Prius won't go into gear on 1st start.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by alrdye, Jul 23, 2013.

  1. alrdye

    alrdye New Member

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    I just purchased a 2008 Prius C Touring edition from CarMax. I have an appointment to bring it back but this may be a user error issue. My issue is that when I first hit the Power button the indicator light on the button goes green. When I hit it a 2nd time the light goes orange but stays on. When I shift to R or D it will shift to N but no further. I do have my foot on the break but the only way I can shift into R or D is to hit the power button twice more, to turn it off and back on. When it turns on the 2nd time, the indicator light on the Power button goes off.

    Am I doing something wrong?

    Thanks.
     
    #1 alrdye, Jul 23, 2013
  2. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    Moved to the proper forum (gen II) and sub forum
     
    #2 Paradox, Jul 23, 2013
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Press hard on the brake pedal as you depress the POWER button. Also, rather than "hit" the button, hold it down for a second.

    If you still have trouble making the Prius READY, the brake pedal switch may need to be adjusted.
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Jul 23, 2013
  4. css28

    css28 Senior Member

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    It's not clear from your description if you're pressing the brake pedal while pressing the power button.

    Pressing the power button twice without pressing the brake puts you in an in-between state called "On" rather than "Ready".

    As stated above, press and hold the brake pedal while pressing the power button. You'll only have to press the button once to go into Ready mode.
     
    #4 css28, Jul 23, 2013
  5. alrdye

    alrdye New Member

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    Ahh, yes, I am not pressing the break while pressing the power button, only when attempting to put it into gear. I'll give that a shot. Many thanks!
     
    #5 alrdye, Jul 24, 2013
  6. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Your pressing the power button twice. Twice your in accessory mode. Only press the power button once with authority while holding the brake in. That puts the car in ready.

    The car will not go into gear until it says READY in blue letters in the dashboard right to the right of the speedo.
    That means the car has essentially started and it ready willing and able to motor on down the road.

    Then the car will not go into D unless your foot is on the brake also. Safety.

    With brake on push button car goes into ready. Then get yourself set up....belt..ac..radio.
    When ready to go push brake down again and shift into D.

    Give the owners manual a good read. There's a few gotcha's with this car.
     
    #6 edthefox5, Jul 24, 2013
  7. alrdye

    alrdye New Member

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    Issue resolved: I did hold the break while powering it on and that did the trick. Thank you everyone for your help!
     
    #7 alrdye, Jul 24, 2013
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