Dear Owners, I own a 2007 Prius with about a 80,000 miles clocked in. My beloved companion had a minor accident and required some denting and painting work to be done. Long story short, the denting work took approx 2 weeks to be done. During that time, the car was standing at a garage. Once the work got completed yesterday, I tried to start the car. It pressed the brake pedal, pushed the button, and the car went into ignition. After a pause, the engine woke up. But with a matter of 90 seconds, the car turned off automatically. We have been trying since but the car won't keep running. Any ideas what could be going on? The garage where it is parked is a dent and paint shop, and the people don't have any mechanical expertise. Any guidance is appreciated. Thanks! PS: I live in Pakistan and there aren't any authorized dealerships for prius.
That is normal operation. If parked, turning on the Prius will cause the engine to start its warm up cycle, after which it will stop. The engine will only come on when you start moving. If the car is in Park, after the engine has shut down you can press the accelerator pedal and the engine will start. Or you can try this: put the car into Drive, keep the brake pedal depressed firmly, and then simultaneously press the accelerator down. Then engine will start and the traction battery will get charged while standing still.
hey nh7o, thanks for input. Its not the engine that stops but the car shutsdown all together. I managed to find a dealer and he said that the issue is caused by low charge on the 12v battery. I disconnected the 12v battery and checked the voltage between terminals - which was 10v. So I changed the battery! The car is starting now but the check engine light and a big exclamation mark sign is on (i don't know what it means) on the panel. Any ideas whats going on? Asim
Asim, check the voltage while it is ready and compare it to the voltage when the system is off. Since the battery was low, perhaps the inverter is not functioning.
Find out what the check engine light is for, you may have to go back to the dealership. I would also check the ground strap bolt to the body (by the little 12v battery) , making sure it is secure. Where on the car was the repair work done? This would be a good place to look for problems.
Sometimes it will throw all those codes after battery replacement. Mine did. Just turn the car off then turn it back on.
I had my car seen by a codes specialist, and plugged in his computer thing and reset all the codes. The engine is up and running now. He did charge me hell of a lot for this service though but I am glad that the engine is fixed.
If you can order the mini VCI (on eBay, not sure where else), then you will not have to pay someone an inflated charge for this service in the future. Much cheaper.
