Can't turn prius OFF

AFAIK the Combination meter TSB is nationwide in the US for all Gen2 Prius.
Toyota Canada offers nothing. (I checked for a friend in Canada)

As of Dec 2016, If your Prius is an 07 it might be covered. 08 and 09 should all be covered.
But the 9 years is based on DATE OF FIRST USE (when car was sold), NOT the build date or model year.

Call you local dealer and say "My combination meter is intermittent. Please look up all extended service campaigns that may apple to my VIN regarding the combination meter". If you get an answer you don't like call corporate to confirm.

Owners not covered to Toyota can buy a replacement or rebuilt combo meter and install themselves or have a local shop install it. My video referenced earlier in this thread shows how to do the procedure.

 

My 2008 would not turn off last winter and the dealer replaced the multifunction unit in the dashboard. It was covered under factory warranty.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Just read all of the above... my 2007 Prius (new 12 volt installed by dealer on Christmas Eve!) is currently doing all of the same "...never heard of this happening!" things you people experienced as far back as 2009... and here it is, New Year's Eve of 2016 and the mystery remains. I drove home this morning with a blank control panel (Yep, sometimes after driving awhile it "fixes itself..." Yep, "like magic!") So, when I got home, and backed safely into the driveway (no backup camera either, suddenly...) it took me about five minutes to get it to shut down! The dealership people say they "ran all the codes and can't find anything wrong with it!"

 

If it's your combination meter, you're probably out of warranty on a 2007, but you can check your VIN to be sure (nine years from in service date). You should repair this yourself. I did mine before the warranty extension was offered (then later got reimbursed). There are options on eBay for about $100, but you'll have to provide the labor to remove, ship, and reinstall.

Next time this happens, you can drive safely with a GPS to show your speed. Keep it filled with fuel. Hold the start button for three seconds to turn the car off. The odometer doesn't register when you drive.

 

I have used the "hold power button down for a long time" means of shutting off the Prius when my Prius won't shut off many times.

Today something unique happened: the car shut off normally, except the LCD console display did not. I could not turn the car back on either. I tried the key physically in the key slot to see if that would wake things up, and it became locked in. The car would not release it. The car was partially on; the indicator light in the park button was illuminated, and the lights next to key slot were illuminated too; but I could not put the car in gear. At the same time the little blinking red car symbol in the console indicating the car was locked/alarmed was blinking. I could unlock and lock doors with the door switch; except the back hatch would not unlock. Through all of this, the LCD display was faithfully reporting the charge on the NiCd battery so the hybrid system was, at some level, engaged.

Nothing I tried, holding down the park button, removing the mechanical key and using that to unlock the doors hoping that would jar the computer out of its state did not work. In the end I resorted to opening up the toolbox panel in the back of the car to manually release the rear hatch, then removed the positive terminal from the battery; The return/ground would have been best, but it is harder to access. The car rebooted when I reconnected the battery and everything is normal now.

In retrospect, pulling the bus fuse under the hood would have worked too, but I did not think of that.

Anyone else ever have this experience?

 

this video might help in the short term, but you will need to get your combination meter repaired/replaced.

 

BTW, to unhook the 12V on a gen2 Prius no tools are required.

Remove red cover from positive terminal of 12V in trunk area (passenger side). Locate heavy black wire feeding the positive terminal block. Reach under the white connector at end of black cable press release tab UP then pull cable out of battery block towards front of car. jiggle hard if it is sticky. This is comparable to disconnecting the 12V from the car, and it often resets computers etc so you can continue using the vehicle. When you want to "hook up" the 12V battery again simply insert the white connector till you here a "satisfying click". To reset computers you only need it disconnected a few seconds.

 

Blank instrument panel display (for about 20 minutes) happens many times in my 2008 Prius Touring. "Inability to turn off" happened 4 or more times in the last 2 years (latest one today in Michigan). I just locked mechanically and checked every 20 minutes or so until it can be shut off. All of those happen in winter or spring. While the screen is blank, car can be driven but no odometer, speedometer, fuel consumption, or back up camera. I suspect Toyota software is to blame.

 

is this the part with the extended warranty?

 

These are the classic symptoms of the broken combination meter. Your '08 may still be under the nine-year warranty extension. Call the dealer with your VIN to start the process.

 

Yes, as Andrewclaus said, if you have an 08 or 09 with these symptoms call the dealer ASAP, they may fix it for free if you are within 9 years of "date of first use" (when the car was first sold). Tell them to look up "warranty enhancement for combination meter".

 

"Remove red cover....." Hahaha ha! Would that That were That Easy! I had to snap the narrow end off my red cover just to get to the pos terminal. Tried pressing on "tabs," gently squeezing, feeling all around, etc. Don't tell me, I'm sure this lovely bit of plastic can be easily replaced at the dealership for $75 or so.... more on my '05 woes later. I'm gonna try your cable solution today btw, so thank you.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

This is a very common 2008 Prius problem in cold weather (happened this morning 6'C/42'F). I still don't know a consistent way to turn it off. Blank screen may show up info again after 20 minutes of driving. After driving to work, I left the car in Park, pull mechanical key out to lock (while engine is on), come back to try to turn it off again half hour later (on my first day of a new job). I maintain my Prius regularly and all necessary items. I had to spend $300 to replace small battery in rear trunk "when it was new" (most expensive extended warranty didn't pay for it). It stalled on I-75 heavy traffic in one summer; I think it overheated when not driven (stop and go on I-75). I tried to boot up/reboot/shut down many different combination (yes sometimes it won't boot up; can't start). I am an automotive (EE) engineer since 2000, currently working on new EVs (my software doesn't have any of this Pri-2008 SW crap). Toyota had sloppy software on 2008 Prius and we can't do anything about it. I still drive it more because it is half price gas compared to my other car (C-Class).

After you drive it for a while, stop, put it to Park (rectangle button near joystick), push & hold Start round button for 3 to 5 seconds, quickly release, it may turn off.

 

The best way to insure the car powers on and off when you want is to remove the Combination Meter (speedometer - dashboard display assembly) and replace the failing capacitor on the circuit board.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Found this video on combination meter replacement:

Needless to say, I will not do it. I'll keep on suffering this defective Prius feature. Replacing C-Class combination switch (for wiper) is much easier; I just removed steering wheel, airbags, etc.