Had the car 4 days and LOVING it!! Odd thing happened tonight though - parked up, powered down, got out, shut the door, locked it by touching the drivers door handle. As I was about to walk into the house I noticed that the ODO figure was showing along with the clock in the display. The red alarm light was also on. I waited about a minute, and they didn't dissappear. First thought was - damn - forgot to turn it off, but realised that PWR light was already off. Unlocked it, got back in, turned it back on, turned it off, etc and all was normal. So what did I do wrong the first time?
Everything seems normal to me. That's how mine behaves. Eventually the odo and clock go out, but the immobilizer light starts flashing, and continues flashing.
Don't worry, I had to look at mine once when I first noticed it do that. As mentioned though, it is normal so no harm no foul...
My gen II behaves similarly – I noticed the cabin light go on and also the power button backlight illuminates, if I pass by with my SKS fob in the pocket. I don’t even have to touch it – it can sense me to some (very close) distance (a yard or maybe two). I noticed that to my surprise several times when I was approaching the car at a parking lot or a garage in the night. If I just stay where I am and don’t touch the car, it would go off again in about 20 or 30 seconds.
This is a known and documented behavior. The light doesn't actually stay on all the time; it is only on when you look at it. It turns off when you turn away but comes back on when you turn back. Documenting this feature was extremely difficult as the lights are very fast. But thanks to a CanView and an electric meter, they were able to detect fluctuations in the power draw on the ODO and clock wires correlating with the owner's eyeball movement and head position. It was also noted that occasionally the Prius would make a mistake when re-illuminating the clock. Rather than using the previously stored values in the clock, it would add one to the minutes position. The researchers attempted to find a pattern to this erratic behavior but were unable. The ODO value did not show any indication of similarly erratic value changes once the car was powered off.
Not only what you see, but the car also "gets ready to start" if it senses the FOB (SKS) inside. I don't remember all the things it does, but it does get ready. Which is why it's a bad idea to leave a FOB inside the car. OMG, you -could- "drain the 12V battery dry"!!!
I decided to test this behaviour by sneaking up on the car in the dead of night, but when I opened the garage door it wasn't there......... However next morning I opened the garage door and there it was, flashing away. Or maybe that was just a dream........ ........... or was it?
Agreed. This is absolutely standard. I wondered about it when I first saw it, but then I quickly came to the point of appreciating the fact I receive a quick reminder of mileage and time.
