2007 Prius "swamp car"

Orange saftey plug not in completely?

 

That is totally out of line with this:

It ran for 15 minutes with the steering feeling heavy then the problem s lights came back on but I limoed home and it wont engage drive or reverse again.

The safety switch interlock, if not fully engaged, will not allow the car to ever go 'Ready", not even for just 15 minutes.

On to business....

@daveyboy

When you say...so I did what I do 4 or 5 time is 13 years replaced the battery with a brand new one., are you saying you've replaced your 12v battery 5 times in 13 years? Is this due to battery failure, or just that the car sits for extended periods, the 12v drains and the solution you use is to install a new one?

If the lights came on, you limped it home, tuned it off, then turned it on again and it won't go ready, you most likely have a P0AA6 HV Isolation fault. Most often caused by electrolyte leakage from one of the HV Battery modules. Less commonly caused by an inverter, transaxle or AC Compressor problem. If this is the case, the fault can be reset by disconnecting the 12v battery for a few moments. This will reset all the car ecus and allow you to drive the car again, until it faults again.

A P0A80 "Replace Hybrid Battery" will still allow you to drive the car normally, UNLESS it also codes out for a specific module (like a P3012, Block 2 becomes weak). That P301x or 2x will put the car in limp mode.

Unfortunately, until you get accurate code information, it's all just educated guesses..

 

Hey my car drove for a year with the orange power wire not clicked down all the way, so the safety plug can be in and work even if the last part which is sliding it is not done.

 

The safety switch has an interlock plug. Although the switch has full continuity once it is initially pushed in, it WILL NOT be recognized by the ecu as being installed until the handle is rotated upward and then slid down to engage the interlock wire. If the interlock shorting wire is not engaged, the ecu will always think the switch is not installed, and will not allow the car to go ready.

This is totally different from leaving a main cable un-torqued. The main cables have enough 'twist' in them, that they make pretty good contact even if not fully tightened. I've taken a prius for a drive with the main cables from the car side on the main relay studs with NO nuts. Held in place only by the tension provided by the cables themselves. Drove 80+ miles in Interstate 26 from Charleston SC to Columbia SC from 30mph to 85 mph and car never showed any sign of a problem.

 

If you already have the 'mini-vci' cable, then you're halfway there.