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Warning light for transmission came on after jump start

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Stewiect, Apr 16, 2017.

  1. Stewiect

    Stewiect Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2017
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Hello everyone. I bought my 2008 Prius in January with 175k miles on it and have been loving it every day. I plan on upgrading to the newer gen 4 next year but would like to keep this one as long as possible. I drive about 350 miles a week on average and last weekend I took it on a 400 Mile road trip. I live in Texas and most of the interstate speed limits are 65-75mph so I'm often going over 70. I know it's a Prius and it's not suppose to have a lot of power but it really appeared to struggle towards the end of the trip. I drove it only a few times while on vacation. I turned on my Prius for about an hour to charge my phone (didn't start the engine, just hit the power button without pressing the break). I've done this several times before with no issue before but the next time I went to start my car the battery appeared completely dead. The trunk would not open, I had to open manually from the inside and jump start it. Almost immediately after connecting the cables the car starts by itself. A red triangle warning light came on and an error message comes on the screen every time I start the car and when I'm driving it and come to a complete stop. The message reads "there is a problem with the transmission "P" lock mechanism. Park your car on a flat surface, and fully apply the parking brake." I've heard that having a faulty 12 volt battery could bring up false error messages. My Prius starts up and appears to be functioning properly. I'm still familiarizing myself with the mechanics of the Prius and I don't know much about the CVT transmission. How often should I get it serviced? How reliable are they? Also I popped the hood and skimmed the owners manual and didn't see anything about how to check or replace transmission fluid. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading :)

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  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Start by replacing the 12V battery. Then see if the car still produces warning msgs.
     
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  3. Prius Jas

    Prius Jas Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2016
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    Location:
    Western Australia
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    II
    We have changed our fleet over to the direct replacement Optima 12v battery and have seen a drop in electrical faults across the fleet. Can't recommend them highly enough.

    Transaxle oil change procedure should be listed although the schedule for completing it is a grey area. We do ours every 50000km.
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    The 12 volt battery doesn't have much reserve capacity. I would refrain from ever using it without the car fully on, for charging your phone, listening to the radio, whatever.
     
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  5. Stewiect

    Stewiect Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2017
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Thank you everyone. An associate at my local auto part store helped me out with the light. He just put the car in neutral and applied the parking break and the light came off.
    I may have just left it on a little too long but I'd like to get it tested just in case.
    Suggestions on where to get the battery checked please...