Car wont start, Power is green

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by ArtoriasBane, Dec 12, 2025 at 2:14 PM.

  1. ArtoriasBane

    ArtoriasBane New Member

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    Three
    Good morning,

    I'm having issues with my Toyota Prius 2012 not starting. This morning i drove my Prius to work and on my lunch break i went to go to start it back up and unfortunately its not turning on but I'm getting power to the car. The key fob is good, recently swapped out the small battery. Green light pops up on the circle power button near the steering wheel but it doesn't turn online. I also have issues with my hybrid system, I recently swapped out the battery pack for a pre-owned battery pack cause i was receiving a "Replace battery pack" Code and this code is still occurring even after replace the battery pack. Now would the hybrid system issues cause my car from not turning on or would this be a 12V battery issue. Once i get off work im going to try to troubleshooting the 12V battery and do a "Reset"
     
    #1 ArtoriasBane, Dec 12, 2025 at 2:14 PM
  2. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    What "small battery" are writing about? Did you mean the 12v battery?
    Did you Charge the 12v battery? The stores do not.

    What tests did you perform to confirm the hybrid battery actually did need to be replaced?
    What tests did you perform to confirm the "used" hybrid battery wasn't bad?

    You will have to clear the codes with techstream or similar diagnoses tool.
    Are you CERTAIN you installed the orange safety switch correctly? Would hurt to remove it
    and reinstall it, just to make sure.

     
    #2 ASRDogman, Dec 12, 2025 at 4:13 PM
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    does the 'ready' light up on the dash?
     
    #3 bisco, Dec 12, 2025 at 8:49 PM
  4. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Is this car, or Prius in general, new to you? If so, then in addition to checking for more serious issues, also make sure to rule out simple stupid little driver errors. E.g. when new to Prius ages ago, I sometimes made the somewhat-common mistake of not pressing the brake pedal when starting. The dashboard lights up fine, but the car won't move. In this situation, the key is the "READY" light turning on -- or not.

    The longer you own and drive a Prius, the less likelihood of getting tripped up by this issue.
     
    #4 fuzzy1, Dec 12, 2025 at 10:08 PM
  5. Hayslayer

    Hayslayer Active Member

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    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
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    Touring
    If the Gen 3 is like the Gen 2, pressing the power button one time with your foot NOT on the brake will result in the led on the button illuminating GREEN. Maybe you're not pressing hard enough on the brake pedal or your brake switch is malfunctioning.

    What happens if you press the button one more time? Does the LED turn amber?
    Press it one more time. Does it turn off?

    If so, I would suspect the brake pedal switch isn't making up properly.
     
    #5 Hayslayer, Dec 12, 2025 at 10:21 PM
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