2010 Push-to-start won't work, dash lights up, maybe the battery?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by sonofjens, Jun 3, 2018.

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  1. sonofjens

    sonofjens New Member

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    Hi all,

    I tried starting my 2010 this morning to take my girlfriend to graduation for the school where she works. When we got in, the car unlocked normally, but when I depressed the brake to start the car via push-to-start, the normal display came up, but the car didn't start. I noticed that pressing the brake caused the display to dim drastically.

    I turned it off and tried again and saw numerous warning lights (check engine, etc. basically every notification) and the same dimming effect when I pressed the brake.

    I ended up taking her car and dropping her off. I came back 30 minutes later and I don't even get the Prius logo to come up when I try to start the car. It just makes a weird whining noise.

    I'm almost totally confident it's the battery, but I wanted to know your thoughts before I try to replace it or otherwise recharge it. I had the battery die on me in December 2016 (that was the stock one, and I was a new owner) and replaced it. Last time I drove was probably Wednesday.

    Thanks
     
    #1 sonofjens, Jun 3, 2018
  2. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    If you can open the hatch test the 12v battery with a digital multimeter. A battery should last longer than a year and a half. Is it under warranty? Is there a light that has been left on?

    If there is enough voltage you may be able to get the car started by pressing the fob to the button holding it there. Try 3 times.

    Is the "weird whining noise" the brake actuator pump or a different weird whining noise?
     
    #2 JimN, Jun 4, 2018
    bisco likes this.
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    My very first car was push-to-start for about a year, until I finally gave in and replaced the battery.

    -Chap
     
    #3 ChapmanF, Jun 4, 2018
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  4. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    Popped the clutch, eh?
     
    #4 RRxing, Jun 5, 2018
  5. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Only way to know is to put a multimeter on it. But it does have all the symptoms.

    And it's way easier to check or charge it under the hood. Just read the manual and I think it even shows pictures, iirc. It'll take longer to get the meter out of the tool box and turn it on than to test the voltage.
     
    #5 jerrymildred, Jun 5, 2018
  6. sonofjens

    sonofjens New Member

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    So I'm not super well-versed in Prius, but I don't think it's the actuator pump because the whining noise occurred even when I'm not pressing the brake. Ordinarily, when I get in the car with my fob in hand, it makes a noise that only lasts a few seconds (something turning on? sorry I'm not very helpful), but in this instance, it was long and drawn out and generally quieter. I tried holding the button and didn't get any results.

    Now when I do it, it doesn't have any response whatsoever, so I think the battery is depleted of charge, whereas before it was holding very little charge. Unfortunately I don't have a multimeter on hand but I checked the terminals for any signs of corrosion and they seem fine. I'm just going to try to jumpstart it soon and get some power to the battery and see if there are any more diagnostics I can run to see if it's a symptom of a larger problem. I don't think any lights were left on (I always have interiors off) but I guess I could be wrong.
     
    #6 sonofjens, Jun 5, 2018
  7. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Definitely sounds like the actuator pump to me and you have a dead 12V battery. It was quieter and ran longer because the battery didn't have enough power to run it properly. Now it's too dead to run it at all.

    If you have a Harbor Freight nearby, their meters are either really cheap or even sometimes free. Not the best meters, but good enough for what you need and every home needs a multimeter.

    Be hyper-super-extra careful if you jumpstart to make absolutely 100% positive for sure (did I stress that enough?) that you do not get the polarity backwards on the jumper cables. And it takes so little power to run the Prius' computers that, if there's not another car around to jump from, you could pop the 12V battery out of the UPS for your computer and connect it to the car.
     
    #7 jerrymildred, Jun 6, 2018
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