Shifting to "P"

my 04 going from d to p seems a little less sensitive lately, twice in last wk it didnt go in... might be driver error . i now check

 

I almost never shift to P myself, as it goes to P automatically when you power down. If you spent more time in your car stationary than I do, it might be used more.

 

I know nearly every fault at some time has been laid at the door of the 12 volt battery, but could erratic shifting to P be caused by a low 12 volt battery. The pawl motor is fed from the 12 volt bus although this in theory is supported by the DC to DC converter.

John (Britprius)

 

That sounds more like a faulty gear shifter. I bought a used one from autobeyours.com for ~ $65 and resolved the symptoms.
Very easy DIY install by the way.

When I looked at my old one after replacement I thought it might be fixed by snipping off a bit of plastic that had warped, but I was too lazy to find out for sure.

 

Pressing P avoids the problem with the shifter so if the problem goes away using the P button it would point the guilt at the shifter if the problem still exists it points elsewhere.

John (Britprius)

 

Hi there - anyone faced issues listed here
1st gen prius drives but does not park | PriusChat
pls help

 

see my response in that thread.