1. greenMachinery

    greenMachinery New Member

    Joined:
    Thursday
    2
    1
    0
    Location:
    Arizona
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I'm looking for insight into my situation and potential diagnosis and/or fix ideas. Yesterday I was going through a drive-thru and holding the brake down while I was receiving my food. Because the windows were down, for about 20 seconds I thought I heard a very faint unusual squeaking noise every few seconds. I was about to drive off when the car just shut off, no warning lights or anything.

    Multiple attempts were then made to try and get the car to start via jumper cables on the 12v battery or the terminal under the hood by AAA employees that I called. However none of these attempts elicited any observable response from the vehicle. The only responses, while the cables were connected or otherwise, were that the key fob could still lock, unlock (and both turn signal arrows lit up on the dashboard and made a clicking noise for a second upon locking or unlocking), and set off the alarm, whenever the front doors were opened the "door open" light would display on the dashboard and the car would beep the whole time they were open, the dome lights worked as normal, and the brake actuator noises were still normal throughout. To the best of my memory, nothing else is working. I can't even roll my front windows back up as they were down when the car shut off.

    Some theories as to what went wrong (gathered from advice from others who are non-Prius owners and my own research) is that the 12V battery needs replacing, as it was last replaced in November 2022 and the car has been driven in Tucson for the last 15 years. Another possible broad explanation could be a blown fuse, as upon reaching out to the previous vehicle owner, she briefly described a similar situation where the car shut off and wouldn't respond until a fuse was replaced. I'm trying to make sense of the situation and get perspective from experienced Prius owners, as that's something I haven't gathered yet. Any insight would be appreciated.
     
  2. Brian1954

    Brian1954 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2021
    2,046
    796
    0
    Location:
    South Central PA, USA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Check the AM2 fuse. It is located inside the fuse box next to the engine.
     
    BiomedO1 likes this.
  3. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2021
    3,251
    1,717
    0
    Location:
    SacTown, Ca
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    You need to TEST; not blindly poke, prod, and replace things. Why did you try jump starting the car? Did you test the 12V battery first?

    Chances are that your EV cooling pump shorted out and blew your AM2 fuse. That would lead to partial electrical systems failure. Goofing around with the part of the electrical system that was still functional would draw down the 12v battery, that would lead you to think that you have a bad battery. You buy a new battery, thinking that's the problem - only to find that doesn't solve your issue. That is why you need to TEST.
     
  4. greenMachinery

    greenMachinery New Member

    Joined:
    Thursday
    2
    1
    0
    Location:
    Arizona
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I checked the AM2 fuse today and yes it is blown. I haven't had the Prius for very long and didn't know that the symptoms suggested a blown fuse. I trusted the AAA employees that were called but upon research done after the fact they gave me for the most part inaccurate information and didn't really know what they were doing, as checking the AM2 fuse would have only taken them a minute and they didn't even do that. So now yes I am trying to test things myself and reach out to other Prius owners who actually know how they work.
     
    BiomedO1 likes this.