can not charge to EV mode???????? (2007)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by desertbriez, Aug 15, 2011.

  1. desertbriez

    desertbriez New Member

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    i was on my way home from work when all the sudden (on the highway) my car beeped and the display said "cannot charge to EV mode"?

    a bunch of lights came on on the dash including the check engine, the red exclamation point and a couple of others...

    i was about 3 blocks from home thank goodness and the car did keep running.... it showed about a 1/2 charged batter on the display...

    there's also a car with a mark in it on the display screen....

    what's wrong with my car??????
     
    #1 desertbriez, Aug 15, 2011
  2. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    #2 JimboPalmer, Aug 15, 2011
  3. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Could it be another inverter coolant pump biting the dust?
     
    #3 uart, Aug 16, 2011
  4. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    Did anyone (including previous owner) modify your car to add an EV mode button? Perhaps they added the wiring but removed the button? the wire shorted to ground and caused that message. The "Cannot change to EV mode" message by itself is not harmful...but the other errors could be a problem.
     
    #4 3prongpaul, Aug 16, 2011
  5. desertbriez

    desertbriez New Member

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    yes... it has the ev mode (but no button... i forget what was used to get it into the mode) however we never use it... it was more a gimmick thing... i fell onto the bandwagon of everyone buying it back when we bought the car..

    but ya... what about all the other lights coming on?

    now if we go out and start the car (well... not NOW but last night) it red triangle and check engine on the dash are on and the HV warning (car with exclamation point) on the gps display screen are what comes on.
     
    #5 desertbriez, Aug 16, 2011
  6. desertbriez

    desertbriez New Member

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    do you think it's safe to drive to the dealership? or do we need to have it towed?

    also... the a/c did stay on yesterday while this was happening... but i turned it off... it seemed to by cycling weird and i wanted to make it the last couple of miles home since the car was still running!
     
    #6 desertbriez, Aug 16, 2011
  7. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    The car may have the coastal tech "cruise control" EV mod.

    Pull the cruise control stalk towards you for 3 seconds after you turn on car but wait until gas engine is running, does the screen display the message?

    Now about the other errors, first thing is check the health of your 12V Aux battery..if battery is more than 4 years old, it may be dying. A bad 12V battery can cause all kinds of false errors.

    Optima from e-learn aid is a nice upgrade to the stock 12V battery.
     
    #7 3prongpaul, Aug 16, 2011
  8. 3prongpaul

    3prongpaul Hybrid Shop Owner, worked on 100's of Prius's

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    Generally speaking if the Prius shows READY and "feels normal", it is ok to drive....at least to the closest dealer.

    If the Prius is really unhappy it will disable itself.
     
    #8 3prongpaul, Aug 16, 2011
  9. desertbriez

    desertbriez New Member

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    the closest dealership is an hour away...

    i'll have hubby check the battery.... i printed out the instructions from the other thread...
     
    #9 desertbriez, Aug 16, 2011
  10. desertbriez

    desertbriez New Member

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    it does have the mod... but we never use it (and not that you mention the cruise... i think that's how to engage it on ours!
     
    #10 desertbriez, Aug 16, 2011
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