Door open beep and light on while driving!! Help please!

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Onyx Araya, Mar 10, 2017.

  1. Onyx Araya

    Onyx Araya Junior Member

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    Hello everyone,

    First post and it's already asking for help, anyways I purchased a 2010 prius from a private party. He told me that he has been having intermittent issues with the door open light coming on in the dash and the car beeping when it goes above 3 mph. I experienced the issue about a month ago, it is super annoying. When I get in the car the door open light is on, power the car on and start moving forward the car starts beeping and only stops when i press the brake or go below 3 mph. My fob does not work to lock the doors and I have to disable the interior overhead light or it dims and comes back.on everyone I step on the brake. A few weeks ago I had to put a dresser in my trunk that was pressing up against the trunk, the beeping stopped, not sure if it was coincidence since the original owner said it happens intermittently, i removed the dresser 2 weeks ago and the beeping was gone. Took the car to get some stuff inspected and now it's back again. I've searched and searched for similar issues and found a few unanswered threads that read exactly like what I'm experiencing. Has anyone here run into this issue? Any advice what to check/repair? Will having the dealer set the backup beep to single beep help with the door open alarm also? Im to the point where I won't even mind tearing the dash apart to destroy the speaker, if anyone can tell me where the speaker that emits the beeps is of course! Sorry for the long post and thank you for the help!
     
    #1 Onyx Araya, Mar 10, 2017
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  2. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    No. At least, it didn't when I had a 2010.

    It seems the most likely cause would be a faulty door switch. Finding which one of the five (hatch included), without simply replacing them all, may not be easy. And there are other possibilities.
     
    #2 fuzzy1, Mar 10, 2017
  3. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Damaging the speaker won't fix the dome light or the inability to lock the car. But it might remove lots of other important notifications and warnings.

    I'd start with the rear hatch closed switch since you said it went away when you had something pressing against the hatch. I did some googling to try to locate the switch. Even went so far as to look at my own car. Not sure where it's at but I did see one comment that a user thought it was in the latch mechanism.

    It may also be that something is keeping the hatch from closing tightly. Mine is a little touchy that way. If it's not closed quite right, the light will go out but then come on when I hit bumps. It's made to be somewhat slammed shut, not just gently closed like a regular door.
     
    #3 jerrymildred, Mar 10, 2017
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  4. Onyx Araya

    Onyx Araya Junior Member

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    Yeah, removing the speaker is the absolute last option, it's just prr tty annoying having a 50 mile commute to work in the am and a 50 mile commute back in the afternoon with that loud beep! I spoke to the previous owner and he said a dealer once told him it was a body controller issue, now I may be wrong but if it was a body controller I don't see how it would go away for a month and then come back after getting a car inspection done where they opened the trunk. I would think an electronic component like a body controller would just straight up fail. I assume the trunk switch functions like a normally open normally closed switch since when I apply the brake the light goes out and the beeping stops. I'm going to disassemble the latch mechanism and clean it and all the connections associated with it up this weekend. It's just my luck that as soon as I signed up for Uber to make some extra cash, the problem returned after almost 2 months of peace and quiet! Thanks for the reply!
     
    #4 Onyx Araya, Mar 10, 2017
  5. randomwalk101

    randomwalk101 DYI'er

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    Why are you posting 2010 problem in 2016+ section? Shouldn't you be posting in 2010 section so others with same model would know more?
     
    #5 randomwalk101, Mar 10, 2017
  6. Onyx Araya

    Onyx Araya Junior Member

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    I apologize for my newbness, I did not realize I had selected the incorrect forum. Can a moderator relocate my post to the correct forum. Or is it better for me to delete and repost?
     
    #6 Onyx Araya, Mar 10, 2017
  7. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    #7 jerrymildred, Mar 10, 2017
  8. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Mod's can fix it.
     
    #8 The Electric Me, Mar 10, 2017
  9. drysider

    drysider Active Member

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    Check the health of the 12v battery.
     
    #9 drysider, Mar 10, 2017
  10. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    I reported it this morning to be moved. Mods must be on vacation.
     
    #10 Prodigyplace, Mar 10, 2017
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  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Moved,

    @Prodigyplace c'mon! Not even 24 hours? :p I should start lowering expectations and move/respond to stuff a lot slower, then it'll seem faster when I do respond :LOL:
     
    #11 Tideland Prius, Mar 10, 2017
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  12. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Always try to under-promise and over-deliver. (y)
     
    #12 jerrymildred, Mar 11, 2017
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  13. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    You probably need to close your trunk harder
     
    #13 tankyuong, Mar 11, 2017
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  14. Karen2525

    Karen2525 New Member

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    #14 Karen2525, Jul 18, 2020
  15. Karen2525

    Karen2525 New Member

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    How did you fix this? I am having the same trouble with the door open light and alarm coming on at 3 mpg.
     
    #15 Karen2525, Jul 18, 2020
  16. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Changing the backup beep to one beep is completely unrelated to the door open beep. But turning it to one beep is a huge relief and hyper-easy with an inexpensive bluetooth OBDII adapter and any number of free or inexpensive phone apps. Or you can pay the dealer a bunch of money to spent two minutes of his time changing it.

    As for the door ajar beeper, either the switch isn't working or it's not being properly engaged. It's probably the latter. The hatch on the Gen 2 & Gen 3 isn't meant to be closed gently. It takes a bit of a shove to get it all the way latched. Mine often showed it open when I thought I'd closed it completely. And very often, when it did that it didn't do it till I'd driven a ways. So I'd stop and slam it a little harder and be good to go. (The Gen 4 hatch latch is much more civilized, btw.)
     
    #16 jerrymildred, Jul 19, 2020
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