HELP! I have an intermittent problem in STARTING my 2004 Prius. I have called four hybrid mechanics, none of whom has heard of it. I push the Power button as usual. The dashboard lights up... BUT the "READY" light does not come on. And... I can not go into ANY gear I can not turn the car off I can not remove the key A message comes onto my screen and reads something like this: "Problem with the PARKING BRAKE LOCK mechanism. Put your car on flat ground and depress the parking brake ALL the way." I do this -- but it does not help. NOTHING helps... Except TIME. In TIME -- from 5 minutes to 25 minutes (!) -- the car turns off all on its own. All lights go out. Car is now OFF. THEN, and only THEN, I can start the car immediately without any problem. Anyone know what is going on? Thanks, Julie
Interesting...esp. the message you're seeing. I've never heard of that before. There USED to be a problem with the early '04s that would hang up on start-up if you accidently hit the Power button twice in a row very quickly. This has, as far as I know, been fixed via some of the SSCs that have been performed on the '04s. I haven't heard a report for 3 or 4 years at least. We can also see IG-ON mode if there's a problem with the brake switch (my main suspicion for you)...but I don't think we see the message on the MFD with the brake switch problem--that's really unique. Next time it happens try just pressing and holding the Power button for about 10 seconds...that should shut you down. Be sure you're firmly depressing the brake pedal when you power up. I'm interested to see what Galaxee and Patrick Wong have to say on this.
that could be a 12v battery issue, as completely unexciting as that sounds. absent any diagnostic codes from the dealer to rule out the actual park lock mechanism, that's what DH would consider.
I had this same message appear several times on my 2004 until I replaced the 12 volt battery. It has not returned since then.
By the way, I put in an Optima and it works fine (see 12 Volt (12v) Toyota Prius Auxilary Battery for 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 with free shipping)
My salvage '08 would do this when the 12V battery was very weak. My vote is for the 12V battery also.
Julie: My 2004 is doing the same thing and it is driving me nuts. Only my restart time is getting longer....used to be 10 to 15 minutes and now is usually overnight. I asked Toyota about it and they gave me a look "just like a woman". Have you solved the problem? Pam
wow, have no experience with this, but sounds like several here have.... once again, PC comes through!!... get a new battery
Confirm with a voltmeter, or with the selftest procedure given here by jdenenberg (no tools required): http://www.priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12291&p=105767&hilit=battery+self+test#p105767 But yeah, given the age and symptom this sure smells like a 12V battery near death. If it needs a jump *don't* do it unless you are certain of the procedure, and don't let anyone else do it unless they are legally obligated to repair any damage caused by mistakes they might make. If in doubt have a Toyota dealer send a truck. Doing it wrong can cause thousands of dollars of damage to the inverter or wiring harnesses.
so.. get a new battery... and people.. please stop being all scared about jumping your car.. it's a lot harder to blow anything that anyone on here is willing to test.. except me. i've been jumped.. jumped people... run 10amp products on my inverter.. etc.. the only thing that blows any fuses would be shorting something on accident ( like every car)
