My Prius itech 2009 is turning on by itself!

What procedure do you use to turn the car off? It sounds as though somehow, the car is NOT turned off and therefore the engine cycles on when necessary to recharge the main battery.

 

I agree, it sounds as though it wasn't really off.

FYI, this sub-forum is for discussions about the functioning of the PriusChat Website, not car questions. I'm not trying to play forum police, just trying to help you get answers. Some who can help you with your car may not be looking here. You might consider asking the moderators to move this thread.

 

Can you define "turning on"?

Is the car turning on to "Ready"? or

Does the dome light come on when you approach the car?


The first shouldn't happen if you shutdown normally, the second one is normal with SKS.

 

I'd bet a dollar the OP meant that the engine was running. If so the problem is that the OP was not turning the car OFF.

Always lock the car when you leave it; if a door is not completely closed or if the car is not OFF it will give a long warning beep.

 

Would it be possible to setup a video camera inside the car to document it turning itself on?

Do you have any other people in your household that may have access to the key that may have gone for a joyride?

 

Ghost.

 

If you do manage to catch it on tape, it'll be sure to convince the dealer/toyota that something is truly wrong. Post it here too - as of now, I'm skeptical as well, I'd probably have to see it to believe it.

 

Try this
Leave the park button alone and only use the power button when you want to shut down. If you miss-hit the power button the car will alert you when you open the door telling you to put the transmission into park. If you put the transmission in park before hitting the power button this wont happen. Don't worry, if the car shuts off it will go into park on its own.

Another thing, from time to time the brake pump might run when the car is shut down, this might be what is happening and what people are hearing.

 

This sounds exactly like what happens when I intentionally leave the car in Ready mode. During really hot weather, I will sometimes park the car at the market, leaving the car in Ready with the air conditioning ON. I set the parking brake, press the Park button, and turn off the MFD screen. Then I get out and lock the doors with a mechanical key. The engine cycles ON about 1 minute out of 5, and I return to a car that is already cool.

Several people have noticed it, and I explained that I've left the electric air conditioning ON, and the engine has to cycle ON every so often to recharge the battery. Everybody so far has thought that it is a really neat feature.

 

The last part of your statement is confusing. Please answer the questions "What procedure do you use to turn the car off?" and how do you confirm that it's off?

 

Before you set up the camera, have a friend take video of yourself turning the car OFF and locking it, showing all button pushes and foot position and the dash lights.