2007 Won't Go Into Ready Mode

I'm not a genius on this hybrid crap dude, sue me for thinking a gas engine has a damn starter. Sheesh everyone can't be as smart as you.....

 

Perfect..we have something in common...I'm not a genius either. But I do glance through an owners manual and tend to familiarize myself with cars I own so I can do basic maintenance, not get stuck somewhere or shafted by a repair facility. I also have no interest in suing you, but I'd be happy to help you out if you ever have problems with your car and need a hand (and are fairly close).

 

Yeah I do all of my own maintenance too. Have been since I was in grade school when my dad taught me to change the oil in his truck along with other basic stuff. And ive done the same thing reading through the manual but more for fluid capacities and types and not the starting system for the vehicle because every gas engine I've ever seen, has a standalone starter

 

have you tested the 12v?

 

If you get in your car, put your foot on the brake and press the power button and everything (dash and MFD) turn on, but the car will not go ready (and you have those warning lights lit) your most likely problem is an HV isolation fault. This is normally due to electrolyte in the HV battery seeping out of a module and causing a leakage path to the battery case. (much more rarely, it is due to an inverter issue or transaxle issue) If this happens while driving, the car will still allow you to continue driving normally. Once you shut the car off, it will not allow the car to go ready again. You can "reset" this safety function by disconnecting the 12v battery for a minute. It will then allow you to start the car normally. Obviously, one side effect is that all codes will be cleared from the ECU memory.

 

Bad is a relative term. Many people have continued to drive many, many miles with a HV battery that has a small electrolyte leak. I've read that there were many instances of taxis installing a switch at the battery to allow them to reset it quickly, and they continue to roll on. I think the Gen 2 was the only model with this "safety". IIRC, future models get the code, but don't disable the car.

If it's just seepage from a terminal seal, a good cleaning and it could go years without another code. If it's a crack in the bottom of a module, it may go hours, days or weeks before coding again.

If it was an inverter or transaxle causing the code, sometimes they come back immediately, sometimes days or months.

 

do the brake lights come on when you step on the pedal?

 

have you checked the inverter pump?

 

Stupid idea, is there a way to run start it seeing how the motion of the transaxle is what starts it?

 

visibly? not that i know of. there are some pretty good youtube explanations though.

the engine and tranny work in hybrid concert, thus producing the great mpg's due to gas and electron motivation efficiency.

when you power up, the hybrid battery relays kick in, and the battery turns one of the two tranny motors to spin the engine up.
this happens hundreds and thousands of times a day as you're driving

 

@MilkyWay

This isn't something you need to be super worried about. The HV isolation fault is the ONLY fault that reacts this way, disabling the ability to go "READY" after the car is turned off. If it were any other fault code, the car would have been able to go to READY mode, but may or may not have been in limp mode, depending on the actual code. The way the car reacted and what you did, pretty much proved the code was for HV Isolation. If it happens again, and you're out driving, it will still let the car drive normally until you shut it off. The next time you try to start it, the READY function will be disabled. All you would need to do is cycle power at the 12v battery again.

And the large heavy cable is on a quick connect plug, sometimes it's just a bit of a pain to pop off.. The small wire with the quick connect is a voltage sense wire.

The best thing about this "mode" of HV battery failure (assuming it's the battery) is that it usually allows you plenty of time to work toward a solution.

 

could be an opportunity to incorporate an inexpensive code reader and smart apps, like Torque, Dr Prius, and Hybrid Assistant. This one is $11, and works very well with the 3 Apps listed. Between them, you can get better info on the overall health of the car.

 

When a code is triggered it doesn't always mean that a hard failure is imminent. Sometimes a battery code will automatically disable other systems (thereby setting a code in those systems). You've cleared the computer with the 12V disconnect, so what do you do? A code reader could give you clues, might even predict future problems.