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Engine gets stuck in low gear

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by mi2k, Jun 14, 2013.

  1. mi2k

    mi2k Junior Member

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    I have a 2012 Prius v 5 with 30K miles. Twice in the last 15 days the car has got stuck in a low gear on flat roads. I was pressing the pedal just enough to maintain 55 on the highway. It would not switch to EV if the speed went down below 44. The battery indicator did not show a depleted battery. There were no warning lights. We drive quite gently.

    Both times I shut off the car at the first chance I got at a traffic light. Both times, on starting again, the car behaved normal! It was as if a computer reboot fixed the problem.

    Does someone have an idea what could be going on? Has anyone else experienced it?
     
    #1 mi2k, Jun 14, 2013
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm not quite understanding what the problem is. what is 'low gear'? there are no gears, is the ice revving high? do you have a scangauge?
     
    #2 bisco, Jun 14, 2013
  3. mi2k

    mi2k Junior Member

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    I am sorry -- I am not technical or familiar with the internals. Yes, the engine was revving high, as in engine braking in other cars.
     
    #3 mi2k, Jun 14, 2013
  4. Jzerocsk

    Jzerocsk Member

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    Perhaps you had the "B" mode enabled? Worth noting, if you put it in "B" mode, it will stay there until you move the shifter back to "D". It seems like you might almost use it like a handbrake (at least that's how I thought it would work when I first tried it), but it actually stays enabled until you disable it.
     
    #4 Jzerocsk, Jun 14, 2013
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    right, and if you shut the car off, it starts back up in park and you have to put it in drive again.
     
    #5 bisco, Jun 14, 2013
  6. mi2k

    mi2k Junior Member

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    I am quite positive it was not in the B mode (although I have never tried it). Both times I was driving normally and the transition to revving happened all of a sudden without me doing anything.


    That's correct.
     
    #6 mi2k, Jun 14, 2013
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you can bump the shifter while driving, but bumping it into b mode would be difficult i think?
     
    #7 bisco, Jun 14, 2013
  8. Jzerocsk

    Jzerocsk Member

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    Since "B" is straight down it's easier to do that than anything else. With the v-wagon shifter position it seems entirely possible to bump it accidentally.

    That said, mi2k has had the car for long enough that it seems strange it didn't happen until just the last couple of weeks...my advice is that when/if it happens again, check the dash to see if the car thinks it's in "B" mode...if it does and you're certain you didn't bump the shifter, then you have a clue that perhaps there's an issue with the actual shifter. And if it says it's in "D" then there's something else going on!
     
    #8 Jzerocsk, Jun 14, 2013
  9. mi2k

    mi2k Junior Member

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    I don't think I would have bumped it to B. I am aware of it now -- if it was to happen again I would make sure that it was not because I bumped it to B. I will also try shifting to D whether or not I bumped it.

    Thanks, both of you!
     
    #9 mi2k, Jun 14, 2013
  10. MarathonMarty

    MarathonMarty Prii 4-timer

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    Another indication that you are in 'B' mode is that you will not be able to activate cruise control until it is placed in 'D'.
     
    #10 MarathonMarty, Jun 14, 2013
  11. lbr

    lbr Junior Member

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    THe prius also reacts the same if the battery is full. Then instead of charging it will use the petrol engine to slow down when you take you're foot of the gas. It does not need to be in B for that.
     
    #11 lbr, Jun 15, 2013
  12. skwcrj

    skwcrj Member

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    True. But even then, it will shutdown when reaching a complete stop.

    Mi2K,

    As others have said, your shifter maybe going B on its own. You might want to schedule an appointment with your dealer. The shifter is just an electronic switch and it may be going bad. Someone else had problems with the car going into reverse when put in drive so going into B could happen as well.

    Putting car in Drive, but goes to reverse | PriusChat

    We may be seeing two documented problems with the shifter.
     
    #12 skwcrj, Jun 15, 2013
  13. css28

    css28 Senior Member

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    If it happens again, glance at the gear display to the right of the speedometer. Verify that it shows it in "D".
     
    #13 css28, Jun 15, 2013
  14. Bob G IA

    Bob G IA Member

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    It may be that you have a temperature sensor going bad causing the system to drop into warm up mode. If you have or could get a ScanGuage II you could look at water temp & ignition timing.
     
    #14 Bob G IA, Jun 15, 2013
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    time to visit the dealer.
     
    #15 bisco, Jun 15, 2013
  16. mi2k

    mi2k Junior Member

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    Thanks for all the new suggestions since my last post. I have just discovered a dealer mistake at the last service that I have posted in another thread. Do you think that could have a relevance to this problem?
     
    #16 mi2k, Jun 21, 2013
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