Key Stuck in Prius - won't turn on

It may be the switch on the brake linkage that has failed or is way out of adjustment, making the car 'think' that you are not pressing the brake pedal.

 

sounds like you may need a new 12v battery... the car is relatively new.. but extended usage of the battery or the car sitting parked can cause it to fail prematurely.

 

lights staying on and the key being stuck says 12v...

does your interior light (dome) get dim or flash while trying to start the car?

very few things cause the key to get stuck...

 

Check 12V Battery.

 

In the back! Remove the floor panel in the rear hatch and the cover over the battery will be on your right.

 

You may also check the 12V voltage at the dedicated jump start terminals under the hood in the black box. Good luck!

 

Yes the lever is on the driver side down there somewhere. Maybe look in your owner's manual. Also there is a 2nd latch under the hood I am sure you know that.

Oops I thought I saw "hood" not "trunk". Sorry for the confusion!

I would try jump starting before crawling to the back to open the trunk manually which seems not very easy. Good luck!

 

There is no lever by the driver's seat to open the hatch, only the one for the gas door. There is a lever to open the hatch, but you have to crawl back there and remove the cover over the spare area then remove the little cover in the center under the hatch and look for the little lever to trip the latch. It is explained in your owners manual better than I have done.

You can also jump the battery at the dedicated jump point in the front fuse box on the driver's side under the hood. After you take off the black cover look for the red cover over the jump terminal. That is the positive terminal. Again, follow the directions in your owners manual for the proper way to jump the car. If you get the + and - reversed, you might do many $$$$$$ worth of damage.

Good luck and be careful.

 

there is a big red cap in the fuse box labeled + connect positive to it... connect the - cable to anything on the chassis. ( i know there's an accessible bolt to the top right of the engine bay)

 

Important Note: All previous advice is great and accurate. Remember when connecting to the dedicated 12V jumper connections, you are effectively putting another 12Volt source in parallel with your battery in the trunk, at this point try to start car normally, if it starts then disconnect jumper source, continue to let prius run and charge 12V battery on it's own for at least 1/2 hour. The engine will run intermitantly to increase the SOC on the HV. The 12V will automatically get charged by the HV Battery. DO NOT be anxious to shut the car off and then see if the car will turn on again, as many posters do. In lieu of hanging around waiting for a 1/2 hour to elapse, you can just drive the car, if you feel confident in its operation. I URGE you strongly to read ALL previous posts concerning the 12V battery! Use search in PC.

 

There is no alternator, so you don't have to worry about that. The battery is charged by the DC/DC converter that runs once the car is READY.

Once you jump start the car, if there are no warning lights on then you can be confident that the 12V battery is the problem. Since the car was "slightly used" before you bought it, maybe the battery had been drained in the past, or maybe the battery just failed prematurely.

I think that the battery is probably covered under the 3 year/36K mile warranty, good luck.

 

Doing all sorts of things drain the 12-volt battery, including:

- Leaving the doors open while the car is powered OFF. This causes the car's roof light to remain on, which draws power from the 12-volt battery.

- Running your car's stereo system while the car is not in READY mode. This also draws power from the 12-volt battery.

- Running the car's Air Conditioning while the car is not in READY mode. This is a VERY severe draw on the car's 12-volt battery.

- Leaving the headlights on while the car is not in READY mode. This also draws power from the 12-volt.

- Running any accessories plugged into your cigarette lighter jack (laptop computer, cell phone charger, etc.) while the car is not in READY mode. This also drains the 12-volt.

If you are in a habit of doing any of the above regularly, it WILL shorten your 12-volt battery's life.

Remember that when your car is not in READY mode, the hybrid system is COMPLETELY powered down, which means there is no way anything electrical can draw power from the big HV battery or the gasoline-engine-generated MG1 power.

 

I went so far as disconnecting my trunk light and will shortly also take the bulb out of the door light. As Richard always says, Lock the car, even in the garage, that way you can be sure there are no 12V drains.

 

The dealers will often spring for a new 12V battery if you approach them right ( if not already covered in warranty ), on a relatively new car. They did on mine. As you see this 12V battery problem is not a new deal.

 

My 12V battery has been reading relatively low since the very early days and I believe I have never abused it. My suspicion is that the damage had already been done during transport and storage at the dealer's lot due to lack of periodic charging.

 

If you search PC Chat, 12V Bat, there many threads alluding to these suspicions. I believe that was my case, the Bat was weak off the lot. It's amazing that this problem still exist after 10 plus years now. Granted sometimes it's the owner too. I don't know why Toyota did not just put in a stronger battery. I put in a Honda Civic wet cell just for kicks and have had no problems with it. The extra available current that's not needed does not hurt a thing, and the charge is maintained easily. You should be able to talk Toy co. into a new battery.