2006 prius will not start

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by garyrodriguez, May 31, 2010.

  1. garyrodriguez

    garyrodriguez New Member

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    I have a 2006 prius that will not start. I left the hatch open overnight, and the 12v battery discharged (this has happened before).
    This time I had not luck jumping starting it.

    A warning comes up on the MFD and says the the car is not in park or the brakes are not depressed. But the display says that it is in park and I have my foot frimly on the brake, I even depressed the emergency brake. Still no luck.

    It's memorial day so no service centers open today, dont' really want to tow it in. Any suggestions?
     
    #1 garyrodriguez, May 31, 2010
  2. Tickwood

    Tickwood Active Member

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    Jump start it (carefully) and replace the 12v battery right away.
     
    #2 Tickwood, May 31, 2010
  3. garyrodriguez

    garyrodriguez New Member

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    I could not jump start it! The juice seems to be getting there, lights come on, but it still says the car is not in park or the brake is not depressed. Don't know of a way around this.
     
    #3 garyrodriguez, May 31, 2010
  4. northwichita

    northwichita .

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    Since the lights do come on with the jump, perhaps you can rehab the battery some by giving it a slow trickle charge, the agm type batteries these have do not charge quickly.
     
    #4 northwichita, May 31, 2010
  5. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    If that doesn't work, disconnect the battery before you jump.

    Tom
     
    #5 qbee42, May 31, 2010
  6. djasonw

    djasonw Active Member

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    I thought that was cute. I never thought that if I "tickled" my battery that it would come back to life. :D
     
    #6 djasonw, May 31, 2010
  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Try disconnecting the 12V battery negative terminal cable where it connects to the body, for a few minutes. This gives any warning codes that were logged a chance to clear.

    Then, reconnect the battery negative terminal cable and try the jumpstart again, being careful to observe correct polarity.

    If you are successful in getting the Prius to start, leave the car READY for several hours so that the 12V battery will have a chance to charge up. (Some owners think 30 minutes is enough, but this is not sufficient time.)
     
    #7 Patrick Wong, May 31, 2010
  8. garyrodriguez

    garyrodriguez New Member

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    Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried something simpler (that I should have done in the first place, but was too freaked out by the warning message, which also said that I was not on a level surface). After letting it charge from the jumper battery for a full 5 minutes, tried to start and got the same message about not being in park or not having the brakes engaged. Well this time with a calmer mind I just put in in drive and then back in park. That did the trick and it started right up! Thanks again, off to get a new battery tomorrow.
     
    #8 garyrodriguez, May 31, 2010
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