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

Prius not starting any suggestion on what could be going on?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Ruisustyle, Mar 16, 2022.

  1. Ruisustyle

    Ruisustyle Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2016
    6
    0
    0
    Location:
    Four Oaks, NC
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hey folks, I have an 05 Prius that's been sitting around for almost two months now. I cant believe I forgot to check here, but here is what happened.

    While driving home late at night, my Prius shifted to neutral when I got to a stop light. It was very odd, but I simply tried putting it into Drive and keep going and nothing happened. I could not go into Park, Drive, Reverse, it was just stuck at Neutral. If I recall correctly, the Red triangle was also on.

    My solution was to try and power cycle the car, so I turned it off and back on, unfortunately, this did not fix anything even worse, the car would not go into ready mode or even properly come on. The red triangle went away, but so did everything else on the dash. When trying to turn the car on, the following lights turn on for less than a second (BREAK, MAINT REQ, Low temp light, Brake system warning light, ABS, VCS, Slip indicator). My Odometer will briefly flash along with the outline for the PRNDB (this flashes twice) then shut off.

    The Radio and lights still work, but the AC was dead. I unplugged the 12 volt waited a bit, but nothing changed. I ended up getting towed and my car has just been sitting there till this day.

    Any suggestions as to what could have happened?

    At this point, I’m not in a big hurry to fix it as I’ve purchased a car, but I’d life to bring back my prius to life (if possible).

    Now, if this wasn’t enough of a problem, I have lost my last keyfob for the Prius, I still have a spare mechanical key to unlock it and get into it. But I’m not sure where that leaves me at this point.

    I spoke with a Toyota service guy who apparently checked with a hybrid friend of his and they suggest that it’s possibly the hybrid battery.

    I kinda hope that this is the case, since I would be able to order a replacement battery and then tow it to Toyota and hopefully get keys made.

    What are you’re guys thoughts?

    Picture of the Dashboard (had to go frame by frame on a video to get the odomoter one)
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,541
    8,435
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    It seems you might have a dead 12v battery right now to do any type of diagnosis. You also might be having the combination meter problem where your dash won't light up. That's a problem that is happening to all the older 2nd gen prius cars
     
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,514
    1,821
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    did it not display park on a level surface on mfd??????
     
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,541
    8,435
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Are you headlights on?
     
    Tombukt2 likes this.
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,327
    50,135
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    12 volt
     
  6. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2008
    8,605
    5,127
    7
    Location:
    Texas Hill Country
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Normally a 12v battery won't strand you while the system is running since the inverter's dc to dc converter supplies the 12v at that point. A hybrid battery that codes out typically can be reset with a 12v power cycle and usually won't strand you while driving. An inverter failing could strand you as could various wiring faults.

    You need to read codes with a Techstream scanner. After two months the 12v is discharged and will require a jump or new battery just to begin a diagnosis.

    Without a keyfob you can't even try to Ready the system so buying a hybrid battery, inverter, combination meter or brake booster won't be definitive even if one of them is the issue.

    I think step one is to find the fob or take the car to a dealer to have a new fob programmed. At that point a 12v jump and a Techstream scan will further diagnose the issue.
     
  7. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2016
    6,404
    6,062
    0
    Location:
    Columbia, SC
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    I'll throw this out there just for the heck of it. The symptoms you had on the dash are indicative of a significant drop in 12v power. This could be a hard failure of the 12v battery significantly loading down the DC-DC circuit, or it could be the inverter cooling pump failing and drawing the voltage down significantly on the AM2 circuit. If the ICWP, it usually pops the AM2 fuse and totally kills the car, but I have seen it blow the fuse, but not completely. Still enough metallic contact to let a minor amount of voltage/current pass to cause intermittent flashes of warning lights. Unplug the inverter cooling pump, verify the AM2 fuse is not partially blown (it happens) or just put a new one in, and make sure you have a solid 12v battery. Try the car again see what happens. I guess it would be important to get a new key first though, lol.
     
  8. Ruisustyle

    Ruisustyle Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2016
    6
    0
    0
    Location:
    Four Oaks, NC
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thank you everyone for the input. I'll be towing the car to Toyota soon and see where things go. I've been hunting for this key for weeks with no luck. And yeah, that's going to suck. I'm not sure if I should just scrap the car at this point.
    I appreciates everyone's time and input.
     
  9. Another

    Another Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2021
    1,802
    512
    0
    Location:
    Naples, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Sell it to @Tombukt2
    He’s in NC
    Always in the market for another parts car
     
  10. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,514
    1,821
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    He's in 4 oaks just came thru there an hour ago too. 9198920363 if it gets to no go stage let me know
     
  11. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2016
    6,404
    6,062
    0
    Location:
    Columbia, SC
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Anyone have a better voice to text program to sell him? I honestly feel he has knowledge and experience to share but I think most people just skip his posts because the current VTT he's using makes his posts mind numbing
     
  12. Another

    Another Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2021
    1,802
    512
    0
    Location:
    Naples, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    I quit the NYT crossword puzzle and just do @Tombukt2 daily to keep my brain active.
     
  13. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,514
    1,821
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    He right up road . Was they’re yesterday.
     
  14. BuyJapanese

    BuyJapanese Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2019
    62
    30
    0
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Sounds like a shorted inverter coolant pump causing a blown fuse that prevents the car from starting. Check your AM2 fuse (15amp, labeled AM2 on the diagram on the inside of the under-hood fuse box).

    There was a recall and a TSB on this way back when, it doesn't come up much anymore. BUT...I have recently discovered...that some aftermarket inverter coolant pumps can cause the same problem.

    IF your AM2 fuse is blown, you can circumvent the problem temporarily by unplugging the inverter coolant pump. No tools needed, just reach down there behind driver's headlight and unplug it. Then put in your spare 15A fuse, then try to start it and see what happens. If it starts and runs with no issues, you know you have isolated the problem, so you can then order a new pump. Stick with OEM.