hers run for about 30 min. (Wife had a 30 min commute to work). When I got the parking error after the batter was all changed it let me put it into D so we could move the car. Yes my interior lights were also functioning. Everything else was working fine (windows, etc). I did notice that the clock was a little dimmer than usual. I also got the Battery Minder so I can just plug it into the wall next time instead of getting into the back of the other Prius. If you have a second conventional car you should be alright with a hard start.

08-03-2007, 12:53 PM	#10
Tadashi Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Fort Hood, TX Posts: 795 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: N/A Package: #6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts Friends: 0	We are not sure what happened. However, I have been noticing that the auto headlight shut-off had not been working for some reason. It had just been raining and I think the wife forgot the lights were still on. Since then the lights have been shutting off automatically, so much have been just a glitch.