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Prius stuck in endlessly locking/unlocking door loop, drained battery, wouldn't start?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by PaulRivers, Nov 17, 2014.

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  1. PaulRivers

    PaulRivers Member

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    There's a point where it's easier to just go to a different dealership. The guy also told me that they "don't" work on any problems that cannot be reproduced at the dealership - I don't know what this guy was smoking, but I agree they're being idiots. I don't want to put the effort in myself, and if the guy was saying this that boldly it probably comes directly from his manager anyways.
     
    #21 PaulRivers, Nov 19, 2014
  2. PaulRivers

    PaulRivers Member

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    OP here, in the end I changed to carrying around my other key fob, and also took the car back to another different Toyota dealership. I had had the battery initially installed there. There initial test said the battery was fine, but after testing it a few more times it said the 12v battery in the car was bad. I had bought the battery within the last year, so they replaced it under warranty and I didn't have to pay anything.

    Here's hoping I don't have any issues with the second one. Doesn't sound like anyone else has had a similar problem and found another resolution here. Thanks for the thoughts.
     
    #22 PaulRivers, Nov 19, 2014
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yeah, the 12 volts can be whacky sometimes. hope. it's nothing in your car that damaged it. all the best!(y)
     
    #23 bisco, Nov 19, 2014
  4. GregP507

    GregP507 Senior Member

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    I'm a fan of education. If the dealership doesn't know what they're doing wrong, they can't fix the problem.
     
    #24 GregP507, Nov 19, 2014
  5. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Your 12v sounds shot.

    When I saw this post I thought to myself "I bet the car is a 2008/2009 or 2010" and sure enough. The Prius 12v lasts about 5/6 years or 80/90k miles. It doesn't give any symptoms it's failing as all it does is boot up a computer to start the car, at which point the HV battery and charging circuits take over.

    The continuous locking/unlocking cycle is probably because the computer is getting 11.2v instead of 12.5v. Your tv would probably do something weird in the same conditions.

    Very prudent to replace the 12v now before winter hits.
     
    #25 GrumpyCabbie, Nov 20, 2014
  6. PaulRivers

    PaulRivers Member

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    Thanks, but as I said on the 2nd paragraph of my first post "Got the 12v battery in my Prius replaced by the dealership in the last 2 years." Turns out it was actually 1 year ago. There's a good chance the battery they replaced it with was defective, though.
     
    #26 PaulRivers, Nov 20, 2014
  7. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    [QUOTE but there's a few drawbacks of that:
    1. The one under the hood had a "protective" plastic pieces around it that make it difficult to attach a big battery jump clamp to
    2. To get under the hook you have to be able to get into the car first anyways, to hit the lever that unlatches the hood
    3. I was parked in an underground parking space with the front of the car facing the wall, it was actually much easier to get into the trunk to hook up the battery jumper than it was to try to get at the one under the hood
    4. The under the hood location also doesn't have an easy flat surface to place the battery jumper on. I've done it before, it can work, but going directly for the battery in the trunk is actually easier.

    Thanks for the mention of it though.[/QUOTE]

    1-- Under the hood under the black plastic fuse cover is the red plastic cover for the 12 positive jump point. Flip the red plastic piece up. There's a bolt thats holding a bent tab of aluminum bent upwards to attach the clamp too. Its there for your clamp. Do not use the bolt head. Also the bare nut right above the fuse box thats holding the strut on should be used for the ground. Take a second and look at it you'll see what I mean.
    2---You have to get into the car to unlatch the back hatch. If in the car pop the hood and use the correct jump points.
    3---Understood.
    4---Many flat places to lay the jumper box under the hood. The air cleaner box and or the Inverter cover. Both flat and easy to use. I use them all the time to maintenance charge the battery. Under the hood is 100% easier to use than the hatch and alot safer. That's why Toyota gave you the jump points. The hatch is dark and cramped and not any real good place to get on the 12 volt post.


    Defacto quick test for 12 volt battery and fob is:

    Turn on the headlights and see how bright they are. You already noticed the clock light was dim. If that tiny led is dim your battery was almost stone dead. Also since your in Minnesota and are going to see really bad winter once in a while in the dark turn on the headlights before booting the car. Watching the headlights closely boot the car and if the lights dim during boot up look out the 12 is getting ready to leave you.

    Use the fob to start the car by inserting it in the fob hole under the steering wheel. The fob can boot the car even without a fob battery using RFID. If the fob in hole and car won't start highly unlikely the fob has an issue compared to the 12 volt battery.

