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Prius Stopped Functioning for No Apparent Reason

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Alex580, Aug 9, 2017.

  1. Alex580

    Alex580 New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius c
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    One
    I just received the 2016 Prius C One earlier this morning from Carvana and everything seemed ok. I drove it around the neighborhood with zero problems. Later I had to run an errand, so when I got to the last speed bump and slowed down to cross it, the car turned off. I was sitting there for nearly 5 minutes trying to get it running again. Made it to the store ok, when I went to leave and was near the intersection, it turned off again. I sat there for a good 10 minutes fighting with that vehicle. It gets going again, finally, and luckily the light was green, so I make it to the gate of my neighborhood. I brake so I can enter the gate code on the keypad and it turned off again!

    I was there struggling about 3 minutes. During that time, it would start for a few seconds then turn off. It did this 3 times, on the fourth time, it stayed on, and I managed to get home. Anyone have any idea why this happened? No warning lights came on while I was experiencing this. The battery gauge was at 3 bars, then went down to 2. At one point, I switched to battery, hoping it would start. I'm not sure if I did anything wrong. I tried starting it with the parking brake up then down, just basically trying whatever I could to make it start.

    I'm reading the manual, checking sites, I honestly don't know what's going on. I'm new to hybrids, so maybe I messed up. Someone please advise and thank you very much.
     
    #1 Alex580, Aug 9, 2017
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome! would all the dash lights/info shut down when it wouldn't go?
     
    #2 bisco, Aug 9, 2017
  3. Alex580

    Alex580 New Member

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    Thanks for the welcome. No, everything was still lit. I just tested it three times a few minutes ago. It came on with no problems. I didn't move it, didn't want to risk it shutting off in the middle of the road again. "Park" and the seat belt icon was on the screen. No other warning icons. On the third time, I decided to just let it run, it shut off after about 2 minutes. Not sure if that's supposed to happen.
     
    #3 Alex580, Aug 9, 2017
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    when you say, 'it shut off', do you mean the engine?
     
    #4 bisco, Aug 9, 2017
  5. Alex580

    Alex580 New Member

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    Yes, the car would not move.
     
    #5 Alex580, Aug 9, 2017
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sorry, i'm confused. on hybrids, the engine turns on and off as needed, but the car drives whether it is on or off. the battery is the motive energy when the engine isn't running. what happens when you step on the brake and put it in drive?
     
    #6 bisco, Aug 9, 2017
    dubit and Raytheeagle like this.
  7. Alex580

    Alex580 New Member

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    So the engine is supposed to turn off after a couple of minutes? Also I didn't try driving it because I assumed it was off.
     
    #7 Alex580, Aug 9, 2017
  8. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Let's start at the beginning: have you ever owned, driven, or ridden in a hybrid before today?
     
    #8 fotomoto, Aug 9, 2017
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  9. Deogratias

    Deogratias Member

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    It's a hybrid. The gas motor shuts off. It runs on battery. The battery depletes, then the gas motor comes on again.

    Just drive the car. Don't listen for sounds. Just drive it. It's fine. It's a hybrid. The engine doesn't run all the time.
     
    #9 Deogratias, Aug 9, 2017
  10. ztanos

    ztanos All-around Geek!

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    As the others have said... if the car didn't throw warning lights, carry on.
     
    #10 ztanos, Aug 10, 2017
  11. Alex580

    Alex580 New Member

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    Nope, this is my first time.
     
    #11 Alex580, Aug 10, 2017
  12. Alex580

    Alex580 New Member

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    I see, thanks so much for the info! I was thinking there was something wrong. Clearly I was the one in the wrong.
     
    #12 Alex580, Aug 10, 2017
    bisco likes this.
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    my wife's former hairdresser bought a hybrid camry without test driving it, or ever having driven a hybrid before. the first time the engine shut down on the drive home from the dealer, it freaked her out so much, she turned around and traded it for a regular camry.
     
    #13 bisco, Aug 10, 2017
    Raytheeagle likes this.
  14. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Hopefully it didn't depreciate by 20%:eek:.
     
    #14 Raytheeagle, Aug 10, 2017
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  15. Sean Nelson

    Sean Nelson Active Member

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    Passengers in my Prius C are often startled when the engine stops, or when it fails to come on when I start the car. But that's the whole point of buying a hybrid - the computer monitors driving conditions (load, acceleration, grade, battery state of charge, etc. etc.) and shuts then engine off when it's more efficient to use the battery. This is exactly why you get such great gas mileage. And when you use the brakes, the computer system can convert the electric motor into an electric generator and slow the car down by generating electricity to be stored back into the battery again. So you don't waste nearly as much energy stopping and starting again, and because the engine typically doesn't run while you're stopped you actually get better gas mileage in most stop-and-go traffic conditions than you do at highway speeds where the car has to fight air resistance. That kind of thing is completely unheard of in conventional gas engined cars.

    The Prius is extremely well engineered and I've never had any problems with mine. Drive it just like a normal car and enjoy the benefits!
     
    #15 Sean Nelson, Aug 13, 2017
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  16. edspecR

    edspecR Member

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    did you press the gas pedal at all when the motor was off?
     
    #16 edspecR, Aug 15, 2017
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