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Prius dead after running out of gas

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by danielac86, Mar 15, 2020.

  1. danielac86

    danielac86 Junior Member

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    I lent my car to a friend who wasn't used to the push button start and they accidentally left the car on all night and it ran out of gas. I've just about filled the tank with gas and unplugged the 12V battery and reconnected, but I still can't get the car to start. When it turns on, it shows the fuel gauge blinking on "E" for a few seconds, then the whole fuel bar starts blinking and the car won't go into drive. Any thoughts on what I should try next?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    test the 12v. if that's healthy, you may have to tow it to a dealership to have the hybrid battery charged
     
  3. danielac86

    danielac86 Junior Member

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    So I killed the battery completely, but once I jumped it it worked again. Thanks for the help!
     
    bisco likes this.
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I'll zip it, but this is a design fail by Toyota.
     
  5. SFO

    SFO Senior Member

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    As mentioned above, the HV battery could've drained quite low, which will make starting the vehicle difficult at best.

    If you have a DIY attitude, you could look into procuring a used 'E-C Apparatus Corporation EC570' "Electrophoresis Power Supply", many cost around $100 or less. There could be other applicable makes/models if you research the "specifications" in the that used device market.
     
  6. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    I recommend you contact fellow member @litesong I believe he is the expert on running a Prius out of gas. Maybe he has some experience regarding your situation.
     
  7. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Best would be to connect computer with Techstream and put the Prius to ign-on by pressing the power button twice without brake. You may need to charge the 12V battery to do this. Then you could see if what's wrong with it. If the problem is just that hybrid battery needs charging and you can't get the charger somebody who understands these sort of things (electronic repairer, electrical engineer, etc.) can make you one that can be used for this.
     
  8. DMC-5180

    DMC-5180 Active Member

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    I accidentally ran out of gas once on my way to the gas station. I literally ran out going down the off ramp to the station. I had enough speed to be able to roll into the station 2 blocks away on the HV BATTERY. Once I had filled up, the car wouldn’t start. Red triangle was lit up. I happened to have a code reader in the car at the time, so I plugged it in read the codes, then cleared the history. Once the codes were cleared, I hit the power button again and car fired right up like nothing had happened. So, you may just need to clear any warning codes present before it will start up.


    I didn’t see the part earlier about the 12V being dead too. Disconnecting that will also reset Fault codes.
     
    C Wagner likes this.