Hello! long time listener, first time caller. I drive a 2005 Prius I bought second (or third or fourth) hand from a very sketchy guy a couple years ago. I have 187,800 miles (exactly!). My coolant control valve is a hot mess and has been since I bought this, and my hybrid battery leaves something to be desired, but for the most part I get good mileage and I get where I need to go. But I have some new issues and no money and I’m interested in some community help until I can afford to get a newer car. In the last 2-3 weeks, my car sometimes fails to turn off when I park. I usually just hit the power button, but whether I put it in park or not before I press the power button, it will turn off and then cycle right back on and I have to power off again. Around the same time but not exactly, the dashboard clock has been weird. I turned on my car after work and the clock was about 3 hours early. “That’s weird,” I thought, and reset it - I usually keep it late and my roommate had just commented that the time varied from 2-10 minutes late. I figured it was because I had just replaced the coolant control valve and resetting the battery had done something weird, but now every time I turn the car on it’s a different weird time. Last night it was about 75 minutes early, then this morning it was about 7 HOURS early, and now it’s just about an hour off. And finally, most alarmingly, my car refused to turn on for a couple minutes. It was off for a few hours, then I drove to the store, and when I got back in, it unlocked fine (so, not the battery) but wouldn’t turn on. I tried the power button with my foot on and off the break, and with the key in and out of the ignition. When I was texting a friend for a jump, the alarm went off. I put my foot on the brake and hit the button, and it turned on partially (all the dashboard lights on, gas gauge empty), and a second press of the button brought it back to life. I am currently afraid to turn it off. Any help you all have would be GREATLY appreciated as I can’t really afford a mechanic unless I know exactly what I’m looking for going in. Thank you!!
The no shut off is a bad Combo meter. It’s the dashboard module that shows all the data speedometer miles etc. Pretty common. Costs about $100. Search the forum using those 2 words. Search you tube Prius combo meter. It progresses in it it’s failure and will not shut the car off and you have to pull the 12 volt battery to kill the car.
I put my foot on the brake and hit the button, and it turned on partially (all the dashboard lights on, gas gauge empty), and a second press of the button brought it back to life. I am currently afraid to turn it off. This alone tells me you're losing 12v. Whether your battery is weak or you have a bad connection at the terminals, who knows. But, what I do know for fact, is that you are losing 12v power. Get that squared away before you spend too much time screwing around with other stuff.
Welcome to PriusChat!! How often do you drive this vehicle? (hours per week) Do you know the age of the 12v battery?
Update: I drive my car probably 15-20 hours a week. The 12V battery is about a year and a half old but I just had it checked at a mechanic and they said it’s ok. I got a new error code today, the big red triangle/exclamation point on the dash, and a car with an exclamation point on the multi whatever screen. the manual says it’s a hybrid system error.
Sounds like you are driving it enough to keep a decent 12v battery charged. What error code did you retrieve today? (examples : P3014 or P0A80) Do you have access to a toyota hybrid compatible OBD2 scanner? If not, try *all* of the various auto parts chains or auto shops as either might loan/offer a free scan. For reading OBD2 DTCs (codes), many here use a mini-vci cable ($20 online) and a copy of techstream with a laptop.
