2004 Prius "hung up" on starting

doonkhan · 03-20-2005, 08:29 AM

I had an odd problem with my 2004 Prius last night, and wondered if anyone here could give some insight.

When I tried to start the vehicle, the electronics turned on, but the power switch was lit orange.

I thought perhaps I'd tried to start it without my foot on the brake, so I pressed the power button again. It had no effect - the car stayed on, with the orange light on the power button. I was unable to shut the car off, or to start it properly. It was totally hung.

The engine was not running, and the gear wouldn't shift out of Park. I noticed that there was no speed showing on the instrument cluster. (Instead of reading zero, it was dark. )

I figured that restarting would probably fox the problem, but I couldn't find any way to power down or reset the Prius. (Based on my experience with computers, all I could think of was to do the equivalent pulling the power plug, but I wasn't sure what fuses to pull, and didn't want to mess with the main battery.)

Naturally, it was late at night in a bad part of town.

I called Toyota Roadside Assistance, who said all they could do was send a tow truck. The guy turned up forty minutes later, but this presented another challenge, since the car was parked in a cramped lot, and there seemed to be no way to move the car out to a position where the flatbed truck could get at it.

The tow truck driver (who wasn't familiar with the Prius) tried playing with the controls, and eventually hit on a combination of keys that caused a reset. (It looked like he was holding the power key down while rapidly changing gears.) Once the car restarted, everything was fine.

I'm not sure what caused the glitch. I'm in the habit of plugging in my iPod to the power supply when I start the car. (In future, I'll double check that everything has started normally before I plug in any accessories.) Is it possible this sent static to the computer at the wrong place in the power-up cycle.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has experienced similar problems?

Also, for future reference, if the car "hangs" like this, is there an "official" combination of switches that will do a "reset" on the car, or did my tow truck guy just get lucky?

Duncan McKenzie
2004 Silver "B".

**efusco** · 03-20-2005, 08:41 AM

From the "Known Issues" area in the Knowledge Base:

http://www.priuschat.com/forums/kb.php?mod...0a716147cb738f6

doonkhan · 03-20-2005, 09:11 AM

Thanks for the input.

The situation described in the "Known Issues" section is not what I experienced. For example, that post describes changing gears to Neutral, but I wasn't able to change gears out of Park. The green Park light was on. There were no warning messages of any kind, of the sort you might get when you change gears without holding the brake pedal down.

Also, in my case, I tried the power button many times, both with and without the brake pedal pressed, and got no response at all.

Duncan

**efusco** · 03-20-2005, 09:19 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(doonkhan\";p=\"74013)</div>

Quote:

Thanks for the input.

The situation described in the \"Known Issues\" section is not what I experienced. For example, that post describes changing gears to Neutral, but I wasn't able to change gears out of Park. The green Park light was on. There were no warning messages of any kind, of the sort you might get when you change gears without holding the brake pedal down.

Also, in my case, I tried the power button many times, both with and without the brake pedal pressed, and got no response at all.

Duncan[/b]

Duncan,
You very well may be right, I wasn't there and didn't get a chance to try things. But your described situation is so similar that I suspect it is the same as the known issues thing.

Even though the Park button is lit, hitting it then Power should have remedied the situation. And I suspect that the tow guy did, accidently, just that to get it out of the 'stuck' mode.

naterprius · 03-20-2005, 10:05 AM

I had this happen to me as well. Dealer can find nothing wrong. The interesting thing is that the car won't turn off until you let go of the brake.

I smell a TSB coming soon...

Nate

xevious · 03-20-2005, 02:02 PM

Well, at least the multi-information display doesn't turn blue and perform a memory dump.

CHART · 03-20-2005, 02:14 PM

I had something similar happen once or twice in the 15 months I've had my Prius, but holding down the power button, probably for a good 15 seconds, powered the car down both times. I'm pretty sure that both times I was in a hurry and powered up the car and immediately put it in gear before power-up was complete, but I've never had it daignosed as each time the car restared immediately after I powered it down.

Frank Hudon · 03-20-2005, 03:44 PM

just a question, is your car part of the brake light switch recall program and have you had that done? Reason I ask is it just might be the start of a "no contact" problem with the switch.

doonkhan · 03-20-2005, 04:30 PM

Yes, my car was recalled for the brake light switch. I had it fixed about a month ago. I wondered last night if maybe there was a problem with the brake pedal (preventing me from leaving IG-ON mode), but the brake lights were both lighting just fine whenever I pressed the pedal.

The power button suggestion is interesting, because the thing that eventually restarted my car did involve holding the power button down for several seconds. (I'll file that away for next time.)

Where did you come up with this, Rick? Is it something that's documented? I'd be curious to know what holding the power down does? Is it designed to reset the computer, or does it just create an error that makes the system restart?

DanMan32 · 03-20-2005, 05:00 PM

I am not understanding the difference between your problem and the problem described in the KB. I get that often enough. Remedy to get out of it, hit the power button WITHOUT the brake. Then power up normally. I have always gotten out if it that way. Holding power button several seconds while pressing the brake does not work.

And I wish Toyota would investigate it. Happens so intermittently, that a dealer has no way to diagnose it. Bake switch could be the culprit, but mine is an 04 that did not qualify for the recall. Some suggest we are using too short of a dwell when pressing the power button. In other words, get in the habit of holding the power button .5 seconds when powering on to READY.

