my 2010 is broken down

My 2010 with 5k miles won't start. Went out to lunch with my coworkers and it says MALFUNCTION WHEN PARKING, PARK IN A FLAT PLACE AND APPLY PARKING BRAKE SECURELY. Waiting for tow truck. I called a dealer directly that is 1 mile away and they wouldn't help me...this sucks!

 

Tried many times. Car won't go into park. Still waiting on tow truck... 1 hr later

 

Now my car just got hit

 

Tried. Now at Toyota

 

No drugs here.

I tend to like having a new car because I don't like to worry about car trouble; now I am not sure what to think about that LOL.

I am uploading a picture I took of the error message the car displayed. Toyota says they can't find anything wrong with the car now; but there is an investigation because of the accident. I have 2 co-workers that were in the car that can verify the issue and one has a relative that works at a Toyota dealer that she called and walked us through steps to try; car still wouldn't start.

Power Toyota suggests it was "driver error"; really? This is my 3rd Prius; you think I would know how to step on the brake and push "POWER" by now.

The car would not go into park no matter how many times I pushed the parking brake (I always park with it set). The indicator light on the "P" button was flashing... A yellow(ish) warning light (triangle with !) was also on.

 

I was trying to leave a restaurant going back to work. It wouldn't start and wouldn't go into park. When I turned the car off I just pushed power and set the parking brake like usual.

 

Sorry for the confusion; most of my posts on this topic were done from my phone so they may seem kinda unclear. I am at my computer now; I will post the full story.

