The wife ran it out of gas and porceeded to run the HV battery down. Now it wont restart. Is there something we can do except taki it to the dealer to reset the car?
If the HV battery is drained to the point that it won't even start (or attempt to spin the engine) be prepared for a costly repair bill as the dealer will have to get the Toyota charger from their regional center to recharge the HV battery. If the HV battery still has enough power to spin the engine, I suggest the following: put atleast 3 gallons of gas (I recommend 5) and disconnect the 12 volt battery for a few minutes to clear the codes (assuming you don't have a scan tool). Once the 12v is reconnected it may take several tries to get the engine running again as the lines have to be refilled by gas with the fuel pump.
i did the same thing, drove it til it wouldn't budge. AAA put in a gallon and it fired right up. 08 with 20,000 miles.
Hypothetically in a situation where the HV battery is too low to turn over the engine to start, is it reasonable to start the car (electronically anyway ) , place it in drive, and simply tow the car around with another vehicle, and so charging itself? Living in Kansas, there are few long declines which would also accomplish the same thing. I haven't heard of this being done, and don't know why not. I would guess an EV switch (electric mode only) might be required for this to work. Edit, I read the requirements for the EV switch, and a low HV battery cancels its use. So, the problem is, the car defaults to P only? http://www.eaa-phev.org/wiki/Prius_EV_Mode_Button
If the traction battery lacks sufficient power, a DTC will be logged and the car will not become READY. If the car is not READY then it can be shifted into only P or N. If P, you can't tow the car. If N, towing the car is not going to help the traction battery SOC.
From http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/Hybrid15.pdf it looks like there is hope that the HV battery still has enough power and after the DTC is cleared (see josh2008 comments above) the car may work OK again. Good luck!
I think you'll find, no matter how hard you try to cause damage, the Prius will protect itself from dumb actions, short of a collision. I know Pearl is a lot smarter than I am at times! Refuel, reset the system, and start the car. Drive it at least 30 mi. before shutting it off again. That should allow the car to "reset" to normal charge levels etc.
Intentionally ran a Camry Hybrid with no fuel in class one time to see how far it would go. .04 miles before the Hybrid batt SOC was at a dangerously low level. Not far at all. If you run out of gas - stop (period). Had one come in on the hook about a year ago with the same situation and was able to get one turn out of the motor before it required special charger (which we don't have - needs to be flown up from FL with district rep). I made sure it would start by spraying a little intake cleaner in engine before start up. Was amazed it took less that 3 miles to fully charge batt again. Cool cars - please help me learn more.
