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Prius dies in parking lot twice with same issue

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by gordonr, Jan 8, 2012.

  1. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    That error message is a red herring produced by low voltage on the 12V bus. You aren't the first to get it. Another red herring error message can be produced by not shutting the driver's door. I forget the exact wording, but it's pretty scary sounding and relates to charging.

    As for your dead battery, most likely something was left on. If you are completely sure that nothing was left on, it could be that your battery is getting old.

    Tom
     
  2. stevelesak

    stevelesak New Member

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    In both instances the battery condition and connection tightness were checked by the dealer and found adequate. In both instances the car had been started and used within and hour or so. There were no low temp issues. Both fobs were tried.
     
  3. Errel

    Errel New Member

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    This problem just happened to me today. Same exact message on the monitor and 2005 Prius will not start. It was a rainy day. My brother went and checked it out. He said he opened the fuse box and blew air in it. He started it and it worked! It is working right now. My fear is if I use it, will it have the same problem again.:confused:
     
  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    If we had a nickel for every time a dealer checked a bad Prius battery and declared it good Danny could fund this site without advertising. I have zero confidence in dealer battery tests, at least regarding the small 12V battery.

    Tom
     
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  5. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    stevelesak: Do you have a volt meter? What does the 12 volt read at the terminals after you've left it overnight. We've frequently found that dealers "testing" the 12 volt yields useless results.

    If you've drained it flat 2x, the OEM 12 volt might already be done for.
     
  6. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Run the test at http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/73400-weird-stuff-happening-mpgs-dropping-test-battery.html after the car's been left overnight.

    If you're still on the original 12 volt, it's almost certainly toast and in need of replacement now.

    BTW, it's best to not respond to a Gen 3 thread since you have a Gen 2.
     
  7. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    OP, she has either a Three (cloth seats) or a Four (leather seats) Solar. There is a Maintenance Mode available on the nav display. I believe the instructions are in the posted thread.

    Just because the dealer pulled a new battery off the shelf doesn't make it good. The new battery I bought lasted 6 weeks before failing.

    Get the voltage readings on the 12v & look for lights left on (particularly the deck) or loose connections. Random electrical problems are a bugger to diagnose. The dealer & mechanic are not going to invest any time chasing it down so unfortunately this will be your (her) job.

    Will the 12v take a trickle charge?
     
  8. Gossimerwingz

    Gossimerwingz New Member

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    Hello, Just another pitch for a great dealer in the Phoenix area... Riverview Toyota in Mesa is relatively new and has great certified Prius technicians. When I lived/worked in Mesa I had some "character" drill sheet metal screws into my rear tires with only 500 miles on them and I had to replace the tires...Riverview Toyota did a great job with no notice to get my Prius back on the road.
    • Riverview Toyota
    • 2020 W Riverview Auto Dr
    • Mesa
    • (480) 994-9922
     
  9. gordonr

    gordonr Member

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    I got a call from her this morning and it happened again while she was doing errands in Mesa. I suggested she get the 2nd sks fob from my brother-in-law and see what happens. The second one started the car just fine. As she found in the 2nd failing, the interior lights worked fine, just her fob didn't work. Before the 2nd fob arrived she tried the emergency start procedure, and it didn't work. Not 100% sure she did the procedure correctly (see comments below). I suggested she replace the button cell battery in the fob, but if she did the emergency start procedure correctly and it didn't work, she has a problem beyond the fob battery. The good news is that she can now drive the car to the dealer in Mesa as a new set of eyes on this problem.

    As an aside, I read the procedure as outlined in the 2011 manual (no doubt the same as her 2010) for our new one and found the wording very poor and unclear. On page 550 it says as part of step 1 after applying the brake and touching the emblem side of the fob to the power switch, "An alarm will sound to indicate that the start function cannot detect the electronic key that is touched to the "POWER" switch if any of the doors is opened and closed while the key is touched to the switch." So, does the alarm only sound if you open and close the door? In step 2 it gives you further steps to follow after hearing the buzzer (I assume this is the "alarm"). Does this imply you must open and shut the door in step 1 so the buzzer sounds? Just curious - what is the right procedure? I didn't hear exactly how she did it, but will relay the correct procedure once I know.