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Car won't stay in gear

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by catzkc, Jul 24, 2017.

  1. catzkc

    catzkc Junior Member

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    I've had my 2016 Prius Two Eco for about 10 months, just under 13,000 miles. There have been a few times the gear has been a little touchy changing between park/drive, reverse/drive, but after a couple of tries all ok. Until tonight. I got in my car after work, reversed, put it in drive...and it wouldn't stay - it kept slipping back to neutral! I tried turning the car off and on, reverse again, but then it wouldn't stay in either gear - it just kept slipping back to neutral. I was finally able to drive home holding down the gear shift with one hand most of the way. I kept trying at stoplights to see if it fixed or reset itself somehow, but it would still keep slipping back to neutral as soon as I took my hand away from the gear shift. Though when I tried again after driving about 15 miles it finally decided to stayed in gear. But when I got home and tried to see if would let me park and reverse/drive again, it just did the same thing. And it won't let me press Park either, I just have to press the power button off.

    I've got a call into the dealership - they initially said they couldn't get me in for another 5 days - I told them that was inexcusable. Waiting to hear back. I'm scared to drive it now.

    I've done a couple of searches, but can't see where there have been many issues on this. Anyone know anything about this or had this happen to them?


    iPhone ?
     
    #1 catzkc, Jul 24, 2017
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    how is the 12v health?
     
    #2 bisco, Jul 24, 2017
  3. catzkc

    catzkc Junior Member

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    It was kind of low when I first started the car - not sure what is going on with that unless it has something to do with the fact that I crack the windows when it gets hot here. But the indicator showed it back up within a few miles of the office. I would have thought if it had something to do with that, it would have stopped doing it then?


    iPhone ?
     
    #3 catzkc, Jul 24, 2017
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the gauge on the dash is for the hybrid battery.
     
    #4 bisco, Jul 24, 2017
  5. catzkc

    catzkc Junior Member

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    Not sure how to check the 12v battery. Would having the windows cracked make it run down? I know it gives me a warning message that they are open when I turn off the car, but I figured that wouldn't do anything.


    iPhone ?
     
    #5 catzkc, Jul 24, 2017
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no, cracking the windows won't hurt anything. you should probably take it to the dealer while it's still under warranty.
     
    #6 bisco, Jul 24, 2017
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  7. 'LectroFuel

    'LectroFuel Senior Member

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    It sounds like a software glitch. Maybe a software update would help. Make sure when you are selecting gears that flicking the gear lever should less than a second. You might be holding the gear lever in neutral too long and it might not have time to switch into drive when you flick it down. Sorry it's an obvious solution but it might help.
     
    #7 'LectroFuel, Jul 24, 2017
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  8. Elektroingenieur

    Elektroingenieur Senior Member

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    I haven’t had it happen, but looking through the troubleshooting information for the Electronic Shift Lever System in the Repair Manual (available by subscription to techinfo.toyota.com and via your local library), I notice that both the symptoms you’ve described—unexpected shifts to neutral, and inability to shift into park—have some common causes: a problem with the auxiliary battery, as @bisco has kindly suggested, or a problem with the “P” position switch circuit (the wiring, a connector, or the switch itself).

    If you press the “P” position switch while the car is moving, the reject function is supposed to activate, causing a shift into neutral instead, to prevent damage to the transaxle. If this occurs, a message like this should appear on the multi-information display:

    Shifted to [N]
    Stop Vehicle to
    Shift to [P]    ​

    In any case, I agree that it’s best to take the car to a dealer for warranty repair. They can use a Toyota Techstream diagnostic system to check for diagnostic trouble codes and recall the Vehicle Control History of abnormal shifting events.
    As far as I know, the only software updates for 2016 and 2017 Prius cars in the U.S. are for the Entune head unit and the Simple Advanced Parking Guidance System, and neither of these is described as correcting any problems related to shifting.
     
    #8 Elektroingenieur, Jul 25, 2017
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  9. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    Any auto parts store or battery store will check it for free. Its simply a matter of connecting a meter to the terminals and measuring the voltage. I think there's also a load test they can perform, but a simple voltage check is the first step.
     
    #9 FuelMiser, Jul 25, 2017
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  10. catzkc

    catzkc Junior Member

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    Mystery solved! Turned out when I took my car in back in January for my airbag recall, some little part of something (a pad, or exactly what or how they were kind of vague about) got lodged in the gear shift, and this was preventing it from clicking in place. I guess it was bumping around back there and finally got jostled around to where it got stuck there.


    iPhone ?
     
    #10 catzkc, Jul 25, 2017
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  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    phew.:p
     
    #11 bisco, Jul 25, 2017
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  12. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    In this situation I would not ASK the dealer if I could bring the car in. I would drive right in so they could experience the problem with it sitting in the service lane.

    I had a similar situation with my 2010 in January 2010 when my shifter was jammed. I was able to break it free, the dealer "could not replicate the problem", and it hasn't happened again.
     
    #12 JimN, Jul 26, 2017
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