Having trouble starting my Prius

Have your 12V battery checked.

 

Could be ur 12v accessory batt.

I know that when it's disconnected & then reconnected u have to cycle the power twice to make it ready.

 

welcome to priuschat. at first i thought, why would a v have a bad 12v? but i see you are in the wrong forum. you can test the battery, bu it probably needs to be replaced, altho, i'm not sure why holding the button down is helping?

 

Are you saying that the Ready light doesn't come on at first or simply that the engine doesn't start at first?

 

I had similar issues (assuming you don't get the "READY" light after pressing the power button). It was my 12 volt battery (it started giving me trouble within 6 months of purchase and was replaced after 18 months).

 

It is normal for the gas engine to delay starting until the power from it is actually needed. The main indication that you should look for is the READY light. Once it's ON, you should be able to put the car in gear and drive normally. The electric motors provide motive power even when the gas engine is stopped. The gas engine runs intermittently, stopping whenever the power is not required to move the car, charge the battery, or heat something.

 

Yeah, not entirely sure what you mean by "Start".
If you are depressing the brake, hitting the start button, which should be illuminated green and the dash is powering up, you have started the vehicle.

With a Prius starting the vehicle doesn't always coincide with the engine firing up. It is "ready" however and will move under electric power.

 

I have had something similar happening in my 2010, that is almost 2years old now. One thing ive noticed that the HUD on the window (the one that displays the speed on the windscreen, not the main display) will be all fuzzy as it displays the prius logo. usually resulting in the car just staying in the ACC mode, and i then need to switch it off then back on again, then it boots with the READY.
Im thinking that there isnt enough power to charge the brakes and kick the inverter etc. i tried to explain this when it had its 18month service and was told no fault found. As sometimes you can hear it struggle to charge/prime the brake as soon as you open the driverside door.
i have a scanguage hooked up and there are no codes found. Maybe i just got a dud 12v battery, as i think it was sitting in the lot for a while when i bought it.