My co-workers and I went to have lunch; pulled up to the restaraunt, I pushed POWER to shut down, and then set the parking brake before letting off the brake pedal (I always park with the brake set on any car- I hate seeing cars "bounce" on the transmission). The parking lot of the restaraunt is on a slight incline for drainage; not a huge hill but enough to allow a car to roll back if not in park or no brake. Got out, locked the car. When we came out I unlocked the car and everything seemed fine. I pushed on the brake pedal and pushed POWER, then released the parking brake. Admitedly I noticed the warning icons were lit up on the dash but wasn't really understanding why; just thought maybe the car wasn't in ready mode or something... I tried putting the car in R and it wouldn't go. At that point a coworker said "what's wrong?". I pushed Power again and everything turned off; I pushed POWER again and the same lights came on and when I let off the brake pedal the car started rolling backwards. I pushed on the brake but there was no power assist so it caught me off guard at first and by the time I pushed hard enough to stop I was in the middle of the parking lot. When I looked at the display that shows what gear you are in it was highlighted around the N, but not as "bold" as usual, it was like a lighter shadow border or something (mind you this is all within a minute or so so I wasn't able to focus on every light and detail at first). My coworkers got out and pushed my car out of the way (or so we thought) off to the side. They got back in the car and I kept pushing the parking brake on and off (since the error mentioned parking in a flat space and doing that) and nothing happened. One of the coworkers has a relative at a Toyota dealer; she called him and he said he hadn't heard of that before but to try turning the car off, moving the shifter around as though in and out of gear and try again. I did that, nothing changed. We were now sitting in a hot car in the sun; and the AC wouldn't work. I haven't tried to use the AC when the car isn't in ready mode, but I am guessing it won't work in that mode? The warning message was on each time I would turn "on" the car and the yellow triangle with (!) was on the whole time. I didn't have Toyota's Roadside assistance # so I called Power Toyota which was less than 2 miles from where I was. I had bought a car previously from them and had a few vehicles serviced there. I thought maybe they could help me. I called and I told the first person in the service dept what had happened and asked if they could help or get me towed; he put me on hold for 10 minutes (this was actually when my friend called her friend at Toyota). I hung up the phone and tried calling again... got someone else that put me on hold and then came back to say "sorry we can't help you, you need to call Toyota; their number is......". So I called Toyota Roadside Assistance as another coworker came to pick up the other 2 since we were now late gettig back to work. I reached someone pretty quickly after going through their menu options and they took my info and said I would be getting an automated call with the details on the tow company and time. We hung up (and at this point I am just confused and upset that my car isn't working; also a bit embarrased with my coworkers seeing my new car dead) and I received the automated call, "blah blah blah this tow company will arrive in 50 minutes". 50 minutes? I thought I surely heard it wrong and it must have said 15. Nope. 30 minutes later I call back to check status and they confirmed it would be another 20-30 minutes. During this time I had posted my first post here and was trying to fill in time. Meanwhile people are walking by (I was between two restaraunts" and staring (my car doesn't even have plates yet), a few people asking if I needed help... Then, a young woman and 2 kids walk by my car and I see them get in there car that was parked near me (I was parked facing east-west, she was parked north-south, so her rear end was facing my passenger side); they get in the car and I watch her backing up, backing up... hey wait, she isn't slowing down... I see the back end of her Taurus getting closer so I press on my horn (I was sitting in the car); doesn't hear me and slams right into the side of me! Plenty of people had come and gone, driven by, backed out of their spots with no issue. She got out and said "oh I'm so sorry!". Umm, how did you not see me? You walked right by me to get to your car! At this point I had already been waiting an hour for the tow and am PISSED! Where the F is Toyota?! I then call the Sherriiff to report the accident. Then I call Toyota again to see where the hell my tow truck is, I have now been hit, and now my brand new car has been in an accident because their lousy service! "There is nothing we can do sir". Finally 15 minutes later the tow truck comes; I tell the guy "now you have to wait because the sherriff is on their way to make a report now that my car has been in an accident. He doesn't understand me (only speaks Spanish), so I point to the side of my car that has been pushed in and say "NO TOW". He dials his phone and hands it to me. The lady says "I have to send my driver to his next job since you are not ready to be towed. NOT what I wanted to hear. I told her I waited over an hour for them to come, my car has been hit because of this, they are waiting! I then get a call from Toyota telling me the tow company cannot wait and they drive off. I am sure at this point steam was coming out of my ears. I am thinking "Really Toyota, this is the best you can do?". They put in a request for a tow again. 20 minutes later the Sherriff finally arrives makes the report, tells me I am not at fault because she hit a parked car etc etc and leaves. AN HOUR goes by and the tow truck finally comes back. This has been 3 hours at this point. People went in to eat, came out and said "you're still here? This isn't good advertising". When the 2nd tow arrived I was on the phone with Toyota Customer service reporting what had happened. The guy tries putting the car on the flatbed but the car doesn't move. "Impossible I say, it is stuck in N". Sure enough I climb in the car, push on the brake pedal, then POWER and the F'n thing starts right up! I put it in N and have him tow it to the dealer for inspection. Since being hit I hadn't tried to start the car because I wasn't about to leave the accident scene; SO, I am not sure if being hit somehow freed something that was stuck or what; but the car acted completely normal. I showed the service guy the error message picture that I had taken, they hooked it up to their computer and call me to say "there is nothing wrong with your car, you can come pick it up". I told them I do not feel safe driving the car, keep it there for now. I called Toyota customer service and told them the update and they said since the vehicle was in an accident as a result of being disabled they will open an investigation on Monday and to keep the car at the dealership. That is where I am now. My insurance company already contacted the other insurance company and they agreed to pay for the damages; so that will be handled as soon as Toyota does whatever they are doing. I really am not trying to be dramatic; this just worries me. I love to drive; love to take long road trips. What if I am driving to Vegas and stop for gas, and this happens again? I know people can't understand my logic for buying new cars, but this is why I bought a new Prius vs keeping one with 80k miles.

Thanks to those that have been courteous. I do LOVE Prii and am not just some a**hole trying to talk crap. My first 2 Prii were pretty reliable; my last Prius only had the HID issue and had some weird thing happen when in Yosemite where it "pulsed" or something; but quickly recovered and didn't leave me stranded. I only have 5k miles and hope this isn't a sign of things to come!