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Prius wont start or go into gear, gear lights flashing

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by MAXsandwich, Jun 10, 2014.

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  1. MAXsandwich

    MAXsandwich New Member

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    Sigh...

    The Prius wont start up. I'm getting the orange light on the power button and then the squares around the gear symbols start flashing.

    I did the hold display flash the headlights diognostic and it read low voltage on the battery bouncing around the mid to low 11 volts.

    I then bugged a neighbor to try and help give me a jump (tried from both the front and back) but that was a no-go... although I re-tried the diagnostic while the jump cables were on it was reading high 12s -mid13 volts.

    Anybody have any ideas as to what the problem might be?

    I just had the dealership replace the 12 volt about five months ago.

    This is my mothers car ( shes in her 60s), my only means of transportation to and from a job where I only make $8,75 an hr. which goes to pay her bills.

    I'm desperate...
     
    #1 MAXsandwich, Jun 10, 2014
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    check the battery connections and where the negative is bolted to the body.
     
    #2 bisco, Jun 10, 2014
  3. MAXsandwich

    MAXsandwich New Member

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    Just checked... tight and secure... looked fine.
     
    #3 MAXsandwich, Jun 10, 2014
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    may be the brake pedal switch, press harder on the pedal and try.
     
    #4 bisco, Jun 10, 2014
  5. MAXsandwich

    MAXsandwich New Member

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    Nope, still wont go into any gear and the engine wont turn over... the gear light just continue to flash whenever I try, but the voltage on the battery is reading to low for it to actually start regardless of what I try.
     
    #5 MAXsandwich, Jun 10, 2014
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    to tell you the truth, i've never heard of the gear lites flashing.
     
    #6 bisco, Jun 10, 2014
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    can you get the battery to the dealer for warranty?
     
    #7 bisco, Jun 10, 2014
  8. MAXsandwich

    MAXsandwich New Member

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    I've already had to call off work tomorrow, so I'm going to have to have the whole car towed to the dealership in the morning... I cant afford to miss too much work... but cant afford too much in repair fees either, the the cars not under warranty... not sure about the battery.
     
    #8 MAXsandwich, Jun 10, 2014
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    a 5 month old battery should be under warranty. how many miles on the car?
     
    #9 bisco, Jun 10, 2014
  10. MAXsandwich

    MAXsandwich New Member

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    roughly 120k
     
    #10 MAXsandwich, Jun 10, 2014
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    not that much, hopefully, it's something minor.
     
    #11 bisco, Jun 10, 2014
  12. Dino33ca

    Dino33ca Member

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    It happened to me once. The car would not go out of park on a few occasions when I was working doing deliveries with it, and yes the gear light was actually flashing, well, blinking... It was kind of scary. I'd have to play with the shift knob and then finally it would be on it's way. This happened a few times during that shift. I was sitting there analyzing the situation and I noticed my gps cable was against the shifter knob putting just a slight amount of pressure on it. I moved the cable and the problem went away. I've never seen it happen since. My guess is that the shifter knob is 'very sensitive'!
     
    #12 Dino33ca, Jun 10, 2014
  13. sfv41901

    sfv41901 Masta S

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    If ur battery is only 5 months old & u don't have any drain on the battery, I would say it's a failing 12v accessory battery
     
    #13 sfv41901, Jun 10, 2014
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    judging by din's post above, perhaps a bad shifter.
     
    #14 bisco, Jun 11, 2014
  15. sfv41901

    sfv41901 Masta S

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    not saying it couldn't be but a bad shifter but that wouldn't cause the accessory battery to die.

    VS980 4G ?
     
    #15 sfv41901, Jun 11, 2014
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yah, right off the top it seemed like the battery or connections. i wonder why it wouldn't jump start?
     
    #16 bisco, Jun 11, 2014
  17. MAXsandwich

    MAXsandwich New Member

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    Well its in the dealerships hands now
     
    #17 MAXsandwich, Jun 11, 2014
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    all the best!(y)
     
    #18 bisco, Jun 11, 2014
  19. sfv41901

    sfv41901 Masta S

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    Good luck. Hopefully it's nothing major. Keep us updated.

    VS980 4G ?
     
    #19 sfv41901, Jun 11, 2014
  20. Beachbummm

    Beachbummm Senior Member

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    what did the dealer find wrong?
     
    #20 Beachbummm, Jun 21, 2014
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