red light blinking; car won't start

[pcc1234]

Hi, I was driving a rent Prius yesterday. It's only my second time driving a Prius. On my way back, I couldn't start my car. I notice a car-shaped red light blinking on the dashboard, and the red light blinks faster when I put the ignition key in. The car also beeps when the red light blinks. If I take out the ignition key, the red light still blinks, but much slower.

I searched on the Internet, and it seems like people talked about a car-shaped red light with a key in it. (It looks more like a tool in it instead of a key actually.) And people say it's normal for it to be there blinking. However, is it normal that it blinks faster when I put the ignition key in? And is it normal for the Prius not to start?

I talked to a few friends afterwards, and they said that I might not have parked the car correctly earlier. That still puzzles me. Since I'll probably be driving a Prius next week as well, can anyone let me know what I might have done wrong?

Here are the steps of starting the car from my car rental company, and I did exactly this:
1. Place the key (small black box) into the ignition slot to the right of the steering wheel.
2. Hold down the brake pedal and press the Power button. Note: the engine has a silent start. You'll see the dash lights come on to signify that the car has been started.

But yesterday the dash light didn't come on, and the red light just keeps blinking.

This is their instruction for stopping the car, which I did exactly too:
* Stop the vehicle, press the Parking button, press the Power button and remove the key.


Thanks!

[Jabber]

Sounds like the key isn't programmed to the car... Since you have already driven the car with that key, that can't be it. So that leads me to believe that something is wrong with the immobilizer. Dealer needs to see it.

You don't happen to have 2 keys for the car and switched which one you put in the dash, did you?

[pcc1234]

No. It's exactly the key I used earlier. Thanks for the answer! I guess I can check with the rental car company later and see if they find out what's wrong. It's really strange. If I know what's going on, I'll post again.

[pdhenry]

It's possible that the agency gave you the wrong keyfob. It's not necessarily required for you to stick the keyfob into the dash (the keyless ignition feature is activated/deactivated by a black button under the steering wheel). If so, they might have started that car with the correct key, given you an incorrect key and set you on your way. In this case everything will go pretty much as normal except that you won't be able to restart the car after you turn it off.

If the car is started with the fob in the dash there's a latch that keeps you from removing the fob when the car is running.

Just a thought.

[qbee42]

It's also possible that the 12V battery is low, especially given that it's a rental car.

Tom

[SageBrush]

Qbee42, Is the fob battery needed if you insert the fob into the car ?

pcc1234, Your actions look right to me.
If I remember correctly, the warning icon you describe of a car with a key inside shows up when you hit the power button with the brake depressed, but the car doesn't think a key is present. I have a wireless FOB, so don't have any experience using it as a regular key. Does it have an orientation required for insertion ? Was it inserted all the way ? Are the contacts damaged, or perhaps dirty ?

I have to guess it is something with the key or the car, but it's a mystery to me exactly what might be the problem, particularly since the pair worked ok earlier.

Sorry to hear of your problems. No one wants hassles with a rental car !
Please let us know what the solution was, and good luck with your next Prius rental.

[That_Prius_Car]

It sounds to me like its the security system,
I wanted to try my alarm system out once so I
locked the car and reached in through the window
and unlocked it with my finger and then it locked again
and the horn started blowing lol and that little light was blinking
really fast

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by SageBrush

Qbee42, Is the fob battery needed if you insert the fob into the car ?
<snip>

No. When the fob is inserted into the slot, it responds as a passive RFID device, so no power is needed at the fob.

Tom

[SageBrush]

Originally Posted by qbee42

No. When the fob is inserted into the slot, it responds as a passive RFID device, so no power is needed at the fob.

Tom

My mistake -- I thought that was what you were questioning earlier. Now I realize you meant the 12V battery in hte back of the car. 12V would be quite the battery for a fob

I don't doubt that a run-down 12v battery could end up preventing the car from starting, but would the car_with_key icon show up ?