HELP.....My Prius won't shift to Drive or Reverse, stays in neutral, Red Triangle on

The red triangle says there are one or more trouble codes that can be read by the dealer. Without those codes, any other advice would be guessing, which can get expensive quick.

After the car has sat for a while, what is the voltage of the 12 volt battery, before turning the car on? A weak 12 volt battery can confuse the computer systems. The 12 volt battery, if marginal, is a rather inexpensive "guess" at a fix.

 

If you're still on the original 2005 HV battery, it should be considered suspect until verified good. As previously stated, the trouble codes need to be read or, like the first guess which cost you $200, it's just a guessing game. The auto parts store can read codes for free but unless their reader is up to date it may not read the specific Toyota hybrid codes but only generic OBD codes.

GOOD LUCK!

 

welcome!
what was the temp in wichita when the light came on?

 

car should run in those temps, but you need a fully charged 12v. sometimes new batteries are charged up and require charging before installation.

 

A newly purchased 12V battery is not always a fully charged battery. It may have been sitting on the shelf for a few months and become partially discharged. Although at this point the 12V may seem like an unlikely cause of trouble, it would be best to first eliminate this as the cause by testing it with a multi-meter. It should show a minimum of 12.7V. If that checks out, then it's time to start considering other, more serious causes. The quickest and most certain way to get the codes read would be to visit a Toyota dealer and pay them $100 or so to do it. If you have a little more time, you could order a Prius compatible code reader online for $30 or so and read them yourself, with the proper Android or Apple program.

I hope this helps.

 

The suspicion harbours on the HV system.

Even though there isn't a CEL as you said, just get scantool hooked in there. Some cars are just freaking deceptive with their check engine light. The build could have being dead already.

If you still don't get any codes read out from your scantool, use a Toyota compatible scantool like tech stream, to access the HV voltage blocks. Check the min/max voltage readings, and all that.



Dxta

 

Hi Samantha,

Try disconnecting the 12 volt battery for at least 30 seconds. When reconnected I suspect your car will start just one time again.

When a high voltage leak is detected the car will keep running until shut off but will not restart. Disconnecting the 12 volt battery clears the failure code and allows the one start until the car again sees the high voltage leak. By putting in the new battery from O'reilleys you cleared the failure code and got the one start to get home.

Once a high voltage leak is confirmed there are steps to determine the source of the problem. The likely suspects are the HV battery or the transmission.

Brad

 

Or AC especially if the system has been contaminated with wrong oil.

 

Assuming you mean Air Conditioner, the Prius air conditioner is electric. How would the incorrect oil stop the system from going to READY?

 

What was meant was that using the incorrect oil in the A/C can also be a cause of the HV leak as the compressor is electrically driven.

 

Still no trouble codes. And people are still guessing. So far, I think @Prodigyplace has the only helpful suggestion:

 

Of course we are guessing before the codes are posted here. (Actually I was not guessing just added to strawbrads comment) But just like a sports game you can’t bet after the game has started. And in this case “game” really starts with the codes.

Reading the codes was mentioned in the reply so what would be the point of repeating that?

 

Reading the codes was NOT mentioned in the first post - I just checked.
In the second post I mentioned the codes need to be read by a dealer or somebody else with software to read Prius codes.
The OP has not posted any trouble codes. Without that detail, we cannot really assist meaningfully.

 

To add to what dolj said, a/c systems need both lubrication and refrigerants to operate but the high-voltage electrical a/c systems used in hybrids need a special non-conductive lubricating oil. If traditional oil/freon is used in the system, it can cause voltage issues that can brick the car (and cause a/c problems too).

Unless the OP is in the southern hemisphere where it's summer right now (and the last time I checked Kansas isn't), this is a long shot and more common issues should be checked first.

 

I meant your post as a first post. That is the first post to this topic if you don’t count the OP’s message as one. I probably should have written reply instead. I now edited my post.

Yes I did mean exactly that we can’t assist OP without the codes. We can only guess.

 

I know. It's kind of like the NFL pregame shows.

I've seen several threads where the OP posts a question, we all ask for more details so we can help, and the OP never comes back. Or at least never gives more info. Hopefully, this is not one of those cases and @Samantha33 will soon be back with the codes.

 

Hello, All,

I am new here so I'm unsure if this is okay, but I'm hijacking this post because I'm having a similar issue.

November 2017 I bought a used 2006 Toyota Prius (Her name is Daisy..) from a private dealer. Since January I have driven to Miami from Houston and back and about 50 miles twice a day (100 total) for college classes at least five times a week. My baby is sitting at 198,00 miles and wasn't giving me any problems until:

My A/C went out in Miami in early June, got it replaced, blowing arctic

Drove back to Houston August 12, oil light dinged (with flash of red triangle) while on the road, put more in and no more problems (used a brand and weight suggested on PChat; NOTE: no prior issues but began monitoring w/ no issues or losses since *Shrug*)

A/C was out again by August 24, never came back, classes were starting so no time (or funds) to get to shop immediately but was cool enough to stand

Driving home from campus around September 1, stopped about 10 miles into trip at a gas station because oil light dings again, put in oil (Same weight and brand as before), but when I try to start Daisy up all the warning lights and the red triangle are lit up. Tried a few more times but same thing and only goes to Neutral, not drive or reverse

Had her hauled back to the house and she's been there ever since.

Here's what I have tried:

Replaced position sensor - Pin readings were null, Daisy starts up, lights are all gone, no red triangle but then five minutes into running dies again. EPS warning light is ONLY light lit up including red triangle

Changed Aux battery (in the back) - last one was very dead after all the shenanigans (had to open the doors and trunk manually...) and Daisy started right up AND drove TWICE around the block. Parked, put everything back together, took her out for the hopeful victory lap and the red triangle comes back on at a stop sign, EPS warning light and the triangle are back, Daisy dies again in the driveway

I tried to make this as informational but succinct as possible. I apologize if I failed. Could someone please offer some advice, I really need her up and running ASAP. I graduate in two weeks and have to drive back to Miami and I've been so bogged down with exit courses that I haven't really been able to love on her.

Thanks in advance!!

VZ