    Btw, Toyota gave you a warning Icon that the 12 volt battery is low. Its a big red triangle with an exclamation point on the dashboard. It throws this instantaneously upon boot up and only for second if 12 volt is below 11.2 I believe. Its special its the only Icon thats not on boot up bulb check. It does not store a code. It just illuminates real fast but is extremely noticeable. So using my winter headlight test if you see dimming headlights on boot up look for that icon too.

    Good Luck up there. Going to be a long winter.
     
    #27 edthefox5, Nov 20, 2014
    kenoarto likes this.
  8. PaulRivers

    PaulRivers Member

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    I don't really feel like debating it, I don't think it matters whether you jump it via under the hood or via the battery in the back. Either one will work, whichever is easiest as they attach to the same battery. The hatch was actually much better lit up and the hood was with how my car was parked in addition to the other factors making it more difficult to get into the hood that I mentioned earlier.

    It could be that, or it could be another problem that causes a power loss - bad wiring, something wrong with whatever's used to charge the 12v, etc.

    The vehicle has been a little odd - I've had the radio come on on it's own before (when the battery was getting low?). If I shut off the car and open the door with particular timing, sometimes it will cause the radio to turn itself on or the car to jump back into "On" mode. Still in park, but it's still bizarre.

    That's a good idea. Better than waiting for it to get so bad the interior lights are going. It's really, really annoying that Toyota didn't put in some sort of indicator telling you the 12v was going bad. They have a whole screen up front to actually display a message with - come on.

    Another good mention, though I happened to already know that. I gave me this weird message about the transmission being something thing when I started it up (it always does that if I leave it sitting for a while), and the message said to put on the parking brake - so I'm not 100% sure if the car would actually start the first few times. Also, put the fob in the slot when trying to jump it, since the car battery was dead it wasn't going to recognize the fob without it in the slot wirelessly (I figured).

    Interesting, I will keep an eye out for that. I know I've seen a big red triangle with an exclamation point several times, but it just seemed like one of the many odd lights that turn on when starting the car.

    Would it have killed Toyota to make it an actual message on the screen after startup? Grr.

    Thanks. It sure as hell is going to be. :-(

    Lol, last year I drove my Prius from Minnesota to Fort Lauderdale Florida (and then into the keys later in the trip). On my way back through Iowa there terrible wind. I gotta say, those Michellin Defender's are nice tires - rain, crosswinds, they just hold onto the road. My only real complaint is with ice and snow they aren't as magical, but nothing other than (studded) winter tires are. They're as good or better than any other tire I've used on ice and snow.

    I got stuck lol, trying to make it through a snowdrift that I really shouldn't have been trying to do. I saw tire tracks so I thought I could make it - later realized the guy who made it through my section just got stuck himself 1,000 feet up the road. I was kind of cursing out my car because the so called "traction control" won't spin the wheels if they don't have grip, but when I got pulled out I found that my entire car was up on compacted snow so badly it raised the tires off the ground. In other words, it wouldn't have mattered, I wouldn't have been able to get out on my own anyways.

    I've been kinda surprised, my Prius really hasn't had any more problems driving in winter than my previous Sedan had. My 2009 could come with some improvements for taller people like me, but other than that it's been a pretty nice vehicle. This battery issue is the first maintenance issue I've had, and it's around 100,000 miles (bought it at 15,000 miles).
     
    #28 PaulRivers, Nov 20, 2014
  9. Dgles

    Dgles Junior Member

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    Hi Paul, its been a long time since your OP so hoping for thumbs up that the 12V definitely fixed it? My 2004 @ 160K got a new Optima Battery AND Green-Bean Refurb Hybrid battery in May 2021. Daughter got the Red Triangle, Eng, ((!)), ABS, VSC. I jump-wired the OBD pins to read flash codes, but no individual blink pattern just continuous flash of ALL the lights!??? I reset the codes with 8x on the brake and took it around the block with no issues. I left the fob in the center console for a bit. Suddenly the door-locks cycled a few times??? I was locked out with the FOB INSIDE THE CAR??? Lucky I had a spare valet key! How is this even possible? OBTW Daughter confirmed she did have a few odd door-lock cycle issues after the Triangle came up.
     
    #29 Dgles, Jul 6, 2023
  10. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    What's the condition of the 12V battery? I would measure voltage across the terminals with a decent digital multimeter. Get it charged and load tested.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #30 mr_guy_mann, Jul 7, 2023
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