Flashing gas gauge and transaxle frames

I have a late 2005 Prius, Package 2. After driving 3.5 miles to work and parking for 9 hours, I got in the car (smartkey worked) held the brake pedal, pressed power. The dashboard lights came on, flashing 1 bar of fuel <_< (should have been 3), but the LCD didn't come on. There were some clicking sounds coming from under the hood. Power windows were sluggish, lights were dim like a low battery. The gas gauge begins flashing all 10 bars at the same time that all frames of the transaxle begin flashing. :blink:

I press the power button again and the dash lights flicker for several seconds then go off. I opened the door and the car started beeping at me until I closed it. I checked and I didn't leave any lights on or doors ajar anywhere. The manual only mentions the transaxle lights flashing and says to take it to the dealer. The dealer said over the phone that they'd have to take a look. I arranged a tow under warranty, and kept trying to start it now and then.

After about ten tries and 30 minutes, it finally started up with the exclaimation point and the LCD activated, saying something like "There is an abnormality in the position of the transaxle. Safely park your car on a flat surface and fully engage the parking brake. " The parking brake was already completely engaged, and the message timed out and the car turned off. I turned it on again and it worked like there had never been anything wrong. :lol:

Upon driving the car to Toyota with a detailed written description of events (which they said they really appreciated), they checked the battery, error codes, everything they could think of, and there was no sign of there ever having been a problem. No messages were logged in memory.

Has anyone else had a similar problem, or know why this may have happened?

 

Thanks for the input. It is possible that the headlights remained on while I sat in my car for lunch. I don't know if they time out or stay on until you open the door (if you leave them in the on position, of course). The dealer's certified Prius tech looked at the car for an hour (actually taking it in to work on it as soon as I got it there) and said they 'tested the battery' as well, but I don't know if that was a drain/charge test.

Since the windows were sluggish and the lights were dim, I'll assume it was a low battery probably due to something I did. It's nice that it bounced back enough to start.

Thanks again
B)