My Prius Will Not Start

[Sagitar]

The car has not been out of the garage for a couple of days.

When I tried to start it this morning, everything lit up, but I could not put it into gear and an error message appeared saying something like "Parking lock fault on parking - park on a level surface and apply the parking brake firmly".

I got the same error message several times, so I have called the AA and am waiting for their man to arrive.

My morning is banjaxed. I was supposed to be having a day out with wife and daughter - they have gone off without me.

The wonders of modern technology!!!!!!!

[Sagitar]

The car has not been out of the garage for a couple of days.

When I tried to start it this morning, everything lit up, but I could not put it into gear and an error message appeared saying something like "Parking lock fault on parking - park on a level surface and apply the parking brake firmly".

I got the same error message several times, so I have called the AA and am waiting for their man to arrive.

My morning is banjaxed. I was supposed to be having a day out with wife and daughter - they have gone off without me.

The wonders of modern technology!!!!!!!

The AA man disconnected the Battery and did a reset and all is well again now. He suggested that the cold may have affected the output from the 12V Battery - a bit worrying. If it happens again I shall seek more serious attention from Toyota.

[Seamaster73]

A reboot!

[Jan&tone]

A reboot!

obviously software by Microsoft....

[johalareewi]

It's not just modern technology that goes wrong.

I had a puncture a short while back and got out the toolkit, space saver tyre, found the locking wheel nut remover, loosened the wheel nuts, found the jack point, jacked up the car, removed the nuts, all in the dark at midnight. Only to find the wheel was well and truly wedged on and would not come off. So had to ring the Toyota/AA rescue to come out with a rubber mallet to get the wheel off.

[timberwolf]

The car has not been out of the garage for a couple of days.

When I tried to start it this morning, everything lit up, but I could not put it into gear and an error message appeared saying something like "Parking lock fault on parking - park on a level surface and apply the parking brake firmly".

I got the same error message several times, so I have called the AA and am waiting for their man to arrive.

My morning is banjaxed. I was supposed to be having a day out with wife and daughter - they have gone off without me.

The wonders of modern technology!!!!!!!

Yep, it could possibly be a low 12v Battery. Do you use the car in ACC or IG-ON mode often e.g. listening to the radio waiting for a passenger? When it is normally parked in the garage do you leave it unlocked?

Another possibility is a faulty parking pawl actuator/motor.

Not so sure on the credibility of this last one, but I think I'd read that if you shortcut the ritual of parking, by skipping the Park button and Parking brake and just switch the Prius off at the Power, it may sometimes occur. I'm dubious but it maybe something like the shortcut Power method doesn't give long enough for the Parking pawl to be applied but that presumably means there is still a fault of some sort.

[Chris Dance]

What did the AA chap actually do? I take it he disconnected the 12v Battery connections at the Battery. What did he do to do a RESET? Knowing how to correct the problem could be helpful to me and other Prius owners.

[Sagitar]

What did the AA chap actually do? I take it he disconnected the 12v battery connections at the battery. What did he do to do a RESET? Knowing how to correct the problem could be helpful to me and other Prius owners.

I suspect that the "reset" of which he spoke was no more than the consequence of disconnecting the Battery. He was warning me that I would need to reset various display effects that I had set up previously. He was right, I did have to reset things like the head-up display.

There have been no further problems in spite of leaving the car unused for extended periods in this very cold weather (we had -12C yesterday) and I begin to wonder whether I had failed to close the boot lid properly or some such. I went all neurotic and turned the boot light off at the switch a few days ago . . . .

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Press your foot harder on the brake pedal!

Sounds like a low 12v possibily due to being stood in the cold or maybe with the car being driven very small distances. I've had this message once or twice in the past in the days when I'd turn the car completely off between jobs, but leaving my meter, sat nav, two-way radio and despatch computer running. Now I pretty much keep the car in 'Ready' mode whilst sat and not had the message since.

I could, however, be completely wrong and the above could all be a coincidence, but it's defo worth a try.

[Jan&tone]

I went all neurotic and turned the boot light off at the switch a few days ago . . . .

lol - I did that about 20 years ago on a Carina which went flat after I left the tailgate open a tad.... first thing I do know in ANY new car is to turn off the boot light at the switch - it's a second's work to turn it on when you need it after all#!~

[DrCez]

When I tried to start it this morning, everything lit up, but I could not put it into gear and an error message appeared saying something like "Parking lock fault on parking - park on a level surface and apply the parking brake firmly".

I noticed a very similar issue was posted on PriusChat last month - link here.

There are six pages of posts, to start with there are echoes of Fawlty Towers as the increasingly frustrated OP posts updates while waiting for a breakdown truck (his car, which is in a car park, even gets bumped by another driver!).

My summary (post 18 has a rather breathless account):

1. Symptoms were identical (warning message, car wouldn't start);

2. It happened in hot weather after a short stop (although there could have been demand on the electics prior to the stop, e.g. from use of the AC);

3. In this case the car was on a slight incline so there was some speculation that the parking pawl was involved. However at one stage it was possible to put the car in neutral as the car rolled down the slope (without starting);

4. One suggested remedy was to disconnect/reconnect the 12V Battery. In this case however, the car started when a tow truck arrived, and the OP speculates that it was being hit by the other car that did the trick!

5. Toyota were apparently unable to find any faults with the car.

It's not really a definitive answer but makes an interesting read. FWIW I would recommend the Battery option rather than asking a passer-by to drive into your car :)!!

[Sagitar]

When I tried to start it this morning, everything lit up, but I could not put it into gear and an error message appeared saying something like "Parking lock fault on parking - park on a level surface and apply the parking brake firmly".

I noticed a very similar issue was posted on PriusChat last month - link here.

