ok I have a 2004 prius that will not start and it is driving me and my husband nuts. Ok first let me tell you what we have replaced so far (within a week) inverter pump, thermostate, water pump, battery 12V(brand new from toyota) and the inverter and it seems to be stuck in drive, but we cannot get it started to figure that one out!! Code was reading p0A78 (sorry dont have toyota itt yet.) and even after changing inverter it still is reading that code is there something we missed? any help would be appreacated!! thanks
It must be in park in order for the ready to come on after you push the start button! This is not happening obviously. Why is it not going into park? If you can find this out you will have your answer. Faulty park switch? Blown fuse for the park switch? Have you done a search on this site? H
Has this car been in a front end accident? If yes, then you should suspect the wiring harness. The transaxle and hybrid vehicle ECU is also suspect, depending upon the three-digit info code that accompanies DTC P0A78. If the car is not READY then the shift range should either be in P or N. If stuck in D, that is very strange and you may want to obtain Toyota dealer assistance.
ok today we are putting in a new transaxel will let you know if this was the problem, and yes this car was in a front end accident, but we did check te wiring harness. and he also changed the ecu, so next is the transaxel. I hope that is it. let you know how it turns out. thanks kris
YES it was the transaxel. We put a new one in and sure enough it started right up. So far all good except, screen came one saying The transmission P lock mechamism is abnormal, so we drove it around and disconnected the battery then it was fine. We still have to make sure all the bugs are worked out if it. Job wasnt to bad had it out and replaced within 8 hours. We are now working on our 2008 prius which we put in a new motor, old motor had over 300,000 on it. So so far just a few minor adjustments, red triangle still on no "check engine light just triangle changing senor now hopefully that is it, checked everything else, so proscess of ellimation. Thanks keep ya posted!!
Congrats. That error message may be caused by a low 12V battery so if it reappears you may want to replace the battery. Was this a taxi?
yes it was we have 5 prius second gen. They are the best for taxi's we did check the battery and it was good. So hopefuly will be all good, so far no codes. Still have to figure out why when we put in reverse the back end of the car moves up very weird. (this is the 2004)
