Yesterday my Prius got stuck in N and would not go into R or D, and I could not power down either. It finally did power down and I was able to reverse but it was very stressful because I was in an automatic garage that parks and stacks cars without human intervention and I was nervous the thing was going to time me out and repark my car with me inside, trapping me indefinitely. I've read through the forum here and it seems this could be a 12V battery issue, which I will have checked. I just wanted to log this for reference. My Prius is a 2004 with 100,000 kilometers. To say I love it would be an understatement. It's never given me a reason to distrust it until last night.
Run this test (tell us the values at each step) after the car has sat overnight. Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat But, if you're still on the original 12 volt. It's toast. Replace it. It's past its lifespan. If you can't shutdown, try pressing and holding power for a few seoconds.
It could be as simple as bad timing on your part, which fortunately is easily avoided next time. If you rush to push the power button while the brake pedal is in still motion, the precise moment before being fully depressed, you can get the system "stuck" in that won't shift situation. It's split-second timing. Something that can go unnoticed, causing you to unnecessarily worry. It took me years to encounter that. But was quite surprised when it did eventually happen... since I had heard others describe that happening to them. Simply slow down your startup hand & foot actions to prevent it. Do take warning about the 12-volt battery though. If you still have the original, it is definitely time for replacement.
Thank you for the advice. My husband took my car to Toyota. They said what happened is simply that the car went into Wegfahrsperre mode. This means I triggered the car's immobilizer, putting it into towing mode. That is why it would go into N but not D or R. (This is a law in Germany that all cars have immobilizers.) John, I have to say I am always hurried as I start up in that automatic garage, because the thought of being stuck in there is terrifying. It malfunctions all the time and I don't trust its laser sensors to recognize that I'm still there. I do the startup sequence so fast the car's dash lights are confused, with the handbrake still lit up even though I've already released it. I get out of the garage before putting on my seatbelt, because that is just one more moment being in danger: ) (If you're curious about the intimidating garage of doom, here is its website with lots of nice animations: http://www.woehr.de/en/produkte/index.php) Thanks for the help. I will slow my startup sequences down.
