My 2007 Prius has been sitting idle for a few weeks due to lockdown. Prior to that it had been used daily and the hybrid battery was well charged. During lockdown the 12V battery discharged too and so nothing was working. I have replaced the 12v battery for a new one and reconnected. Now when I try and start, I get all the warning lights on, including the big red triangle, and the transmission will not go into drive or reverse. 1) Is there are reset I need to do after disconnecting the 12V battery? 2) What other diagnostic activities can I carry out to get things moving? I tried disconnecting, pumping the brakes and leaving the battery off for 24hrs There is a brake light when I depress the pedal so I am confident that side of things is OK. Any help greatly appreciated. Let me know if pictures of the dash lights will help.
And .....keep in mind any time the 12v system is lost ( 0 volts) like when replacing a 12v battery, you will need to have your foot on the brake and press the power button 2 times. The first time will power up the dash and displays along with pretty much every warning light possible. Press it the second time and those warnings should disappear and the car should go ready. This assumes your car didn't develop any problems while sitting dormant.
I will check. I had assumed it would be but I will be sure. I will count the bars but it's showing at least "2/3" fully charged on the display. I have read about the 'pushing twice' thing and have done that but the lights dont seem to go out......... To be clear, can you walk me through your version of "twice".....!!
I suggest to read the OBD2 codes before you continue troubleshooting. Since the car was sitting, I suspect that the hybrid battery went bad, for example corrosion developed and car can not even start or maybe even one module lost voltage faster than the rest to a point to trigger codes In other words, the battery was weak but the issue appeared when you stopped driving daily.
It all seems so straight forward to I am trying hard to ensure i dont end up paying someone else to do something so basic....!!
I have done a few checks this evening: 1) 12V battery with no load (other than door dome light) = 12.46V 2) 12V battery with load = 12.14V 3) Central display and dashboard lights attached 4) I also have a pic of the centre display in ACC mode I will obtain some OBD2 codes once my reader arrives......
Both of those numbers indicate a battery that is NOT fully charged. While it is not likely to be the only remaining problem, you need to ELIMINATE it with a full charge before you do anything else.
How are you getting those readings? If it's through the car's displays that can muddy the waters; try a digital multimieter, with the car off? My suspicion is "a few weeks" has drained the 12 volt.
I generally find the car's MFD reading to show a slightly lower value than at the battery, so even if it might "muddy the waters" it would be in a conservative direction. But the values reported by the OP include one for "no load (other than door dome light)", which suggests to me that something other than the MFD (which would be off then) was used. Both voltages, while low enough to invite kibitzing about whether the battery is "fully charged", are more than comfortably high enough to proceed with diagnosis according to Toyota. Pictures of dash lights will not help, because there are only a few dash lights and they are used to indicate hundreds of possible issues. What will help will be posting the trouble codes here. The car will be happy to tell you why it is choosing not to start, if you ask.
It talks in funny five-character phrases (that all start with P or C or B or U) or in light blinks. While maybe not on the level of conversing with polar bear and python, or cursing in fluent kangaroo, it can still be useful to have those chats.
Yeah I think you're right. I was reading his initial post as the battery was replaced some time back, and now, with several weeks down time, the new one was suspect. But now not sure.
I finally gave in and took it to a Toyota dealership. Their diagnosis was a faulty hybrid battery and a faulty hybrid computer (see attached). They gave me a quote which was nearly the same price as the current value of the vehicle. After some investigation I have received quotes from independent garages that are about a third of Toyotas. The question now is whether to repair and sell as a functioning vehicle or scrap and sell for spares. I am leaning towards the former rather than the latter.
Wow, that is some pretty impressive damage to the battery ECU, I don't think I've seen such extensive damage extending right into the ECU. You might not need a new hybrid battery, you just might need the no.2 frame wire harness replaced to go with the replaced battery ECU. Until the ECU and the no. 2 frame wire harness are replaced you will not be able to successfully diagnose the hybrid battery. Also, the ECU needn't be brand new either. A secondhand one (from a wrecker) in good working order can be had for a 1/6 to 1/4 the price of a new one. Unfortunately, I don't think Toyota will do the work to open up the battery and replace the harness, so find a good independent hybrid shop to do the work. In which city in New Zealand are you?
