car shuts down spontaneously when idling

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Stuart Cracraft, Jan 11, 2014.

  1. Stuart Cracraft

    Stuart Cracraft Junior Member

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    I have a 2012 Prius. It has twice shut down spontaneously when idling
    while in traffic. I have explained this to Capistrano Toyota in San Juan Capistrano
    and the Service Advisor said he had never heard of it but will discuss it with
    Service Director Andy Fu. My question to people on Priuschat is: why is
    this happening? The car has been properly serviced. It never happened with
    my 2006 Prius.

    Stuart Cracraft
     
    #1 Stuart Cracraft, Jan 11, 2014
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the thing you have to know about cap toyota is, thier first response to every problem is 'huh, never heard of that before'. yeah, right. and make sure they pay for your towing costs!:mad:
     
    #2 bisco, Jan 11, 2014
  3. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Did the dealer even bother to check for error codes? Wrong forum, BTW.
    "Shuts down" doesn't really describe much. What exactly happens? Does the whole system reboot or what?
     
    #3 rdgrimes, Jan 11, 2014
  4. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    The OP has at least 3 threads started in different forums. Reported to mods for consolidation.

    Said in another thread that no forward power, so has to shut down and restart.
     
    #4 xliderider, Jan 11, 2014
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i wonder if disconnecting the neg bat cable for a min would fix this.
     
    #5 bisco, Jan 11, 2014
  6. Stuart Cracraft

    Stuart Cracraft Junior Member

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    Dealer did not even ask or bother to check for error codes. Didn't ask me to come in to check for them. Nothing.
     
    #6 Stuart Cracraft, Jan 11, 2014
  7. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    Ask for a manager.
     
    #7 El Dobro, Jan 11, 2014
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the only good thing about nothing is it's free.(y)
     
    #8 bisco, Jan 11, 2014
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  9. HaroldW

    HaroldW Active Member

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    Sounds very normal to me! Is this not what it's meant to do. Hard to save fuel with the ICE running :)H
     
    #9 HaroldW, Jan 11, 2014
  10. stevemcelroy

    stevemcelroy Active Member

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    Stuart - obviously this is a problem you need fixed pronto. A lot of the folks here are very knowledgeable and incredibly helpful. I'd advise you give us as much detail as possible - anything and everything.

    Someone mentioned removing the negative battery cable for a few minutes. This essentially resets a bunch of settings. It is not all that likely to solve the problem, but it can not hurt. Just be prepared to reset things like the radio presets, etc.

    Good luck.
     
    #10 stevemcelroy, Jan 11, 2014
  11. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Is the OP putting the car in Neutral causing a low HV battery situation, and thus the car shuts down?
     
    #11 GrumpyCabbie, Jan 12, 2014
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i think that's exactly what's happening. a lot of people put thier car in neutral when stopped.
     
    #12 bisco, Jan 12, 2014
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  13. dhanson865

    dhanson865 Expert and Devil's advocate

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    The only time I put my prius in neutral is to back out of my garage or some other parking space. After coasting backwards I put it in drive.
     
    #13 dhanson865, Jan 12, 2014
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