There are six pages of posts, to start with there are echoes of Fawlty Towers as the increasingly frustrated OP posts updates while waiting for a breakdown truck (his car, which is in a car park, even gets bumped by another driver!).

My summary (post 18 has a rather breathless account):

1. Symptoms were identical (warning message, car wouldn't start);

2. It happened in hot weather after a short stop (although there could have been demand on the electics prior to the stop, e.g. from use of the AC);

3. In this case the car was on a slight incline so there was some speculation that the parking pawl was involved. However at one stage it was possible to put the car in neutral as the car rolled down the slope (without starting);

4. One suggested remedy was to disconnect/reconnect the 12V Battery. In this case however, the car started when a tow truck arrived, and the OP speculates that it was being hit by the other car that did the trick!

5. Toyota were apparently unable to find any faults with the car.

It's not really a definitive answer but makes an interesting read. FWIW I would recommend the Battery option rather than asking a passer-by to drive into your car :)!!

Thanks for that. The error message that I got was exactly the same as in the picture in his post. In my case, the car was in the garage, which does have a very gentle slope towards the door - for drainage I assume, there is no site reason for any slope.

The AA man definitely diagnosed the problem as being related to low Battery voltage and I am inclined more and more to believe that it must have been the result of driver error i.e. not closing the boot lid properly and leaving on the boot light in consequence.

[Chris Dance]

Very easy to do leaving the boot open I have done it and my son has done it twice on his Prius.. I make sure I close the boot very firmly and double check all interior lights are off. Yes I am neurotic about not doing it again. Last time I did it we were delayed going on holiday.

[Sagitar]

Since I last wrote in this thread I have continued to have problems when starting for the first time each day. A few days ago, the alarm sounded when I attempted to enter the vehicle. I got it started eventually, but it prompted me to talk to Toyota again and ask them to re-examine the vehicle.

The car went in today and this time they found faults. Their report says:

"Found codes VO142 and VO155. These refer to loss of communication with body control module and instrument panel cluster (IPD). Checked Battery and found Battery to have a bad cell. Replaced battery".

The Battery referred to is the 12v battery and I hope that this will solve the mystery. It's a shame that it took two goes to find the problem, but on this occasion the actions by Toyota appear to have been exemplary, including:

Picking up and delivering the vehicle from and to my home and leaving a courtesy vehicle; carrying out visual safety checks, including tyre wear and reporting. Valeting the car.

The battery was replaced under warranty and there were no other charges.

[Jan&tone]

Since I last wrote in this thread I have continued to have problems when starting for the first time each day. A few days ago, the alarm sounded when I attempted to enter the vehicle. I got it started eventually, but it prompted me to talk to Toyota again and ask them to re-examine the vehicle.

The car went in today and this time they found faults. Their report says:

"Found codes VO142 and VO155. These refer to loss of communication with body control module and instrument panel cluster (IPD). Checked battery and found battery to have a bad cell. Replaced battery".

The battery referred to is the 12v battery and I hope that this will solve the mystery. It's a shame that it took two goes to find the problem, but on this occasion the actions by Toyota appear to have been exemplary, including:

Picking up and delivering the vehicle from and to my home and leaving a courtesy vehicle; carrying out visual safety checks, including tyre wear and reporting. Valeting the car.

The battery was replaced under warranty and there were no other charges.

Glad you finally (?) got it fixed! Shows how good some dealers can be too. I wonder if it depends on who you talk to, and how, in the first place

[Sagitar]

I checked the Battery voltage before starting the car this morning and it read 11.7V i.e. no fall from the previous night.

It has been getting down to 9.5V when standing overnight, so I am very optimistic that the problem is solved.

[dwilson]

I checked the battery voltage before starting the car this morning and it read 11.7V i.e. no fall from the previous night.

It has been getting down to 9.5V when standing overnight, so I am very optimistic that the problem is solved.

That's good news. Sounds like that should be the end of your problem.

[cbcdesign]

I checked the battery voltage before starting the car this morning and it read 11.7V i.e. no fall from the previous night.

It has been getting down to 9.5V when standing overnight, so I am very optimistic that the problem is solved.

11.7V! For any ordinary car that would be considered pretty low in fact. I would have expected about 12.5V on a fully charged 6 cell Battery off load.

[Sagitar]

11.7V! For any ordinary car that would be considered pretty low in fact. I would have expected about 12.5V on a fully charged 6 cell battery off load.

This is not strictly off-load. It's using the on-screen diagnostic routine with the power switch in the auxiliary position and 11.7V is a good reading. Putting a voltmeter across the Battery with everything off gives 12.7V.

Using the diagnostic routine is an easy test that can be done while sitting in the car. I understand that the expected voltages for a good and well charged Battery are about 11.7 in the "auxiliary" position, about 13.5 in the "ready" position and rising to about 14.2 in the "ready" position when the Battery is charging. I wouldn't bet my life on the precise levels of these voltages because they are from my memory, which is not very good, but I got them originally from threads on the Priuschat forum.

[cbcdesign]

11.7V! For any ordinary car that would be considered pretty low in fact. I would have expected about 12.5V on a fully charged 6 cell battery off load.

This is not strictly off-load. It's using the on-screen diagnostic routine with the power switch in the auxiliary position and 11.7V is a good reading. Putting a voltmeter across the Battery with everything off gives 12.7V.

Using the diagnostic routine is an easy test that can be done while sitting in the car. I understand that the expected voltages for a good and well charged Battery are about 11.7 in the "auxiliary" position, about 13.5 in the "ready" position and rising to about 14.2 in the "ready" position when the Battery is charging. I wouldn't bet my life on the precise levels of these voltages because they are from my memory, which is not very good, but I got them originally from threads on the Priuschat forum.

Ahh, that makes sense then. I thought you were simply taking a reading from the battery hence my comment!