I have had this happen before (and drove right to the dealer but it was fine when I got there) and it happened again today. Its a very hot day and I had forgot to turn off my AC and radio when I shut the car down. So I started it up put it in drive (or reverse) and it would just jump to neutral and the battery was drained (purple lines) because this had happened before I knew that if I held it in place and turned off the AC I could drive and be fine in a few minutes and thats what happened. Has anyone ever seen this? Is is just because on a hot day it drains the battery too fast. Its a 2008 Prius with no other problems but this. Its just an annoying thing that makes me crazy. Any help in understanding this would be appreciated...or maybe there is something wrong with my car??? Help and Thanks!!
I think that your car needs a new gear selector mechanism. If so, this is unrelated to the AC being on or off upon startup, or whether you turned off the radio and AC before powering down the car. (It's not necessary to do that because various relays will disconnect all accessories when the car is powered off.) Can you take a video that shows the car jumping to N even when you have shifted to D? This would provide evidence to your dealer's service writer that the gear selector needs to be changed. That part should be covered under the 3 year / 36K mile warranty. Good luck.
This is not normal. Your Prius should never jump to Neutral unless you shift it or ask it to do something damaging, such as shifting to Park or Reverse while moving. Tom
Well I happened again today this time I had the AC and the radio off when i started. It was about 100 degress out and I had to drive about 35 miles from work holding the shift in drive so basically I had to drive with one hand or the car jumped to neutral. I called the dealer on the way and of course I went straight there but it had "fixed itself" about a mile before I got there. But I have left it there and I have insisted that they check it out and try it tomorrow (let it sit in the sun and then see what happens) They were trying to tell me when you shift into drive it (the shifter) pops back up...I said I know that I am talking about on the screen it would go into drive and "pop" into neutral and stop. I hope they are taking me serious as a woman that is sometimes difficult!!
Some posters have managed to shoot videos of their defective shifters. A video is usually enough to convince a dealer that a replacement is needed. Tom
I tried to shoot a video but it was difficult on the highway with one hand always on the shift it was impossible. The dealer is telling me there is nothing wrong.....I am insisting there is something wrong and I refuse to drive this car until it it fixed this is not safe. Anyone have any idea where I can turn to. Can I call Toyota is that even possible?? Any help would be appreciated.
You can hold the lever in D and the car should drive just fine. It's not ideal, since you have to drive with one hand, but it will get you out of a jamb when needed. Put your complaint in writing, listing all of the times it has failed. Give this to the dealer, and tell them that you are going to escalate the complaint to Toyota Corporate. Tom
I contacted Toyata they have never heard of this and they opened a case. He said a case manager should contact me with in a day and that I should not be driving the car that its not safe. In the meantime the dealership said all they can do it call in Toyota and that should take 3-4 days...Maybe I have started a whole new recall here!!!
Yes that is how I got home last night holdng the car in D for 34 miles....and your right its not ideal to drive like that but it got me home and making a turn was not fun!!
Well they may have heard of this but when I called them and I spoke to them myself the Customer Service person said he had never heard of it. My dealer said they finally spoke to Toyota and they are going to replace the shifting mechanism. Hopefully thats all I need done.
I wonder what is the turnover of the Customer Service staff. Probably pretty high, which would explain why a given individual might be unaware of this problem. Glad to hear that the shift mechanism will be replaced under warranty.
I've read several tales of it failing when it's very hot or very cold. Mine did this a few times earlier this year in sub-freezing weather. I just drove for a while holding the lever, and after a few miles it behaved normally. No problems in the last 4 or 5 months.
Got the car back and they told me they were finally able to recreate the problem by putting a heater on the car letting it get very hot and then driving it and yes it then jumped to neutral. So hopefully no more problems....and it was all covered under Warranty!!
Give that service department a gold star for their serious approach to solving the problem -- or at least verifying it. I wonder how far up the chain our anecdotal reports of problems like this go. When I had my incident I went to a Toyota dealer and explained the problem to the service writer, who appeared clueless. He suggested the 12V battery was bad (it had been recently replaced), and didn't seem interested in pursuing the matter. I guarantee you that Toyota Galactic Central never heard of my problem...