03-20-2005, 08:29 AM	#1
doonkhan Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 4 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	2004 Prius "hung up" on starting I had an odd problem with my 2004 Prius last night, and wondered if anyone here could give some insight. When I tried to start the vehicle, the electronics turned on, but the power switch was lit orange. I thought perhaps I'd tried to start it without my foot on the brake, so I pressed the power button again. It had no effect - the car stayed on, with the orange light on the power button. I was unable to shut the car off, or to start it properly. It was totally hung. The engine was not running, and the gear wouldn't shift out of Park. I noticed that there was no speed showing on the instrument cluster. (Instead of reading zero, it was dark. ) I figured that restarting would probably fox the problem, but I couldn't find any way to power down or reset the Prius. (Based on my experience with computers, all I could think of was to do the equivalent pulling the power plug, but I wasn't sure what fuses to pull, and didn't want to mess with the main battery.) Naturally, it was late at night in a bad part of town. I called Toyota Roadside Assistance, who said all they could do was send a tow truck. The guy turned up forty minutes later, but this presented another challenge, since the car was parked in a cramped lot, and there seemed to be no way to move the car out to a position where the flatbed truck could get at it. The tow truck driver (who wasn't familiar with the Prius) tried playing with the controls, and eventually hit on a combination of keys that caused a reset. (It looked like he was holding the power key down while rapidly changing gears.) Once the car restarted, everything was fine. I'm not sure what caused the glitch. I'm in the habit of plugging in my iPod to the power supply when I start the car. (In future, I'll double check that everything has started normally before I plug in any accessories.) Is it possible this sent static to the computer at the wrong place in the power-up cycle. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has experienced similar problems? Also, for future reference, if the car "hangs" like this, is there an "official" combination of switches that will do a "reset" on the car, or did my tow truck guy just get lucky? Duncan McKenzie 2004 Silver "B".

03-20-2005, 09:11 AM	#3
doonkhan Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 4 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Re: 2004 Prius "hung up" on starting Thanks for the input. The situation described in the "Known Issues" section is not what I experienced. For example, that post describes changing gears to Neutral, but I wasn't able to change gears out of Park. The green Park light was on. There were no warning messages of any kind, of the sort you might get when you change gears without holding the brake pedal down. Also, in my case, I tried the power button many times, both with and without the brake pedal pressed, and got no response at all. Duncan

03-20-2005, 10:05 AM	#5
naterprius Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,831 My Car: Other Non-Hybrid Model: Package: N/A Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Re: 2004 Prius "hung up" on starting I had this happen to me as well. Dealer can find nothing wrong. The interesting thing is that the car won't turn off until you let go of the brake. I smell a TSB coming soon... Nate

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03-20-2005, 08:41 AM	#2
efusco Troll Slayer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nixa, MO Posts: 17,250 My Car: 2004 Prius Model: Package: #9 Thanks: 50 Thanked 261 Times in 157 Posts Friends: 37	From the "Known Issues" area in the Knowledge Base: http://www.priuschat.com/forums/kb.php?mod...0a716147cb738f6

03-20-2005, 02:02 PM	#6
xevious Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oregon Posts: 187 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Well, at least the multi-information display doesn't turn blue and perform a memory dump.

03-20-2005, 02:14 PM	#7
CHART Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Mount Airy Maryland, USA Posts: 184 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I had something similar happen once or twice in the 15 months I've had my Prius, but holding down the power button, probably for a good 15 seconds, powered the car down both times. I'm pretty sure that both times I was in a hurry and powered up the car and immediately put it in gear before power-up was complete, but I've never had it daignosed as each time the car restared immediately after I powered it down.

03-20-2005, 03:44 PM	#8
Frank Hudon Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 4,144 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	just a question, is your car part of the brake light switch recall program and have you had that done? Reason I ask is it just might be the start of a "no contact" problem with the switch.

03-20-2005, 04:30 PM	#9
doonkhan Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 4 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Yes, my car was recalled for the brake light switch. I had it fixed about a month ago. I wondered last night if maybe there was a problem with the brake pedal (preventing me from leaving IG-ON mode), but the brake lights were both lighting just fine whenever I pressed the pedal. The power button suggestion is interesting, because the thing that eventually restarted my car did involve holding the power button down for several seconds. (I'll file that away for next time.) Where did you come up with this, Rick? Is it something that's documented? I'd be curious to know what holding the power down does? Is it designed to reset the computer, or does it just create an error that makes the system restart?

03-20-2005, 05:00 PM	#10
DanMan32 Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tampa Bay, FL Posts: 3,775 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	I am not understanding the difference between your problem and the problem described in the KB. I get that often enough. Remedy to get out of it, hit the power button WITHOUT the brake. Then power up normally. I have always gotten out if it that way. Holding power button several seconds while pressing the brake does not work. And I wish Toyota would investigate it. Happens so intermittently, that a dealer has no way to diagnose it. Bake switch could be the culprit, but mine is an 04 that did not qualify for the recall. Some suggest we are using too short of a dwell when pressing the power button. In other words, get in the habit of holding the power button .5 seconds when powering on to READY.