ok all, took the plunge and bought a used 2010 today, was ecstatic all day driving, everything worked fine and hybrid battery was charging, discharging as it's supposed to, but I was in a fast food drive-thru and while waiting I shifted my car into Neutral, for the first time since buying it... IMMEDIATE "Check hybrid system" warning came up, along with check engine, yellow exclamation point, and what I assume is ABS light (looks like a car swerving?)... really discouraging, battery showed something like 70-80% full when this happened. please note, the car still runs and drives, but ICE comes on immediately when I hit start. where do I start? is it worth disconnecting 12v battery, 'reboot' possible? any tip would be great friends, thanks in advance!
Unless you have a purloined copy of Techstream on a laptop with a special OBD cable, "checking the codes" will mean a dealership visit. If you just bought from a dealership, they should do it gratis. Normally they'll ding you around $75. Could be nothing. We've had a few such events, and last suspected cause was the ScanGauge I had hooked up: it might have been weighing too much on the OBD port, and/or maybe my knee bumped it. Stopped using it, no more problems. In short: loose connections or "handshake" issues can trigger a barrage of warnings, not very useful, scary, but off the mark.
Really sorry to hear this on your first day! Hopefully, it is nothing or something minor. Like Meldel Leisk says, if this was a dealer purchase, head back asap. My guess is that it was a private party purchase or you'd probably already done that. The ICE coming on as soon as the car starts is not unusual. If it stays on 100% of the time, that would indicate a problem. What does the battery charge show? If you go down a hill or come to a complete stop, does the ICE turn off? When you shut down then re-start the car, do you get the same warning lights?
Read the owners manual. If you didn't get an owners manual it's a free download at the Toyota Tech info site. DON'T use neutral! Use "P" or "D" with your foot on the brake. Neutral can drain the traction battery, though it does take 10-20 min. with the A/C running. Going through a car wash that requires neutral, turn off the A/C (I avoid these types of car wash). Select "N" once the engine shuts off (it won't shut off if you select "N" when it's running). In "N" the engine can't charge the traction battery. You need more experience with the car before you panic. When you start most Prius they will run the engine in a "cat warm-up" sequence. It should last 20-40 seconds. Why then is there a "N" position? A govt. requirement. They want us confused and running in circles.
I have the exact same issue. I found disconnecting the 12 volt and reconnecting will have the warning lights go off. the car runs with the ice continously until I do this. however the lotus battery is still charged up. it usually pops off like if I run the ac and it gets to two bars. it's like the motor cannot kick in fast enough. 2010 Prius 186k miles. purchased used. I have torun the ac a lot because I live in Phoenix.
