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2012-powers up, fob works, won't go into any gear.

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by rleeinva, Jan 18, 2021.

  1. rleeinva

    rleeinva Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2014
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    Location:
    Richmond, VA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    177k miles. went out got in, power came on, it will not go into gear, no forward, no reverse, no brake mode.

    idiot lights are
    no traction
    steering
    check engine
    ABS
    steering light

    no triangle of death

    no engine start

    went through 10 pages here looking for similar.

    This is our 2nd Prius. The 2008 got 194k miles before the triangle of death and trade in for another car.

    my options are, get a tow truck to take it to the dealer which has a $140 charge to plug it in

    go get a code reader from Auto Zone.

    hoping somebody here has seen this before.

    buy a Rav-4
     
    #1 rleeinva, Jan 18, 2021
  2. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Touring
    As with most models of Prius, if you have no code reader or techstream, start with checking the voltage of your 12v battery. Your car is a big computer, which boots up using the 12v battery. A weak battery will cause issues. It normally would need to be very weak for problems like this to arise, so it would show up very clearly on a voltage check. Do you own a voltmeter/multimeter? Is the 12v battery the 2012 OEM that came with the car?
     
    #2 TMR-JWAP, Jan 18, 2021
  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Vehicle:
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    Three
    Could also be the inverter. Happened much the same way with me. Running fine, stopped at a restaurant, no go from there until the inverter was replaced. Good news is Toyota has a customer support program for that problem which only applies with dealer diagnosis and repair.
     
    #3 rjparker, Jan 18, 2021
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  4. ttou68

    ttou68 Active Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    III
    Do you see the "ready" light?
    If not, your 12V battery is probably in need of attention..

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #4 ttou68, Jan 18, 2021
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  5. tvpierce

    tvpierce Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Those idiot lights will tell you a lot if you read the codes.

    I'm with @rjparker. Our '13 just quit one day with no warning or other symptoms while driving though town at about 30 mph. I had it towed home, checked the codes using Techstream, and found the inverter was the issue. Had it towed to the dealer, and it was repaired for free under the customer service campaign.

    Your issue could well be something else, but without reading the codes, you're just guessing.
     
    #5 tvpierce, Jan 21, 2021
  6. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Could be the inverter, but it costs nothing to check the 12V and with the prominence of the brake-related lights, that's my first guess. That brake pump takes a bunch of power. The pump running a long time (not bad enough for trouble lights, though) was my first clue a few years ago about a very low 12V battery.
     
    #6 jerrymildred, Jan 21, 2021
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  7. rleeinva

    rleeinva Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
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    N/A
    It was the 12v battery.

    replaced it and all is well.
     
    #7 rleeinva, Jan 21, 2021
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  8. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    Five
    The boot-up sequence takes a toll on a marginal 12V battery and fails with a flat 12V battery.

    It's like Apollo 13 trying to power up the Command Module without tripping Master Caution alarms.
     
    #8 Air_Boss, Jan 21, 2021
    rleeinva and jerrymildred like this.
  9. rleeinva

    rleeinva Junior Member

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    2008 Prius
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    N/A
    LOL

    true

    I didn't have the triangle of death.

    But, now I have the low tire pressure light blinking for a minute and staying on. The manual says that's a "system" problem and take it to the stealership.

    I'm old school and know how to check tire pressure. I'm going to ignore the damn light lol
     
    #9 rleeinva, Jan 25, 2021
  10. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

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    Next time it will be the inverter....
     
    #10 Tim Jones, Apr 26, 2021
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