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Prius won't start. No lights come on except a little lock symbol.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Bill bill, Jul 23, 2015.

  1. Bill bill

    Bill bill New Member

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    Hello. I just tried to start my Prius this morning and nothing happened except a quick flashing red indicator light which looks like a lock symbol. Not sure what's going on. Any help would be appreciated!
     
  2. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    One possibility is that you did not engage the Brake switch, they have been known to fall off the Brake pedal.

    More likely, your 12 volt battery may be dead, unless you have changed it, it may be 5 years old. On a normal car you would have heard the starter get slower and slower, but in a Prius the 12 volt battery does not run a starter.

    Toyota sells a battery with a 84 month pro-rated warranty, which may be best. The Optima battery also has a long history with the Prius. Optima DS46B24R Optima battery direct fit replacement for Prius 2004 + , Prius V & Plug-in Prius with Instructions Other companies also sell S46B24R batteries for the Prius.

    Other choices may be wrong, but those are the biggies.
     
  3. JTM2955

    JTM2955 Active Member

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    Is the battery dead on your keyfob? Do you have other lights on, like the dome lamp, on your car? Is the fob or the 12v battery, but this is diagnostics by wire. Have you tried to Jump Start your Prius? Its in your owners manual. Just a thought, and good luck. JTM

    LG-D851 ?
     
  4. Bill bill

    Bill bill New Member

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    Thank you. Would you trust someone from AAA to try and jump the car?
     
  5. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    Under close supervision, with the UserManual in hand…
     
  6. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    Since your "immobilizer" is flashing, the Fob is not being recognized. As was stated above, replace the Fob battery or try your second Fob (if you don't have a second one, get one as loss of your only Fob requires an expensive job replacing one of the computers). In my 2004 I have the option to insert the Fob into the dash which doesn't require a battery to start the car.

    JeffD
     
  7. JTM2955

    JTM2955 Active Member

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    I would trust AAA, at a minimum they havevto be insured. Do you have TWO keyes for your vehicle?Also, replacing the key fob battery is no big deal. Does the 2010 thru 2015 Prius have an ignition slot?

    LG-D851 ?
     
  8. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I going to go against Jimbo on this one. It sounds to me like the fob battery is dead.
    There have been times when I've just flat-out forgotten my key fob. When I get in the car and press the (Start) button, the immobilizer lock flashes on the dash.
    So, I'm guessing:
    1) the fob battery died (but I thought the car actually warned you when the fob was about to die)
    2) somehow the smart key switch got turned off

    Since I have a Gen2 and you have a Gen3, I have to ask: can you shove the fob into the dash of a Gen3 like you can a Gen2? I'm uncertain and don't feel like Googling it.
     
  9. se-riously

    se-riously Active Member

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    For Gen 3, all you need to do is hold the key fob on top of the START button for 10 seconds while keeping your foot on the brake. You'll then be able to start the car, even if your key fob battery is dead.
     
  10. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    G3's don't have the slot for the fob.

    *revised*
    I just sat in 'Goofy' (2010, II) without the keyfob and I got a triangle and a key not detected message, so it's probably a little deeper than the keyfob battery.

    I would trust AAA to start my car ONLY if I supervised them and they KNEW how to do it.
    First I would catch a ride to a box store and buy a pocket jump starter and do it myself.
    Priuses don't have starter motors.
    You're not really starting the ICE but rather you're booting up the car, and this takes very little current.
    A hand-full of flashlight batteries can do.
    The AAA responder can also cause significant damage since Toyota seems to be one of the few modern OEMs that don't adequately protect their cars against polarity reversals.

    How did you get into the car?
    If the car was locked and you actuated the door locks with the SKS, then it might not be an AUX battery issue either.
    If the door was open???
    Te car might be out of fuel having been left in ready mode for an extended amount of time.

    Good Luck!
     
    #10 ETC(SS), Jul 23, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2015
  11. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

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    I bouoght one of these: Mini Multi-Function Jump Starter: BatteryMart.com earlier in the year, and although I've never had to use it on The ChuggyPig, it came in very handy when a neighbour needed a jump start and I was able to get his Jeep Laredo going from something which looked about the size of a paper-back book! This happened 3 times and eventually I persuaded him to invest in a new battery! (…and I use it to charge my phone! …and it has a flash-light and other features)
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i agree with all of the above.
     
    TonyPSchaefer likes this.