Randomly, Mine Wont Stay In "drive"

There have been some problems with worn shifter switches, but your Prius should be too new for this.

Tom

 

I've seen a few posts that describe the same issue. The cure is to replace the shift lever assembly.

 

Like Patrick, I remember some threads about a year ago on this subject that point to a replacement of shift lever assembly. Although I could not find it with a quick search, I also recall one of those threads explaining how relatively simple it is to change this assembly yourself. Although for a '08 model, Toyota should replace this under warranty.

 

Wow! That just happened to me a few mornings ago. Put it in D, got about 6 feet down the driveway and it went into neutral. At the end of the driveway I put it in D again and held it there a couple of seconds, got into the street and it again went into neutral. I stopped and just sat for a minute trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Looked at the dash - saw nothing unusual. Put my foot on the brake and tried a third time and it stayed. That's the only time in 17 months that has happened. It's good to know what it is if it becomes a problem in the future.

 

One or two posters have had the idea of hanging some item on the shift lever like a trash bag. I hope that PC members will refrain from this practice.

 

I just had that problem for the first time yesterday, although the circumstances were a little different... I'm having trouble with my 12v battery (it's bee completely discharged twice in the last two years, so I bet I've just WRECKED it).

I had been driving around running errands for a while, and it was a blazing hot day (heat index over 105). I left the car running with the air conditioning full blast, on flat ground, to sprint into 7-11 for a slurpee.

I come back out, flip into reverse, and it slips back to neutral. After two or three tries (thinking it was my own negligence, of course), it's still happening, but I can hold the lever in reverse to get out of my parking spot.

Then, the same thing happened when I put it in drive.... it slipped right back. However, after holding it in drive and swinging around my parking lot for 10 minutes, the car was fine.

Do you think it was a 12v battery issue? I was thinking maybe, because the air conditioning was on full blast and the car was idle, it might have depleted the battery juuuuuust enough to keep the car from running properly?

We're now two days later, and no problems, but I think I'm going to bring it in anyway.... Anyone else have that problem once and not again?

 

Your shift selector needs to be replaced. That part is covered under the 3 year / 36K mile warranty. If your warranty has expired, then the part costs ~$300, plus labor time to replace - probably 1 hour.

 

You can also get a used shift lever on ebay or from steve at autobeyours.com for potentially a great deal cheaper (75$ perhaps?)

 

Interesting that the flakiness seems to be thermal-related.
If the car was powered up, it shouldn't be a 12V problem as the
whole system is up at more like 14V which should keep the
electrical aspect nice and stable.
.
One of these days someone might have the opportunity to diagnose
a failed unit and come up with a DIY fixit...
.
_H*

 

Have 'em change out the switch QUICK ... before your warranty runs out.

.

 

If someone want to send me a failed one, I can try to analyze it. Maybe a contact lubricant will stop this from occuring!