2005 Prius died while driving and was towed

My 2005 Prius died today, and I was wondering if someone could tell me any potential causes, so that I can prepare myself for the worst when I call the dealership tomorrow. While driving, the speed went blank, and the car lost power. It had to be towed.

When I started my Prius this morning, the touch-screen display said "Problem" in a strip across the top. The background remained green, none of the regular display came on. On the speedometer panel, the ! inside the triangle came on, but so did the normal things, like 0 for the speed, the gears, etc. I turned off the car, turned it back on, and was greeted with a normal start, no errors. The only odd thing was that the area that shows PNDR etc was missing horizontal lines, like the power was not fully on. I backed out of the driveway, and was not able to achieve speed or power once I had left my street. While driving, the number on the speedometer went blank and I lost all power. I was able to just barely pull off the road. I put the car in to park, and lost all power.

I called Toyota Roadside, but I was 15k mile out of the 36k courtesy. My insurance company dispatched for a jump. After the jump, the car was turned on, and the check engine light and the exclamation sign in the triangle came up on the speedometer display part, and the car with the exclamation sign came up on the touch-screen. However, I could not put the car in to reverse or drive, only neutral. Again, the 0 of my speed went blank, and the car died. Eventually they sent a tow-truck, and I said good-bye. I also gave the Prius the finger. I am tired of its crap.

I've been having, what I think, are electrical problems since the first month of ownership in 2005. Though, today was the first day it had no power and died while driving. Often, the car would be dead in the morning, after daily driving, without having left it on, doors open, etc. I swore up and down to the dealer that the car would power on when it was off, all by itself. Sometimes the wipers would be up, even with the wand in the off position.

And no, I didn't accidentally hit the wand getting out of the car. The car alarm would activate while driving, and I came to dread parking lots because people thought I was honking at them. The dealer would tell me they were not able to reproduce the problem. Two years later, I have proof of some things though; I filmed my car flashing lights with the wipers on, while the car is powered off. Caught in the act. The only time I intentionally run down the accessory battery was when I installed an XM Inno2. I did not disconnect the accessory battery and left the doors open while I pulled out all the interior trim. It took a jump just fine, I drove around the block, and no problems.

I've heard about a problem with running out of gas while driving, but I drove around 80 miles after filling up last Monday. Fairly certain that the gas was still in the car, even though it turns itself on when no-one is looking.
I was wondering if the problems I described are easily figured out and repaired. The car was purchased new in 7/05, and I have the LCA warranty on it until 2011.
Thank you,
Sara

 

Well, the dealership has had the car all day, and it is now 4pm and they still have not had time to look at it. They can't tell me when they will have the time to look at it. The car has never been in for any service outside of the oil changes. Each time I complained about electrical problems, at the oil changes, they said they were unable to duplicate the problem, and thus couldn't fix any of the problems. I know that is a lie, at least for the random honking problem. It honked while a tech test drove it, and I heard it from the service bay. The tech denied that the horn went off. I don't believe that I have had any service due to recalls on the ECU. I received a recall notice about something in the transmission or steering wheel maybe? I am not too sure on that, is that what is meant by the steering wheel?

I took the XM out at Christmas and gave it away, but that was a really fun and easy install. Its too bad that the rental car coverage for the extended warranty only covers repair time, not waiting by the phone all day time! I'm not surprised though, its the home of the two day oil change.


So, I'll keep you posted.
Thanks for your advice,

Sara

 

I should have called an exorcist, you are right. Every time the car turned itself on without anyone around, the wipers were up when the battery died. I didn't believe it until I saw it myself.

The first time I saw it turn itself on, I had my back turned to the car, doing laundry. I mean, I was the one doing laundry, not the car. The garage light was off, I was using the light from having the kitchen door open. I heard a very slow squeak/scrape behind me, and I froze. When I turned around, the wipers were up, and the front dome light was turning on and the wipers were coming up. I just stood and watched, wondering if my car had just made the noise. I didn't see or hear anything until I turned back to my laundry. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the wipers creeping to one side. There is just no way, I thought. Although the dome light will come on if a door isn't fully closed, I had never seen the light turn itself on after being off with all the doors closed. The wipers came back up very very very slowly.

When I got back to the car after grabbing a camera, the wipers had already gone down and back up at least once, so I got in to the car to see if the power was on. The power was not on, and I checked the wiper wand. It was in the off position as well. In the video, you can see the wipers had already been up, and start to creep back down. You can see that the power light on the power button is off, and the dome lights are on. You can also see me pressing the power button to see if the power comes on, but it does not, even though the wipers are still moving, and the dome light is on.

I'm going to post the video. I'll post a link in a few minutes.
Sara

 

Wait, what? If you connect jumper cables to the jump post in the engine compartment, and apply a current, you can start the car and drive off? Is that what you mean? That is interesting. I know little about cars.

I've now heard back from the dealer. The 12v accessory battery has ceased to be. I was ready for that, but I wasn't ready for that to be the only explanation. I live in the battery-eating desert, I am always prepared for battery, tire, and AC repair.

The service adviser explained that a defective 12v battery would cause the car to lose power and turn itself off while driving. I find that somewhat...well, frightening and dangerous, even though any car can do that. I'd have been dead in and instant if I were in the HOV lane during rush hour when the car started to lose power and turn off. Granted the car slowed down as it lost power, but I wouldn't trust the rest of us maniac drivers in the HOV lane to notice and slow down themselves. I realize a battery can die at any time, I would just prefer it to happen while I was not in motion.

He said that both the accessory and the hybrid battery were completely discharged, and explained that the 12v battery is necessary to keep the hybrid battery regenerating while in motion. Right before the power cut out, while driving, several purple bars were on the display, and the car was not responding to the gas pedal and swear words.

I also don't understand how a defective battery would cause the alarm system to go off and honk the horn while driving, and how it would turn the wipers and lights on while the car was off. I assumed those would be due to a fault somewhere between the battery and the magical honking wiping fairies.

I guess now I should say hello to my car when I go out to do the laundry, just so I can be prepared for it to talk back.

You guys were right though, 12v battery. I just assumed it would be more than that.
Thanks for support in my moment of panic,
Sara

 

Things have been well for my Prius in general since the 12V aux was replaced. At some point I had the inverter coolant pump replaced, which was covered under warranty. I received a minivan for a few days, for my trouble. That was awesome; not because I like vans, because it was Disney Land for the little ones. Took my daughter out for some mother/daughter fishing, and she loved being able to change her clothes AND get all her fishing gear ready without getting out of the car.

But...the 12v lasted 30 months. Totally expected and average for this climate. I'm not upset. I'm not bragging, but my Honda Civic battery lasted 60 months in even worse heat. But that's cool, I'm just waiting until after Halloween to evaluate my battery replacement options. More important I finish sewing than get my car running.

Assuming I can find a replacement easily once I have the time, the battery replacement looks pretty straightforward unless I am overlooking a crucial detail. Even with a 20 percent off coupon, the dealer still wants $180. And the labor was somewhere around 90 duckets. Really? You know all the things I could do for 90 bucks? I could hire four day laborers to drag my car around town.

The good news is that I was impulsive at the house that Sam Walton built and bought a robust battery charger/kids toy inflator. And it jumps my dead battery so I can use it in case of emergency. Not that I can think of any great emergency that would come up between now and next time I get in to town to buy a battery from ChargeAlot.

But hey, the important thing is Halloween is almost over, and this battery thing looks pretty easy. Thanks for everyone's help previously.