There is a problem with the transmission 'P' lock mechanism......

Help! I'm getting the "problem with transmission P lock mechanism" issue in a 2008, and the car won't shift into D. Following the advice on this thread, I put in a new Optima battery but the issue hasn't been resolved. The car still won't drive. Any ideas?

 

1. Measure the voltage on the new 12V battery. It is possible that the new battery is partially discharged.
2. Once you are sure that the battery is fully-charged and that the battery cables are tight (also check the negative cable where it bolts to the body) then if you still have a problem you'll need to have your car towed to your local Toyota dealer for assistance.

 

Got something similar the other day when I needed to nudge my car forward a bit and had the door open when I put it in D. Message came up with a ! on the MFD. Spooked me but still went into Drive though.

If it was this


Close your door and try again?

 

Tragically, the battery was fully charged and didn't seem to have any loose connections. My local dealer can't find the problem using computerized methods, so they're taking the car apart. Cross your fingers.

 

I'm impressed. That's a detailed piece of diagnostic information to come from the computer.

 

Apparently they put in a new ECU and that didn't fix it. I say it must be gremlins.

 

same thing happened to me inst. panel went off intermittently then on i played with the wheel that turns the brightness from low to high on the speedometer and after turning it bright on and off 2 times i havent had problem since

 

I get error message I the title when the car is in ACC and I turn headlights on, everything seems fine and it goes away when I turn the headlights off...
when the car is in ready mod no warning with headlight on..

any ideas?

 

12 V Battery in poor state of health.

 

thanks will pull i t and get it tested

 

had it tested and it was bad,replaced and the error message is gone,thanks

 

You're welcome.

All the best.

 

While this worked, for my Prius 2009, I had to hold the DISPLAY button down, not the INFO button.

 

I have Prius 2010. Now facing the same P Lock error for the past few weeks. After reading all the above threads, i have also replaced my battery but that evil P error is still there. Even replaced battery is perfectly fine. I have also get it checked quite a few times but that P error is now getting on my nerves.
I have also tried to remove the 7.5 fuse from the switch box but P error is still there.
Whenever P error appear, i simply apply the parking brake and turn the vehicle off. After 5 minutes wait, i turn on the vehicle and every back to normal like nothing would had happened.
Please help me out. May i need to replace that 7.5 fuse or connect some cable between the 7.5 fuse to blue wire. Or what.
If anyone know the permanent solution of this problem, please do let me know.
Let me reiterate that 12V battery is perfectly fine.
Please HELP.
SOS

 

Your car is a Gen 3 Prius, so you might get more replies and better information if you ask your question in one of the Gen 3 forums, rather than here in a Gen 2 forum.

 

Thanks for your reply. I have posted the same comment in Gen 3 Forum as you advised. Now lets see.

Anyway, thanks for your help.

 

This happened to me at 11:30 pm last night on the interstate. All dash lights light up and I get the "There is a problem with your transmission Plock mechanism . . . "

- That red triangle of death scared the sht out of me
- Pulled off onto the scenic overlook (packed with cars)
- Found this thread
- Went through that "MFD in Maintenance Mode" procedure
- Got to the menu that showed my 12V battery at 9.4V
- Started reading the next step and the Maintenance Mode went away
- Tried to get into Maintenance Mode 3 more times
- Two cars drove off thinking I was a drug dealer or a cop flashing my headlights to someone out there
- Couldn't get to Maint Mode so I said "fork it"
- Started up the car and finished the drive home with no issues whatsoever
- Plugged in the OBDII scanner and nothing

Are y'all telling me this is an indication that my battery is dying? That's a lot of "scared the sht" out of me for low battery voltage.

 

How you repair your car? Please help
Me