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Problems with my 3+ month old Prime

Discussion in 'Prime Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Glenn G, Sep 30, 2018.

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  1. Glenn G

    Glenn G Member

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    I arrived home on Thursday evening, and set my charger timer to charge my Prius for
    Friday AM to an 8 AM departure.

    I plugged in the charger and noticed that it was already charging. I unplugged it and
    fiddeled with the car - I'm not sure what I did, as I wasn't paying attention, I was just trying to get the car set to charge for the next morning. Now the car won't shut off - a white box appears indicating
    " ignition on"

    Now the screen is on and nothing will shut off. After fiddiling with this I left the car in the garage - it would not shut down or lock the doors. I called Toyota roadside assistance and the truck arrived. At that time - about 1 hour later - the car has shut down. He towed it to the dealer, and they kept it Friday and Saturday. They could not find anything wrong.

    I brought the car home and plugged it in setting the charge timer to prepare for a morning departure on Sunday. I went to the garage on Sunday AM to go to Home Depot, I opened the garage and there was a strong electrical smell!

    I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm not going to charge the car in the garage for a while.
     
    #1 Glenn G, Sep 30, 2018
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i would suggest charging when you can monitor it, and not 'fiddling with the car', but deliberately following the instructions in your owners manual.
     
    #2 bisco, Sep 30, 2018
    tchan2700, 4est, axle2152 and 1 other person like this.
  3. Yea Right

    Yea Right Active Member

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    Perhaps a battery disconnect/reset and then a monitored charge.
     
    #3 Yea Right, Sep 30, 2018
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  4. thekuai

    thekuai Junior Member

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    You realize this is the 1st gen Prius plug-in (2012-2015) thread right? The prime is the 2nd gen (2016+)
     
    #4 thekuai, Sep 30, 2018
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Technically 2017+

    Moved to Prime forum
     
    #5 Tideland Prius, Oct 1, 2018
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  6. Glenn G

    Glenn G Member

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    Yes, agreed - but my point was that I had gotten used to the charging routine and proceeded with same last Thursday -until a problem came on the scene. Then upon receiving the car back from the dealer I set the car to charge for 9AM per the book and actually headed out ~ 10 AM and noticed a strong electrical smell.

    The only "fiddeling" was after following Toyota's charging instructions/ procedures. It is frustrating and a little scary when a car won't shut off and can't be locked.
     
    #6 Glenn G, Oct 1, 2018
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  7. axle2152

    axle2152 Active Member

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    If you've got the ignition on then all you should have to do is press the power button once, everything should shut off.

    My experience so far is the following:

    You can press the power button once to turn the car on in accessory and will time out (I'll have to check the manual but basing this on the regular 4th gen) is 30 minutes.

    You can press the power button twice to turn on the ignition (not READY) and will time out what seems like 1 minute on the Prime. You cannot enter READY while the car is plugged in charging. You cannot charge while the car is in READY mode.

    That being said don't make the mistake of plugging in the car while in READY mode... If you leave the fob in your pocket the car should beep 3 times if you leave the car on in "ignition on" or in READY.

    edit: In a nutshell, press the power button once you're in "Accessory" hit it again you're in "Ignition On" press it a third time car is off. Press and hold the brake and press power button car goes into Ready. Press the power button again car goes off. If the car is plugged in you cannot go into Ready and vice versa.
     
    #7 axle2152, Oct 1, 2018
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2018
    Glenn G likes this.
  8. 4est

    4est Active Member

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    When the car doesn't shut down, use a bigger hammer.

    Oh, disconnecting some fuses will work too ;)
     
    #8 4est, Oct 1, 2018
  9. Glenn G

    Glenn G Member

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    This is probably what happened, I guess. The message on the dash was to press on the brakes and push the power button, which I did several times. However the car would only stay in accessory mode. The other thing I tried was to put the car in reverse, but it would not go into gear.

    I don't remember ever seeing the white box indicating "ignition on" before or since.
    Given that the car had shut off when Toyota Roadside assistance arrived is probably due to the 30 minute limit. This all started when trying to set the car to charge for the next morning, then the next time I charged and opened the Garage, I smelled a strong
    electrical smell. The car is due for a charge, I'm going to plug the car in outside today at work and see how it goes.
     
    #9 Glenn G, Oct 2, 2018
  10. axle2152

    axle2152 Active Member

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    Hmm not sure what to think about the electrical smell...I don't have a garage so if there's any odor the battery pack gives off or anything heating up I wouldn't know about it. The li-ion battery should not off gas under normal conditions...so I would doubt it is going to be anything to worry about. If there were something wrong your dash should light up like a Christmas tree...and would be covered under warranty.
     
    #10 axle2152, Oct 2, 2018
  11. huskers

    huskers Senior Member

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    Keep us posted.
     
    #11 huskers, Oct 2, 2018
  12. Glenn G

    Glenn G Member

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    I charged outside at my office-outside- 2x now with no issues.


    (Disclosure:
    I do use this a 10 lf 12gauge extension at home in the garage)

    I've had several dozen charges in the garage using this set up with no event...

    The next test is another inside the Garage charge during the day while I can observe.

    The thing that bothers me about this episode, is that if I want to shut off my car, then
    I should be able to do that...and I shouldn't have to pull fuses or take other measures to do so...
    I just want the car to shut off...it's creepy...and kind of scary to leave a car that is on in a Garage with another car and leave...or spend the night in the car...or maybe it shut off on it's own after 30 minutes...or not...
     
    #12 Glenn G, Oct 3, 2018
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2018
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