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Parking button won't work -- unless I put it in reverse 1st

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by mkalayjian, Nov 12, 2009.

  1. mkalayjian

    mkalayjian New Member

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    Hi there,
    I am a Prius newbie, bought my 05 Prius this past labor day 09.

    Well, everything's been beautiful, until a couple of days ago. My parking button doesn't work. I have foot on brake, press button, nada.

    It *will* work if I shift into reverse 1st, *then* press the P button.

    I had my oil changed/tires rotated just a couple days before this, at the dealer naturally, so the itty-bitty paranoid part of my brain wonders if "they" did anything to my lovely Prius.

    It's got about 40K miles on it.

    Any thoughts?? Thank you, Prius Community.
     
    #1 mkalayjian, Nov 12, 2009
  2. GeekEV

    GeekEV Member

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    Wow, very strange. Definitely have them take a look at it. Good news, though, is you don't have to hit park at all, just power off the car and it will automatically go into park mode.
     
    #2 GeekEV, Nov 12, 2009
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  3. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    If the car has the original 12V battery or if the 12V battery has ever been drained, check it. You can do this yourself, either with a voltmeter at the jump point under the hood or with the following no-tools selftest procedure (thanks to jdenenberg):

    - Without brake pedal, press the Power button once and release to enter ACC mode
    - Press and hold the MFD Info button while turning the headlights on and off three times to enter Maintenance mode; release Info button
    - Press “Menu” (on screen)
    - Press “Display Check”
    - Press “Vehicle Signal Check” - the battery voltage is shown and should be about 12.4 to 12.8 Volts (normal for an unloaded battery)
    - Again without brake pedal, press Power button and release to put a current load on the battery - the voltage should stay above 12.0V (if less than 12.0V the battery is not well, or there is a fault or unusual load somewhere)
    - Press brake pedal and press Power button once to enter "Ready" mode - the battery is now charging at about 14V (if less than 13.6V or more than 14.4 there is a problem, possibly with the charging circuit)
    - Turn car OFF to leave Maintenance mode
     
    #3 richard schumacher, Nov 12, 2009
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  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Well, that's a new one. As Richard suggests, it wouldn't hurt to check the 12V battery.

    Tom
     
    #4 qbee42, Nov 12, 2009
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  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Is it possible that your gear selector is getting stuck in the D position, instead of returning to the resting position to the right?

    If yes, then that might be why the car ignores your request to move to P.

    If not, then this is a very weird situation.
     
    #5 Patrick Wong, Nov 12, 2009
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  6. mkalayjian

    mkalayjian New Member

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    Thanks, Mr. Zorg, I have read that elsewhere on the forums -- you can just hit the power button. I have done that accidentally a few times and wondered if I was screwing something up !:eek: Good to know it is OK to do that.

    thanks again!
     
    #6 mkalayjian, Nov 12, 2009
  7. mkalayjian

    mkalayjian New Member

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    Thank you so much for this detailed info! The car is 4 years old and I think it is the original battery in there, so that could be it. I will run this diagnostic check and see what I can find out. Thank you again so much! :)
     
    #7 mkalayjian, Nov 12, 2009
  8. mkalayjian

    mkalayjian New Member

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    I haven't been paying a lick of attention to where the gear selector is! Have been driving the car for over 2 months though, and this little problem just cropped up, seemingly out of the blue. BUT I appreciate the hint (very occam's razorish) and will keep an eye on what the gear shifter is doing. It would be great if it's that simple. Thanks !
     
    #8 mkalayjian, Nov 12, 2009
  9. mkalayjian

    mkalayjian New Member

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    Mystery solved: and Patrick, you were right on: the shifter was stuck in D.

    Why was it stuck in D??? Well, let's just say I'm not hanging a small plastic bag for trash off the shifter anymore. :redface::redface::redface::redface: Sheesh.

    Thanks again to everyone who made suggestions for solving this problem, and a big gold star to Patrick !!
     
    #9 mkalayjian, Nov 13, 2009
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  10. Celtic Blue

    Celtic Blue New Member

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    Thanks for having the humility to come back to reveal what you learned. I'm sure this will help somebody else some day...plus it gave me a good chuckle! :biggrin1:
     
    #10 Celtic Blue, Nov 14, 2009
  11. Frayadjacent

    Frayadjacent Resident Conservative

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    I'd still recommend checking the 12v battery. If it shows any weakness, you should go ahead and replace it. It will cause WEIRD stuff to happen if it does fail on you.
     
    #11 Frayadjacent, Nov 14, 2009
  12. adamace1

    adamace1 Senior Member

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    :shocked:
     
    #12 adamace1, Nov 14, 2009
  13. ystasino

    ystasino Active Member

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    OK, so now I can admit that I thought the back door handle was broken, when it was just the child-lock...
     
    #13 ystasino, Nov 16, 2009
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