Yesterday before the mishap (reported ealier) the TRANSMISSION stuck in Park or Neutral because the computer thought the EMERGENCY BRAKE was not released! Although I push it on and off a few times while my foot was on the regular brake. I turned the engine on/off a few then finally it let me go into reverse or drive..whoo! A chalenging few minutes!!!! I called the expert "SALESMAN" who said he never heard of such a thing! Thanks for everyones help
I have shifted my 2006 into D with the emergency (parking) break on. Has it been changed for 2007? Tom
To shift out of park or ready you must press and hold the brake (not parking brake) firmly. If in neutral you can shift to any gear. You can drive off with the parking brake on (not recommended).
I am not saying this is what happened to you, but I have found for myself that I have a tendancy not to wait for the READY light. I tend to push Start and then imediately shift in to Reverse or Drive and it doen't always take. I usually does on the second try, but a few times, the computer has hung up a bit like I am giving it Spastic Mouse Click Syndrome. A few times, I had to ReBoot it by turning OFF and then ON again. I am trying to develope the habit of looking for the READY light before I try to shift.
Strange - as far as I'm aware the computer doesn't know the parking brake is on. This has annoyed me more than once as I've tried to back the car up after forgetting to release the brake - So much computerization and yet it will happily try to drive with the brake on, without so much as a beep.
UPDATE!!! Guys are right! You must hold down the regular brake before starting the car. I guess we old guys are use to pushing down on the gas while turning the key B)
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(the artist @ Jun 8 2007, 03:57 PM) [snapback]458312[/snapback]</div> Your car was definitely not in READY. Once stuck in Neutral, you have to turn off the "key" and start over. Nate
Thank Audi for the requirement to put your foot on the brake before you can shift out of park. The "unintended acceleration" syndrome of a few years ago. It's actually a good safety addition to "automatic" cars. Makes it harder for small children to take off in a car.
Do yourself a favor: read the owner's manual. It will teach you other stuff you need to know about the car.
December 12th 2009 After researching all the post about shift lever going back to neutral from drive or reverse,with regards to prius 2004 to 2008,some people say its the brakes switch others say you have to replace the shifter mechanism $300 plus labor. I have come to the conclusion weather makes a big difference above 100° below 30° this has happened to me three times last year and a half, if it's too hot turn air-conditioner for 15 minutes if it's to cold turn on a heater that run for 15 minutes that is my unscientific research and seems to work, maybe the electrical engineers have fixed the problem with the new 09, 10, models with the shift lever. that's all hope this helps
This just happened to my 2006 Prius. I could not get it out of Park or neutral. Turned it off and retried about three times with same results. at the time all the dash indicators were lit up, VSC, "brake", trans symbol, tire inflation symbol, etc. It was not a matter of having foor on the brake before turning on since I've had the car for almost 4 years. I called to get a tow, but tried again before the truck came (about an hour later) and it went into gears no problem. Dealer could find nothing wrong. Have there been more reports of this?
Those are classic symptoms of a dying 12-volt battery. Their service life is about 4 years on average, so you are due for a replacement.
