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Car self shifts to neutral

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by lwoxen, Mar 21, 2008.

  1. lwoxen

    lwoxen New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2008
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    Location:
    orange county ca
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Was driving home tonight on side streets Had just shifted to B and once I passed the bottom of the hill, went back to D. In about 30 feet, the car shifted back to Neutral. Tried shifting to D again...as soon as I let up on the lever it shifted back to Neutral. So I drove home holding the lever down.

    Called the dealer and of course they can't get me in until sometime next week. The service guy said he'd never heard of this problem.

    Anyone else had this or have any ideas. Hard driving one hand on the steering wheel and one on the shift lever.

    This is a 2007 package 5 This is the first problem I've had and I've driven over 10k miles already.
     
    #1 lwoxen, Mar 21, 2008
  2. lwoxen

    lwoxen New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2008
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    orange county ca
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Was driving home tonight on side streets Had just shifted to B and once I passed the bottom of the hill, went back to D. In about 30 feet, the car shifted back to Neutral. Tried shifting to D again...as soon as I let up on the lever it shifted back to Neutral. So I drove home holding the lever down.

    Called the dealer and of course they can't get me in until sometime next week. The service guy said he'd never heard of this problem.

    Anyone else had this or have any ideas. Hard driving one hand on the steering wheel and one on the shift lever.

    This is a 2007 package 5 This is the first problem I've had and I've driven over 10k miles already.
     
    #2 lwoxen, Mar 21, 2008
  3. Steamboatsig

    Steamboatsig Member

    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2008
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    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Keep us updated.
     
    #3 Steamboatsig, Mar 21, 2008
  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
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    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Why were you using B? I can't imagine where in your location there are hills big enough to require or benefit from B mode.

    That aside, there have been cases where the shifter switch stops working or gets dirty. The shifter lever is really just an electrical switch that tells the controller what mode you desire. If the controller agrees, then it will switch into that mode. It could be a switch problem, or a controller problem. The dealer should be able to easily sort it out.

    Tom
     
    #4 qbee42, Mar 21, 2008
  5. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2005
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    MD
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    sounds like the shift lever position sensor, if that's the case. no big deal, warranty will cover that for ya, quick job to do.
     
    #5 galaxee, Mar 21, 2008
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

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    *Threads Merged*
     
    #6 Tideland Prius, Mar 22, 2008
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