Today I stopped at the post office to check my mail. I put the car in park and didn't shut off the engine - this is what I always do.When I returned a few moments later the car would not go into reverse (this was after releasing the parking break) and the traction control symbol came on. The car would go into drive but that didn't help much as I was up against a hill (or almost against it). Shutting the car off and turning it on again solved the problem. The parking space was badly potholed; I'm assuming I had less than full contact on one wheel which caused the traction control to kick in which prevented reverse from engaging. And to be clear - it's not that it went into reverse but didn't go anywhere; reverse simply wouldn't engage (I did not try neutral). Has anyone else ever had this problem?
I think you got the odd-ball problem of the week award. Never heard this happening (SOP for Toyota Service). I can't imagine the TC light coming on just because a tire was not in contact and that certainly wouldn't have kept it from going into reverse. I would report it to the dealer. Where there any other warning lights on?
Traction Control would not keep it from going into reverse. It could keep it from moving, but not keep it from shifting. Something else caused the problem. Tom
I'm almost positive that your Prius punished you for leaving the engine run while you went into the Post Office. Sorry for that especially since I don't know why it happened. But I do know that you need to get your car into the dealer. You have an entire forum of eager posters wanting to know how the dealer fixed the problem.
Thanks for the replies. I had lots of errands to run yesterday and the problem never recurred. I have to say, everywhere I went I nervously parked at the back of the lot in a space I didn't need reverse to get out of (but I did use reverse each time to make sure it worked). If the problem doesn't recur or can't be replicated (likely) does the computer keep track of this sort of error so the dealer would have something to investigate? Oh and this is somewhat related but I have noticed that in my Prius unlike other cars it isn't enough to gently press the brake to get drive or reverse to engage - I have to press it quite firmly (and I pressed harder on it yesterday assuming this was the problem at first). Is this something others have noticed? Oh and no - no warning lights other than the traction control symbol went on. I believe the reverse symbol on the shifter was flashing when I shifted to it
I doubt there will be codes if you didn't see the yellow warning light (triangle). It takes very little pressure for me to shift my Prius. I would take it in as soon as possible.
Pressing hard on the brake activates hill assist. A light comes on and it beeps at you to alert you to its activation. I can see how the car might not let you put it in reverse once you've activated hill assist, because that makes no sense. Perhaps that is what happened. Just guessing, because I've never tried this.
Sure you didn't engage hill assist mode by accident? if you push the brake right to the floor it will show the yellow symbol and then not move for 2 seconds to allow you to do an easy hill start. never tried using this in conjunction with reverse, that could be all it was.
If you're repeatedly pressing the brake pedal firmly to get into and out of park and reverse, sounds like a brake interlock adjustment.
This sounds like it may be a fairly common Gen3 Prius problem. Brake light switch adjusted wrong. Quite a few of us have had that problem. The Brake light switch under the dashboard does three things, lights the brake light, cancels the cruise control, and lets you shift into R or D when stopped. Might not be your problem but you can check it yourself. Back up to a window so you can see your brake light, or have someone stand behind the car, and see how far you need to push the pedal down to light the light. If you need to push pretty hard it needs to be adjusted. If you are a DIYer it's pretty easy to do yourself: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ise-control-breath-brakes-final-solution.html If you need to use a dealer you may have to go to more than one. Some dealers, including mine, have refused to do it telling people it either can't or doesn't need to be done.
Thanks for all the replies. No issues today and I tried to replicate the problem. I am due for maintenance shortly and will mention all this to the dealer.
I'm not sure how hard one has to press on the brake pedal to activate hill assist but today with the car parked on a more or less level surface I depressed the brake pedal as hard or harder than I reasonably might have the day of the occurrence and was unable to replicate the problem. This is OT but I heard today on Bloomberg that Toyota is ramping up its presence in emerging markets. Hopefully they will develop some products with fewer of the bells and whistles that I find more annoying than value added - something along the lines of the old Geo Metro, a 10-15K 50 mpg no-nothing car for the college kid or those forced into early retirement by the economy. How about a hybrid two-seater with no hill assist or anything else other than an option for a CVT (which I really like). Make my day and offer one without AC for a little less (I've turned it on twice since November 09). A Prius II is way too "loaded" for my liking.
