CAR WON'T START!

Well, they'll need to check out the 12v battery. But without a lot more information about what the car is doing, what state the system is in when this happens and so forth, there's not much anyone can tell you. Could be anything from a bad key fob, bad 12v batt or system issue to simple operator error.

 

Are you absolutely, positively certain that you are pressing down on the brake pedal while starting the car? That is what tripped me up occasionally during my first year of Prius ownership.

Also, make sure to let the car finish responding to one button press before pressing it again. I've seen several family members repeatedly get into trouble with computers and other devices when they were impatient and piled on keystrokes or button presses faster than the device could process them.

 

Are you saying that the car is in "Ready", you have just stopped,with everything looking normal and it won't go or are you saying that you are actually powering off the car in the drive through and then trying to start it? From your description of the failure "at a street light" it sounds like it was "running" (in Ready state) but would not go when you pressed the pedal. If for some reason it actually powers down by itself when stopped, record that as it's obviously a fault. If it's in Ready but won't go record that as that's obviously a fault.

I assume you are pressing "Power" and not "P" Park when you try to start it. Of course the brake petal has to be pressed to start. No obvious failure indicators or out of the norm lights?

There is a procedure you can use to check the 12v battery voltage on the screen when this happens. It might not help if the controls don't work. You can search and hopefully find it.

It would seem to me that this is pretty serious if it's not operator error so you need to push the dealer. It could be an intermittent computer or network; not normal but possible. The fact you get it running again suggests that something intermittent is happening, maybe a bad brake switch sensor or wiring. It's important to tell the dealer exactly what happened when.

I would take a notebook and a camera with me in the car and document everything when it fails, eg the state it was in just before the failure (stopped, first start of the day, cold outside, etc), the dash indicators when you press Power before it starts and then after. Then I would take the scenario(s) to the dealer and leave it with them (ask for a loaner car). Have them start and drive it under the circumstances you see. Clearly you should not have to diagnose the problem for them ("it's the xxxyyy part"), but give them as much input as possible.

 

start with a healthcheck of the 12 volt battery and connections. if the dealer isn't interested, take it to a local mechanic, or buy a digital voltmeter at sears/radioshack/auto store, and check it yourself, with the car off, and after a few hours.

 

and if it is bad, the dealer owes you a new one under warranty.