First post here, we've got a 2011 Prius with a little over 24k miles on it . For the last few months we've been having issues with it starting. First I thought the remote barriers were dying so I replaced them , I thought my wife might have been trying to start it incorrectly till the problem happend to me a few weeks ago. What happens is you try to start it (foot on brake, press power button) and all the warming lights pop up , radio turns on , navigation turns on but car doesn't start. This morning it happend just once , yesterday I had to try it maybe 10x before it finally started up. The dealership had it last Saturday and of course it started every time for them and they couldn't duplicate the problem , they also said they ran whatever tests they do on it and it didn't turn up a problem. FWIW we had the software recall update done in June. Anyone else have this problem ? , anything the dealer could have missed ? I'm starting to think there's a trick to starting this thing correctly . Any help is much appreciated
Coupled with the above, there's a sensor in the brake pedal that detects how much the brake's depressed: maybe it needs adjustment? Oh, is the start button orange coloured, as opposed to the blue colour when the car's Ready?
I've stepped on the brake every way imaginable , man I would have hope the dealer would checked the brake sensor , the start button was green when trying to start it and stayed green when it didn't start but the waring lights came on , it then went to orange when trying to completely shut it down and start over if that makes any sense
if the brake switch isn't activated, it goes to accessory mode. another push with foot off the brake will make it 'ready'. another thought is to test your 12v battery, and the connections.
no, only if the switch has come out of adjustment. otherwise, it doesn't take any pressure at all, as you experienced up until the time of your problem. sometimes they are defective and work intermittently, no matter how much pressure you put on them.
I think i know what you are talking about, it's not the 'starting' up tho, at least for me, it won't go into D [drive] I've never had it happen more than 2 or 3 times in a row, but it's a little irritating. i get in the car, put on the brake, push the button, wait a second, and then put it in Drive and occasionally nothing happens i do think that perhaps the 'ready' light has not come on, but i'm not usually looking at it well, never actually lol This probably less than once a week maybe 2 times a month...
IMHO it is either the 12 volt battery (needs to be replaced), or the brake pedal depression sensor...
yes, right fender. easy access, make sure the connections are clean and tight, also the neg to the body. after that, put a voltmeter on it after it has sat for a few hours.
My neighbor/mechanic tested the 12v battery and it came back at only 10 volts and dropped to around 8 when started, I'm guessing I found my problem
Never in the shop , my father in law had the car for year before he had to stop driving so he might have left a door or two open . I m assuming for the battery to drop that much after 3yrs 24k is not normal?
Ahh, so it wasn't in an accident, yes the 12v can go in two years, get another deep cell battery and keep it topped off, many efficient miles ahead.
no, it's not normal, but you don't have to drain it more than once for damage to be done. or if he didn't drive much, that can also be a problem. grab a new one at toyota, they're about $180. and have an 84 month pro rated warranty.
hard to say. the optima's were great, but there have been a lot of complaints about old stock lately, coming thru with a low charge. otoh, the oem's now have an 84 month pro rated warranty, which is pretty decent. they aren't cheap though, and the are a few other brands available as well, such as exide.
