1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Help! Prius won't start without key

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Dipena, Jun 28, 2008.

  1. Dipena

    Dipena Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2008
    1,567
    68
    0
    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    My 08 is about 3 months old and has <4000 miles on it. My daughter drove it today. She apparently had it in auxiliary power mode to use the Nav system (ie, not fully powered up). She thinks she left it on only 15-20 minutes or perhaps less. After that she couldn't get the car to turn on, but she saw the icon with the key flashing, looked it up in the manual, and then got it to start using the key. Drove it about a half-hour after that without problems.

    But it still won't start without the key engaged. What happened? How do I fix this? I love my keylessness and just want my baby to be OK again...

    Thanks for your help.

    Dianne
     
    #1 Dipena, Jun 28, 2008
  2. JOS

    JOS New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2006
    25
    0
    0
    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Look under the steering wheel, see a button labeled "KEY"? (assuming the button is in the same spot on your '08 vs. my '06) Is it depressed? If it is then you have the keyless entry locked out (no pun intended). Simply reset it and all should be back to normal (keyless entry and starting available).
     
    #2 JOS, Jun 28, 2008
  3. Dipena

    Dipena Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2008
    1,567
    68
    0
    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Wow! This is the second time you guys have bailed me out. That was it, exactly, JOS. Thank you.
     
    #3 Dipena, Jun 28, 2008
  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,073
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    One other piece of information: the little red flashing key has nothing to do with needing the key. It shows that the immobilizer is active, which is part of the anti-theft system.

    Tom
     
    #4 qbee42, Jun 28, 2008
  5. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2004
    14,816
    2,496
    66
    Location:
    Far-North Chicagoland
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Good call, JOS. It's not the first time someone's bumped the button with their knee or something.
     
    #5 TonyPSchaefer, Jun 29, 2008
  6. Bear68

    Bear68 Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2007
    373
    72
    0
    Location:
    West Palm Beach, FLA
    Bear in mind there are TWO lights which have a key symbol. One is red and simply shows the immobiliser is active. The other is a larger amber light which indicates the SKS (Smart Key System) has not detected the key in the car. Checking the SKS button located below the steering wheel is the first step and usually solves the problem. The main purpose of the button is to allow you to deactivate the SKS when leaving the car for an extended time (two weeks or more) It helps to avoid running down the 12V aux battery.
     
    #6 Bear68, Jun 29, 2008
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)