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parking brake transmission problem

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by rczinner, Jul 19, 2011.

  1. rczinner

    rczinner New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2011
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    Location:
    South Charleston, WV
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I got in my car yesterday morning, put my foot on the brake and pushed the "start" button. The car's dashboard lit up, almost entirely, and stayed that way with a large exclamation point within a triangle (red) lit up as well. I pulled out my owner's manual and could find no explanation for the combination of these symbols, only their main uses. When I went to turn the car back off, the radio came on and the transmission symbols (park, drive, reverse, neutral) all lit up and stayed on with the key slot blinking. I was very confused, so I put my foot back on the brake and pushed the start button, again. At this point, please refer back to earlier in this post to the second sentence and re-read everything to this point.
    At this point, I thought maybe the vehicle needed its key put in the ignition for a recognition situation? One of my key batteries is already dead and the second one needs replacing, soon. The key became LOCKED in the ignition. After pushing the start button and off button several more times, a message appeared on my touch-screen saying something about a problem with the parking brake pedal being applied firmly while on a flat surface. Tried that, with no results. Eventually, I was able to remove the key and turn the vehicle off.
    After calling the service shop, I was told to get the car towed in (it sits in the garage, facing inward, and the gear shift does not work!), and then had to explain that I couldn't put the car in neutral to remove it from the garage, first. Crazy situation. I also need new tires, these are worn through and I haven't even finished paying off the vehicle! One of the rubber strips on the roof has come off and I've stored it in the back of the vehicle for the past year or so, and inspection has to take place before Sept. 1, 2011. Please help me out! Is it the small battery for starting the car, and can I replace this myself, or should I leave it up to the professionals because it is part of the hybrid synergy system and is still under the 8-year, 100,000 mile warranty?
     
    #1 rczinner, Jul 19, 2011
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The 12V battery needs to be replaced. It is located in the right-rear hatch floor corner.

    I don't know whether you can replace it yourself. If you have a decent set of metric tools and can find the battery, then you can look at its installation and decide whether you can do it or not. There are numerous posts about how to do this.

    Typically, the original equipment tires will only last 30K miles or less so if your car loan is three years or longer and you drive 10K miles a year or more, there's no surprise that your loan isn't paid off before the tires need to be replaced.

    I also suggest that you replace the batteries in both fobs soon. Good luck.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Jul 19, 2011
  3. andyprius

    andyprius Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2005
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    Location:
    Sacramento, California.
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Read all posts on the 12V Battery. Do a search on Priuschat
     
    #3 andyprius, Jul 22, 2011
  4. tf4624

    tf4624 Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2009
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    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Take out the storage bin in the back and battery on right side unbolt it with tools and put a new one in after that start the car
     
    #4 tf4624, Jul 27, 2011
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