Struggle to revive I gen prius - need help

Congrats on your low mileage vehicle. I’m a Gen 1 owner and while it is difficult to see all the screens you’re rotataring through here, it does appear to me you have not turned on the ignition. You need to turn the key one more click to fully start the motor. You’ve got the vehicle in what appears only the READY mode.

You can move the car from P to B, D, etc in READY mode, and the sounds I’m hearing sound just like my vehicle. The Gen 1 still turns on like a regular car. The hybrid system once the vehicle is fully on alternates back and forth between gas and electric depending upon the driving condition, needs. Now, I’m no expert here, but I do know a bit about the car and have first/hand knowledge.
I’m hoping this is all it is for you.

I’m an original 2002 owner under 100K and all is good for the most part. Once you get it going, drive the wheels off of it, you will love it.
Keep us posted.

 

In the key selections, my car has the four following choices. You need to turn the key to the “start” mode.
LOCK
ACC
ON
START


If you’re in the START mode, and the fuel motor is not trying to start, then I would begin checking the normal vehicle things that would likely prevent that from occurring. Start with the simple things first.

I would check the 12V battery to see if it sufficiently charged to start. You can always try jumping the car or using a booster pac to see if that will start it. Check to be sure all connections are secure as well.

Try checking the alternator. It could be dead.Check to be sure all connections are secure as well.

From there, there could be ignition issues that are beyond my experience. I’d check with some of the contributors here. I’d first check to see if you can get it jump started. If it tries but sputters, could be injectors need cleaning, but I don’t want to lead you down an impossible rabbit hole. You’re not even there yet.

You’ve got to get the car to turn over. The car is on and running when the key is engaged and in the START setting. “ON” simply gives you access to electronics like lights, radio etc. That would also be considered “ignition” mode I believe. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong and I’ll repost.

 

I honestly don't know Poland at all, what's available and who can do hybrid work. Ideally, you would just tow it to an independent repair shop that works on hybrids or to a Toyota dealership. These cars a different from just about anything on the road, so a lot of tried and true solutions won't work.

There are two batteries in the car. In the trunk on the left side, there's a 12 volt battery that maintains the settings in the various computers and provides power for all the various accessories. It must be charged for the car to start, but it doesn't actually start the car. Under and behind the back seat is the big high voltage battery which should have about 300 volts--it is what supplies the power to start the car. The alternator/starter/drive electric motor on the left side of the transmission is what charges the big battery and helps push the car--there's another electric motor on the other side of the transmission as well. On the left side of the engine bay is the inverter, it turns the high voltage into 12 volts to keep the little battery in the trunk charged as well as the high voltage battery. If your high voltage battery is low or badly unbalanced (modules that are low voltage) the car won't start. They all need to be between 7.5 and 8 volts each. Sitting unused for a long time kills the modules.

You need some tools, a factory repair manual set is necessary and you need an old laptop with a MiniVCI cable and Techstream software to diagnose--it will give readings on all the modules and will read all the trouble codes.The MiniVCI is available from Amazon or on Ebay. Probably even in the EU. My Techstream is installed in a dedicated Dell Win XP laptop. I understand it can also be installed in later versions of Windows.

Listen, if you have a background of repairing your own cars, can read, and think, you can probably get enough knowledge by doing online research and on this section of PriusChat. We have some of the best experts that check in almost daily. It can be done--I did it and I started from knowing nothing a couple of years ago to being fairly competent today.

But basically, in idiomatic American English, you stepped in a big pile of dog poop when you bought this car. They are very much a thinking person's car to work on.

 

If the instrument panel shows signs of life when you turn the key to ON, but the signs all fade when you turn the key further to START, then the 12-volt battery has bugger-all of a charge on it ... not terribly surprising, if the car has been sitting for a year (a 12-volt lead-acid battery will usually self-discharge more or less completely in a few months).

Give that battery a good long generous charge, and then see what happens. If you have a charger that advertises a "de-sulfating" feature, that's worth a try. A lead-acid battery that has self-discharged (over a few months) and then sat discharged (for the rest of the year) is likely to have a thick layer of lead sulfate over the plates.

There's some controversy over how well any of the "de-sulfating" chargers actually work, but if you have access to one, maybe it will help.

If you turn out unable to resurrect the 12-volt battery that is there, just put in a fully-charged new one, and see what happens.

 

Here is a two-year old thread regarding another DTC P1636 error. Maybe you will find this is relevant to your car's problems.
Generation 1, P1636 error | PriusChat

It would help if you obtain Mini VCI (Toyota Techstream clone) to ensure that you are retrieving all DTC logged by the various ECUs.

I am not aware of an impact sensor that would open the fuel pump circuit.

Obviously, you should inspect the area damaged by the accident to see if any wiring harness damage resulted from that impact.

It would also be helpful if you have factory repair manual info to refer to, which you can obtain at the Toyota Europe website:

Toyota Service Information

 

There is a gizmo called the "circuit breaker sensor", C3 in a 2001 US wiring diagram. It's mounted on or near the outboard edge of the inverter, toward the front.

 

Easiest way is to swap in a known good sensor.