Prius shifts into reverse instead of drive

what do they mean October? there isn't anything on a Prius that can't be had in 3 weeks max. Tell them to call Toyota HQ and expidite the order. man, how dumb can they be...don't let me answer that.

 

My 2006 Prius is also going into reverse when putting it in drive. It's been doing it about every 1 out of 30 times the past 10 months. I have had the dealer check it out 3 times and they claim they can not replicate the problem, so they will do nothing to fix it. How can I make them fix it???

 

Tell them you'll sue their asses if it contributes to an injury accident. Or see whether another dealer will be more helpful.

Can *you* replicate the problem while at dealer #1?

 

I'm getting used to it, but the operation of the shift lever really bothered me for the first few weeks. Maybe it's just me but it always seemed to me that it worked backwards.

When I push "up" I expect to go forward and "down" I want it to go in reverse. That just seems "normal to me. I had to really watch it for quite a while.

Did anyone else find this behavior strange?

Bob

 

This has been the subject of *many* forum threads, but think
about this: when you have one of those typical center-console
automatic PRNDL shift levers, which way do you move it to
go into Drive? Toward the rear to move forward, and toward
the front to enter Reverse. That's pretty nonintuitive too,
when you think about it, yet nobody complains. Now take that
panel and lever and move it up onto the vertical dash.
.
_H*

 

Dang, didn't think of it like that. I guess that came from the old column mounted levers, pull(down) to go, push (up) to Park.

I guess I was thinking in terms of a switch: i.e. the wiper switch. Down is on and Up is off. My old Chevy was Up for on and Down for off, like a light switch at home.

Like I said, I'm getting used to it. It's just harder when you get old.

Bob

 

I have a 2008 Prius with 51,000 mi. I have taken it to the dealer for all the scheduled maintenance appts. and have not had any problems. I have had a a few minor incidents involving shifter problems in the last couple of months but didn't really think anything of it until I had an accident tonight. I parallel-parked into a tight spot and wanted to pull the car forward a little. The shifter did not detect my shift into drive and instead sent me in reverse and I crashed into a pick up behind me. the truck had a protruding towing hitch (?) on the front which sank into my rear bumper, and now I have a nice hole in it. I am hoping that when I take the car to the dealer that they can replicate the problem and fix it for me. Anyone out there with a similar story or any advice? I saw the old post from the 2004 Prius owner, so I know that I'm not crazy and that the same thing happened to me. It also was so quick that there was no time for the reverse "beep" to kick in and warn me.

 

I think that you should have the shift lever replaced.

 

I thought this was happening to me sometimes, and just the other day when I was dropping some friends off at the airport it happened to me twice in a row. I thought I might be crazy but I'm convinced now.

My original spot where I pulled in at the terminal dropoff was kind of blocking another car from being able to pull out, and so I hurriedly jumped in the car and tried to pull up a little bit and out of the way.

Two times in a row I put the car in drive and it went into reverse. It didn't make sense to me because if I didn't move the lever down far enough when I flipped it, it should have just gone into neutral, the next step up. If I 'undershot' it, it should have gone into neutral, not two steps up down into drive (see attached pic).

Thankfully I braked pretty fast both times, and nothing bad happened.

Seems to only happen when I'm in a hurry.

 

Please look at the indicator in the disply to make sure you actually put it into drive.

 

Why are there so many people with just a few posts now that Toyotas have a problem?

 

Perhaps they just learned how to type.

Tom

 

Yes, these are strange days indeed.

The concept of "trolling" doesn't exactly fit what is happening.

We need a new metophor, something that encompases piling-on,
sneakiness, and a lingering sense of malevolence.

"Worm" or "snake" isn't quite right.

Something along the line of;
* Hyena
* Jackal
* Piranha
* Cockroach
* Leach

On a lighter note, how about "duck?"
As in; "Nibbled to death by ducks."

Chihauhua?

 

"cork sackers" ??

 

I just bought a 2011 Prius Saturday. This is my second Prius. It did a very scary thing the second I had it. When I pulled into a parking lot, I hit a bump. When I pushed the accelerator to go again, the car started going in reverse, but the dash still showed drive. I attempted to put in drive again but still went in reverse. It done go forward until I put it in park then drive twice. I never had thing like this happen with my 2008 model. The dealership said they couldn't find a problem. Does anyone know what happened? By the way, my kids were with me and verified it was showing drive while going in reverse

 

I know this thread is old, but I'm glad I found it. Three times recently my 2007 Prius has gone into reverse when I put it into drive. No backup camera, no reverse beep-beep-beep, but nonetheless it goes into reverse.

Next time I will try to remember to just hit the brake and look at the dash to see what gear it "says" it is in. Pretty scary stuff.

 

If your issue is legitimate, besides getting it fixed, I recommend filing a safety complaint at Home | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

 

Yeah I did that with the headlamps issue. I will do the same for this issue once I talk with the dealer and have them look at it.