I'm stranded at office now. I can't start the car. The lights are turned on but the first push of start button only turns on the radio and panel. the button is in green as usual. Push the button again, turns on the panels where you see speed, gears, and one row of indicator at the right. The light is in orange red. The park light is on. I can't turn the parking light off and to switch to any gear. What's wrong? If all lights are on, it can't be the low battery, right? Thanks for the help,
I just looked at the manual, it's the row with slipper, ABS, VSC, check, tire etc lights. The air bag was on for a few seconds and it went off.
Is your foot on the brake when you press power? The possible states are OFF, ACC (accessory), IG-ON and READY. You can only drive when READY is on. IIRC, the sequence when pushing power w/no foot on brake is OFF -> ACC -> IG-ON -> OFF. The different colors of the light that's on the power button correspond to some of the above states (ACC and IG-ON, IIRC). From the sounds of it, you're in ACC or IG-ON.
This sounds more like the sequence I get when not pressing the brake pedal. Pressing the brake is required. With the brake, the car should go to Ready with the first press of the power button. No orange light ever.
If he is seeing the speedometer on (showing 0 speed) then he performed the correct sequence. I wonder if it is an electrical glitch that could be solved by disconnecting the battery or pulling a fuse for a minute or two.
I imagine you knew that you need to hold the brake while you press the start button if you drove the car to the office. If the display is showing the red triangle light with the exclamation point inside, your 12-volt booting battery is likely too low to boot the car. My 12-volt battery is nearing the end of life so if I don't drive for a few days, mine will barely boot and it displays the triangle light. Do you have another vehicle available and jumper cables? Use the second vehicle to apply some extra juice to the 12-volt system. Open the hood and undo the fuse box cover on the driver's side. Inside is a red, plastic flip-up cover. Under this is the 12-v terminal. Connect the red jumper cable clip to this terminal. The black can be connected to a bolt on the engine or body--I use the bolts that hold on the square, aluminum hybrid system cover. If you have a battery charger available, hook that up for a half-hour or more.
Thank you everyone for the help that allowed me to go home this morning. Maybe due to fatigue, I didn't step on the brake when trying to start. I never consciously think about holding the brake while starting for a while. Somhow I just forgot and step in differently early in the morning. my bad!
I can't start my 2008 Prius. I have applied foot on the brake but it just wont start. Any suggestions? Thank you
Call a Toyota dealer to send someone for a jumpstart, then drive to the dealer for diagnosis (most likely it needs a new 12V battery, which should be installed for $200 or so). I specify a Toyota dealer because if a jump is done incorrectly on a Prius it can cause a couple thousand dollars' worth of damage.
Hi richard, thanks for replying. I do get to the amber read light, but it doesn't get to READY. Given the lights coming on, could it still be 12V battery issue?
:welcome: to PRIUSchat. :cheer2: You haven't given us much info to go on, so we'll have to start at the beginning. Issues with failing to start the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine), and strangely enough failing to stop the ICE, are typically associated with the 12V electrical system and specifically the 12V battery. So, the first question is; do you have any 12V power whatsoever? An easy way to tell is to try to turn on one of the courtesy lights in the overhead console... No light, no 12V power, new battery needed. If the light comes on, the it woud be helpful to know the ststus pf the 12V battery. There is a self test for this: http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-...mpgs-dropping-test-battery-3.html#post1020264 If you report back what you find out, we can contine to help you try to identify the problem.
I have the same problem for my 2008 prius. I use my car every day and sometimes i have to connect a portable charger to the 12v battery just to start it. Earlier this week i was driving on the highway and i heard a loud beep and the dashboard read "transmission" then turned off on me. I had to pull over and as soon as plugged in the charger my car started normally. Now these past two days it only works when i have the charger connected to the 12v battery im not sure why. Help please
