Weird flashing lock on dash once car is off?

Amazing, how many didn't notice the yellow weight sticker on the door till they had the recall done and are thoroughly convinced it wasn't there before.
A friend of mine brought me a pair of Crocs from Fl. I had never wore Crocs before and now I need both knees replaced, must be the Crocs that ruined my knees.

 

Note to self. At the first sign of problems open all doors, hood and hatchback, grab a flashlight and magnifying glass and read all stickers affixed.

 

Thanks, Stratman. You give sensible advice. Testing the fobs as you suggested proves there is nothing wrong with them. After reading the manual and even watching a youtube video (none of which actually said the light will blink 24/7) I was able to find additional info on the internet. Evidently there is no reason to worry about it negatively impacting the battery, as it's doing what it was designed to do, so I'll just forget about it. But, I have sat in the car (numerous times) with the engine off reviewing all the buttons and knobs and never once saw that light until last night.

 

I never noticed it either until I found this thread and went out to look.

 

Guess what. I just checked my Corolla, Prius, and CR-V. They all do it. All it does is indicate your car has some kind of security feature enabled. The chip in your key or fob. My old CR-V had one that constantly flashed on the stereo because it was useless unless you had the 5 digit code to make it work. It's an LED with probably some supporting components. If your battery every did die, I wouldn't be because of that. Those things pull so little current that a cheap volt meter measuring ua (I gotta a few high dollar ones that measure micro-amps). might not be accurate.

 

The exact same thing happened to me last night, and I too was concerned that it may run the battery down overnight!

I KNOW I'm NOT going out of my mind.
That 'Car/Padlock' flashing light close to the 'headlight on indicator green gear' looking light NEVER flashed before.
I have not done any battery charging, no change in any settings.
This is simply weird.

I have the 2013 Prius Manual.
If this is NORMAL, then the manual on page 138 should say it is normal to eliminate all doubt.
It just says:->
The indicator light flashes after the "POWER" switch has been turned off to indicate that the system is operating.

So, since it just started to flash for some owners, hence the confusion.

I guess when it comes to electronics, there are always gremlins present.

 

In other words, if you pay close attention and happen to notice that silly light, it will inform you that the car is OFF---which is already obvious. It's pointless, but fairly harmless.

I noticed mine the first day I had the car, but took a day or so to realize it is meaningless.

 

Thank you all who posted regarding this. New Prius owner - just barely over 24 hours at this writing. Did not notice it flashing last night when returning from picking it up but did today when trying to figure out dumb stuff like using the radio, pairing my phone, etc. So I was sure I'd left something "on" that shouldn't be or that the fob was too close or something. My husbands 1996 Nissan Pathfinder has this feature, but it also indicates "Security"...my former 2002 Dodge Intrepid (replaced by the Prius) did NOT have this feature. But thanks for the info - I agree with whoever mentioned that looking in the manual is the proverbial needle in the haystack. I tried that but was frantically looking before having to head to work.

 

I've had my 2010 Prius for 4 years (bought it used) and last night, for the first time, I walked out to my car and the inside lights came on. Cool, I thought. But that's never happened before. Got in the car, drove to my errand, when I parked and turned off the car, that little red security light came on. Also, first time ever. (No not the first time I ever noticed it.)

But - I haven't had any battery or system issues that have been mentioned as being a probable cause of this.

So any ideas why it would be OFF for 4 years, then suddenly CORRECTS itself and turns ON?

 

By now its been long enough....now the car recognizes you as the Owner.

- Alex

 

energy reduction in the flux capacitor?

 

LOL That made my day! (Good thing it didn't take that long for my dog to recognize me as its owner!)

 

mine has always done this blinking thing. i just ignored it until today when I was bored and Googled It and now I am here! see the posted manual page.

 

Thanks mate, I was just pondering what that super fast flashing red icon was about.

 

My Prius is 5 years old. Today the padlock-superimposed-on-car red warning light began flashing. I had never seen it before. I got out the manual, but did not see a similar icon in the manual. Someone mentioned that it's a KEY. Maybe they do not understand, it's a padlock. Not a key.

Several seem to believe that it's poor observational skills finally seeing what's been there all along. My car has 65,000 miles on it. I have slept in the car many times on long trips. Did not flash.

So, I decided to compare it to my daughter's Prius, which is exactly the same model, style, type, etc., except for the color. Hers does not flash. I compared it to my wife's Prius V of the same year. No light; no flash. My car's light just started flashing today. Period. Documented.There was no recent change to the car. No service.

Please, no phony answers. I appreciate guesses, but those involving recent service and/or "you just noticed what's always been there" are of no use in this case.

 

Ours (2010 Prius) flashes all the time the car's off.

 

I have never been blessed with the keen powers of observation. My wife says I'm surprised you noticed me.

 

As mentioned, the padlock/car icon flashes when the car is off. It indicates that the immobilizer function is active.

 

My guess that the immobilizer was the replacement for lock steering which was always a pain in older cars.

 

Looking quickly, I think the manufacturers found it cheaper than branding the vehicle VIN on numerous parts to deter theft. From what I can gather, the immobilizer exempts them from that part of US law. Some countries require the immobilizer.